Esmeralda is an Ecuadoran chocolate. This is a first for me; at
least, I don't think I've ever had Ecuadoran chocolate before. My
former fiancee gave me some of this for christmas. It made a
wonderful gift, because wow is this stuff good. I have not had the
opportunity to taste the Esmeralda head to head with Valrhona but it is definitely in the same
league.
Esmeralda has a slightly different flavor than a lot of bittersweet
chocolates do. Unfortunately, the form I got it in was little
bite-sized, individually wrapped pieces which had only this information on
the label:
- The name "Esmeralda" above the label artwork.
- The word "Ecuador" in the label artwork.
- The words "caffarel" and "supra" on the back of the label.
My mom says that "supra" means "over" or "above", which in this
context is probably supposed to be taken as "superior". If anyone can
tell me what "caffarel" means, let
me know. So with no ingredient list to go on, after careful
tasting I have concluded that the cocoa powder used to make this
chocolate was processed with alkali, since it has a bit of a Dutched
flavor to it. Also, I believe that it is not entirely sweetened with
sucrose (cane sugar), but partly with fructose, since it has an
elusive but detectable fruity quality to it.
This stuff is expensive (it was $24/pound in the shop where my fiancee
got it), but that's probably because it is individually wrapped. In
any case, I'd definitely recommend getting some if you can find it. At
least to give it a try.
Esmeralda 