Ecuador is a country in South America, bordering Peru to the south and east and Colombia to the north-east, with the Pacific Ocean to the west. This is the only country where the ‘Cacao Nacional’ variety grows, a grand cru cocoa known worldwide for its floral and fruity flavours. This traditional variety offers subtle aromas of citrus and dried fruit, with lovely floral notes suggesting rose or jasmine.
Cacao Nacional, with its delicate, fine flavour, is used to make chocolates with intense aromas. When savoured, the powerful flavour of the chocolate gradually reveals itself. The most sensitive palates will recognise the fruity and floral aromas typical of pure chocolate from Ecuador.
At Kaoka, we don’t standardise the taste of our chocolates. The flavours of the chocolate bars can be different depending on the harvest, the season, etc. So, depending on how they are made, you may be able to taste, to a greater or lesser degree, the subtle aromas of citrus, fresh fruit and dried fruit, as well as the beautiful floral notes (jasmine-rose) that are characteristic of Ecuadorian chocolates.
The taste of chocolate is composed of 3 different notes that follow one another. The top note comes first, followed by the less lively but warmer heart note. Finally, the base note appears at the end of the taste.
![](https://www.kaoka.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Profil-aromatique-cacao-nacional-notes-tete-2.png)
Citrus fruit (lemon-orange)
Fresh fruit (apple-pear) & Dried fruit (almonds-hazelnuts)
Floral (jasmine-rose)
![](https://www.kaoka.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Profil-aromatique-cacao-nacional-notes-coeur-2.png)
Balanced cocoa & chocolate
![](https://www.kaoka.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Profil-aromatique-cacao-nacional-notes-fond-2.png)
Woody (liquorice)
Warm tobacco note
Caramel
Kaoka – Dark Chocolate 90% Ecuador:
For this bar, we have chosen to use only cocoa paste, with no added cocoa butter, to bring you the exceptional flavour of Ecuadorian cocoa. This 90% cocoa dark chocolate is surprisingly richly aromatic, with a powerful cocoa flavour, gourmet dried fruit aromas and beautiful floral notes.
Kaoka – Dark Chocolate 80% Ecuador:
One of our historic chocolate bars (and the favourite of Kaoka’s founder!). We’ve also selected a pure cocoa paste (but slightly sweeter than the 90% dark bar). This 80% cocoa dark chocolate has an intense cocoa flavour and subtle aromas of citrus, fresh and dried fruit, and of course beautiful floral notes.
Kaoka – Milk Chocolate 40% Ecuador – 100g:
This bar is the symbol of tenderness. We’ve selected a pure cocoa mass from Ecuador for an ultra-melting, well-balanced taste experience: intense cocoa, just the right amount of sweetness for a real tasting moment.
Kaoka – Coconut Milk Chocolate – 100g:
This milk chocolate with coconut chips is a real dessert. It will particularly appeal to coconut fans.
Kaoka – Milk Chocolate with Whole Hazelnuts – 100g:
The bar that makes us fall in love, the melting milk chocolate and the crunch of whole hazelnuts (fair trade!) form a perfect harmony.
Kaoka – Milk chocolate with whole almonds, caramel pieces and fleur de sel – 180g:
This chocolate bar is terribly tasty, a bite of the melting milk chocolate reveals crunchy roasted almonds and fine caramel chips, and the hint of fleur de sel enhances the whole.
The natural aromatic richness of Ecuadorian cocoa makes it a highly recommended chocolate for pastry-making. It adds intensity and an inimitable chocolate flavour to your desserts.
A chocolate bar of Dark Dessert 72% Ecuador:
This highly aromatic 72% cocoa dark dessert chocolate bar adds a real touch of character to your chocolate recipes (chocolate tart, fondant, coulant, mousse, cake, moelleux, ganache, etc). If you’re a chocolate lover, this chocolate is perfect for coating and making chocolate shells.
A chocolate bar of Milk Dessert 40% Ecuador:
A milk chocolate that will add sweetness and smoothness to your committed desserts!
72% Ecuador dark chocolate in bulk:
Want to reduce your use of packing materials? Aiming for zero waste? You can find our Dark Dessert chocolate in small pods in the bulk section of your organic shop! Easy to measure out and quick to melt, you’ll love it.
![Zone de production du cacao en Équateur](https://www.kaoka.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/equateur-zone-production-cacao.png)
Kaoka’s cocoa program in Ecuador was created in 2000. Today, almost 1,496 partners produce Nacional cocoa and are committed to Kaoka. With the BIOPARTENAIRE® label, this organic fair trade chain guarantees long-term support and fair remuneration for growers.
CECAO: a unique business model
CECAO (Compañía Exportadora de Cacao Aromático y Orgánico) was created in 2013. It is a major cocoa export structure in which cocoa producer associations are shareholders alongside Kaoka. It is the concrete result of a strong and long-standing partnership between the growers and Kaoka!
Figures for 2022.
![Rosa Perez est cacaologue en équateur](https://www.kaoka.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rosa-perez-cacaologue-equateur.jpg)
Rosa Perez is a cocoa specialist in Ecuador. She has been working with Kaoka for over 20 years. At the start of this collaboration, she contributed to André Deberdt’s agronomic research work to safeguard Cacao Nacional and renovate the plantations. Today, she is the quality manager for Kaoka’s cocoa business in Ecuador.
Every week, Rosa checks the quality of samples of cocoa beans from all the producer associations.
Ecuadorian cocoa is recognised worldwide by professionals for its exceptional aromatic quality. Kaoka is a leading supplier of organic and fair-trade chocolate to the professionals, and offers three organic and fair-trade chocolate couvertures of pure Ecuadorian origin:
–Dark 80% Ecuador(pure cocoa mass) for making ganaches, full mouldings and ice creams.
– Dark 70% Ecuador (with lecithin and vanilla) for making coatings and ganaches.
– Dark 72% Ecuador (lecithin and vanilla-free) for making coatings and ganaches.
Available in 5kg cartons or 25kg bags, you can order directly from us: commercial@kaoka.fr