Pascha Chocolate

I keep going back to this chocolate. The first time I bought and sampled the 70 percent bar, I wasn't sure about it. It doesn't have that typical cocoa-flavor zing so many bars on the market have, but there's something about it that made me want more. I wanted to figure it out and get to know it better. Right away, I could tell that the quality of this bar is on a level unlike and far above most bars out there. It has a pure, natural taste, unadulterated by unnecessary ingredients. There are only five ingredients in this bar: organic cocoa mass, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic natural cocoa powder and organic vanilla. That's it, because that's all the bar needs. It's amazing that these five ingredients can be combined in such a way as to produce a chocolate bar that's so appetizing.

A high-quality chocolate bar by Pascha. 

What I love about the company is its exceptionally high standards. As far as I know, there are only a few chocolate companies in the world that are entirely nut free. Pascha takes it a few steps further by keeping peanuts, dairy, soy, eggs, wheat and gluten out of their products as well.

From their website:

PASCHA adopts the following principles to our chocolate-making:

1.  Use only ingredients that might be found naturally together, like cocoa and sugar cane.

2.  Use ingredients that are organic or at least grow under organic principles.

3.  Produce as close as possible to the source of these ingredients, to preserve freshness and to reduce the possibility of contamination or spoilage in any way.

4.  Produce in a bean to bar process:  in the same facility the bean goes in and chocolate comes out. So little chocolate is made this way but it is the only way to guarantee the purest possible product.

5.  While we hope to gradually increase the range of chocolate types that we produce, we will only make product that adheres to these principles.

The 70 percent bar

I wouldn't call it full bodied; it's more light and fruity. While it is somewhat complex with notes of spice, fruit and cocoa, you don't get a sense of diving into a vat of rich, dark chocolate with the first bite. The darker, richer qualities of the chocolate come out only after it has been sitting on your tongue for a while.

I will say that this one is among the more interesting and intriguing bars I have sampled. The added cocoa powder confuses me, but it seems to bring out more of the bitter qualities, which isn't at all a bad thing. I'm just not used to it. It reminds me of the difference between robusta coffee, which tends to be more on the bitter side, and the more popular, smoother and richer Colombian coffee served in most cafes in the United States. It's really a matter of personal taste which you prefer. That being said, the Pascha chocolate ended up being addicting. I had no problem sticking another bar in my shopping basket the next time I saw one. It doesn't hurt that the boxes are eye catching, elegant and cool, maybe even a little sexy looking.

There's a very nice even chocolate flavor that emerges the longer the chocolate is in your mouth. It's not unlike some wines that aren't at their best when quickly swallowed from a freshly opened bottle, though with chocolate, I'm not talking about aging or breathing. My suggestion is to either chew up a large mouthful, or allow a reasonable-sized bite to linger in your mouth until the deeper chocolate tones come out of hiding. I think pretty much everyone can appreciate the outstanding quality of this chocolate line, and I'm guessing anyone who likes dark chocolate will enjoy these bars. I bet even a few milk chocolate lovers would happily get into this chocolate too.

Pascha 70 percent dark chocolate bar is hard to resist.