Pacari Taster Mini Bar Wedding Favours Reviews

Think of wedding favours and you might think of sugar-coated almonds. But chocolate neapolitans make a great alternative.

Organic and vegan chocolate brand Pacari stocks a range of miniature chocolate bars in a variety of flavours and intensities.

I took the opportunity to work through the range when I bought 11 of their chocolate wedding favour packs. In fact, this is one of the reasons Pacari reckons its customers buy these bars - to pick a favourite (or two) from the range and then go on and purchase the larger bars.

Packaging

These delightfully cute 10g bars are individually packaged in film wrappers that resemble their larger siblings.

I opted for a cross-section of flavours and cocoa intensities, so my delivery included these bars:

• 60% Cacao Esmeraldas
• 70% Cacao Piura Quemazón
• Andean Mint
• Andean Rose
• Coffee
• Cuzco Salt & Nibs
• Lemongrass
• Lemon Verbena
• Passion Fruit
• Raw 85% Cacao & Coconut Sugar
• Raw 100% cacao + 1% Nibs

They arrived in an oversized cardboard box. Despite having plenty of room to move and jostle around inside the carton, only two bars arrived broken into pieces.

My bars were clad in film wrappers but during 2020, Pacari made the switch to using compostable wrappers, so much of the range now uses this biodegradable film.

While the packaging decorations differ for each of these 10g nibbles, the chocolate bars themselves all share some common traits. They're all vegan chocolate bars made using organic ingredients for starters. They are nut-free, soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and palm oil-free.

They're also made using their own cocoa beans in Ecuador. By being produced at source, Pacari helps support over 4,000 families involved in farming cocoa and in chocolate production.

Pacari Taster Mini Bar Wedding Favours Reviews

I opened all of the bars at the same time to be able to compare and contrast.

Each of the bars look the same, using a chequerboard pattern mould to cast the 10g bites.

The bars are all broadly the same shade of chocolate brown, and while the bars have a shine, they are all dusty with flecks of chocolate.

So, what do these dark chocolate bars taste like, and which one is best?

Pacari 60% Cacao Esmeraldas

Pacari 60% Cacao Esmeraldas ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin). Cocoa solids : 60% minimum.

• What they say: A fruity and floral plain bar made using cacao from the Ecuadorian region of Esmeraldas, a coastal city in Northeastern Ecuador known for producing some of the the nation's finest cacao.
• 57 calories / 40% sugars.
• What I say: There's a faint aroma of leather to this bar but it's difficult to detect much else going on here. It's slow to melt but when it does, in swoops a sweet sherbet flavour. There's all sorts going on in this bar, with notes of lavender, cream, apple, grapes and a touch of green herbal notes for good measure. The sherbet flavour comes back into play in the short-lived aftertaste.
• Further reading: A larger 50g version of this bar was included in my Bombillow Subscription box. This offered a slightly different tasting experience compared to the 10g taster bar.

Pacari 70% Cacao Piura Quemazón

Pacari 70% Cacao Piura Quemazón ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin). Cocoa solids: 70% minimum.

• What they say: A single origin limited-edition Piura Quemazon 70% cacao chocolate bar.
• 58 calories / 28% sugars.
• What I say: Notes of smoke, leather and wood emanate from this bar, but these don't translate into the flavour. The bar melts with a creamy start, followed by a medley of flavours, including notes of tobacco, lime, banana and apricot. This is a surprisingly sweet bar with a just a hint of savouriness that sits at the fringes. It's creamy all the way through too, without a trace of bitterness. The aftertaste reminds me of a rich and satisfying hot chocolate flavour.

Pacari Andean Mint

Pacari Andean Mint ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin), mint essence (0.1%). Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.

• What they say: Pacari's "take on After Eights" consists of dark chocolate paired with Andean mint.
• 61 calories / 40% sugars.
• What I say: Peel open the wrapper and you'll get a nose full of spearmint notes together with a smokey undertone. This bar tastes a little dry and the Andean mint is slow to develop. As it does, it dwarfs the flavour of the chocolate. Make no mistake, this one is all about the mint. There's a mild bitterness that develops mid-way but is kept at bay by the sweetness within the bar. Notes of spearmint linger in the aftertaste.
• Further reading: This taster bar was also included in my Bombillow Subscription box.

Pacari Andean Rose

Pacari Andean Rose ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cane sugar, rose essence (6%), cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin). Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.

• What they say: A chocolate bar infused with roses grown in the heart of the Andes.
• 45 calories / 40% sugars.
• What I say: Rose and chocolate is one of my favourite flavour combinations, and this is a lovely example of it in action. The bar releases a strong, sweet and floral red rose aroma which translates beautifully into the flavour. The rose flavour develops on the back of a slight bitterness, and becomes more floral in nature. That said, it's not forceful so it doesn't get too much, and importantly, it veers away from a likeness to pot-pourri. Most rose and chocolate combinations evoke nostalgic thoughts of Turkish Delight for me, but this is different. It's all about the rose flavour and less about the slightly dry, slightly bitter chocolate beneath. The mild rose flavour lingers long into the aftertaste.

Pacari Coffee

Pacari Coffee ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, coffee, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin). Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.

• What they say: Ecuadorian cacao and coffee, all rolled into one bar.
• 57 calories / 34% sugars.
• What I say: Another of my all-time favourite combinations is chocolate and coffee. These bedfellows work very well together and I'm glad to see it feature in Pacari's range. This bar as a powerful dark aroma laced with notes of smoke, tobacco, leather, molasses, and just the faintest trace of roasted coffee beans. However, sweet coffee flavours dance as soon as the bar begins to melt, and the rich flavour of the roasted coffee beans sits front and centre. The taste is creamy and sweet, with the notes of smoke and leather returning into the fray for the long-lingering aftertaste.

Pacari Cuzco Salt & Nibs

Pacari Cuzco Pink Salt & Nibs ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cacao butter, cacao nibs (3%), salt (1%), emulsifier (sunflower lecithin). Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.

• What they say: Dark chocolate paired with Cuzco pink salt from the Maras salt terraces in Peru.
• 45 calories / 40% sugars.
• What I say: I'm not a fan of salted chocolate, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one, but approached it with an open mind. The aroma is mild, with a slight helping of smoke and mushroom notes. The bar is quite slow to melt but as it does, it reveals a slight citrus sourness in its flavour, alongside sweet and creamy aspects. This citrus characteristic intensifies mid-way, just as the bevy of salt flecks kick in. For me, it's too much salt but if you like salt in your chocolate, you'll appreciate being able to taste it. The crunch of the nibs adds a textural contrast, and helps to mask the saltiness. The aftertaste is surprisingly stark, with just a faint hint of cocoa notes to boot.

Pacari Lemongrass

Pacari Lemongrass ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin), lemongrass essence (0.01%). Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.

• What they say: A dark chocolate bar with the light, floral taste of lemongrass.
• 57 calories / 40% sugars
• What I say: Lemongrass is quite an interesting flavour to pair with chocolate, and it's certainly distinctive. This bar's aroma is a hybrid of lemon, lime, citrus and honey notes, but the lemongrass flavour comes through loud and clear in tasting. It's forceful, and slightly spicy, and riffs off the sweet and creamy chocolate base. The flavour vanishes quickly in the aftertaste leaving a clean palate.

Pacari Lemon Verbena

Pacari Lemon Verbena ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cane sugar, lemon verbena essence (6%), cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin). Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.

• What they say: A lemon-lime like flavour together with a fruity, penetrating aroma.
• 60 calories / 40% sugars.
• What I say: This is a different beast to Pacari's Lemongrass bar, but there is an overlap in flavours. In fact, the aroma of this bar contains hints of lemongrass alongside notes of smoke, lemon and bread. The herbal flavour of this bar is difficult to explain, but again, draws similarities on the Lemongrass bar, with leafy and citrus notes coming through. Once again, the chocolate base adds sweetness and creaminess to the overall tasting experience. Into the aftertaste, the flavour disperses rapidly.

Pacari Passion Fruit

Pacari Passion Fruit ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, passion fruit (1.3%), emulsifier (sunflower lecithin). Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.

• What they say: Tropical notes releasing like waves on an Ecuadorian beach.
• 58 calories / 38% sugars.
• What I say: The smokey aroma with hints of tobacco surprised me a little as I expected to smell passion fruit as a top note. There's a hint of a zesty flavour but I couldn't identify it as passion fruit. In fact, the passion fruit flavour is subtle at first in the tasting, but it grows like a wave, soon dwarfing the nuances of the chocolate. The flavour sits nicely against the sweetness and creaminess of the bar, and it settles down in amongst a bed of cocoa notes towards the end. I particularly like the sherbet zing that comes through before the end, that trails into the aftertaste alongside a muted passion fruit flavour.

Pacari Raw 85% Cacao & Coconut Sugar

Pacari Raw 85% Cacao & Coconut Sugar ingredients:
Cocoa mass, coconut sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (E322 sunflower lecithin). Cocoa solids: 85% minimum.

• What they say: Intense cacao with notes of dried fruits and coffee beans balanced with the sweetness of the coconut sugar.
• 58 calories / 16% sugars.
• What I say: Like the 70% bar, this one has a rich aroma with notes of smoke and leather, together with a hint of coffee. Slow to melt, it tastes remarkably creamy for an 85% bar. Zingy notes of lemon and lime bounce off the darker notes of chocolate brownie and tobacco, creating quite a powerful contrast. The aftertaste is devoid of bitterness and leaves a buttery flavour with a hint of honey.

Pacari Raw 100% Cacao + 1% Nibs

Pacari Raw 100% Cacao + 1% Nibs ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cocoa nibs. Cocoa solids: 100% minimum.

• What they say: Intense 100% cacao organic raw chocolate with solid pieces of cacao nibs.
• 65 calories / 0% sugars.
• What I say: At 100% cacao, you'd expect this one to be full of life - and it is. The aroma is full of smokey, earthy, and mushroom notes, together with a hint of woodiness and nuttiness. It's slow to melt and has a dry texture, together with a strand of bitterness that leads in the taste. It's certainly intense - as you'd expect - with notes of jam, and blackcurrant at the forefront, with a hint of citrus and lemon to one side. I like the balanced flavour of this bar, together with the extra crunch of the added cocoa nibs. Into the aftertaste, the nutty aspect returns together with a hint of bitterness.

Overall, this is an interesting collection of miniature chocolate bars. It's a wonderful way to taste the range without committing to the larger bars. The flavour bars showcase ingredients such as Andean mint, Andean rose, and Peruvian Cuzco pink salt front and centre, while the plain bars demonstrate the diverse effects that different cocoa percentages have on the overall flavour.

If you're only looking to buy a handful, the flavours of coffee, passion fruit, rose and mint get my vote. If you're all about the cocoa, pick up the 60%, 85% and 100% bars to compare and contrast.

These cute, compact chocolate bars are versatile. Use them like I did to inexpensively test the range and to find a favourite. Give them out as wedding favours, or even as bundles of bars for a birthday gift or Christmas present. Pair them with wine, whiskey or cheese, or perhaps serve them as an accompaniment for tea and coffee. Pop them inside mugs or other gifts, or tuck them away as a secret stash for chocolate emergencies!

Where to Buy Online

You can buy individual 10g miniature chocolate bars direct from Pacari on their website here. If you are catering for a wedding, you may appreciate the better-value bulk packs which are available here.

Which chocolate bar would you choose for your wedding? Let me know in a comment below.

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