Impact
Satyagrahi... think 'cacáo Gandhi'.
Most ignore how much Gandhi’s own military background & experience in the Boer War shaped his philosophy of satyagraha (literally ‘soul-force’ in Mahatma’s translation) – borrowed in part from Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, both concepts later seized upon by the likes of MLK Jr. - a decidedly masculine warrior stance assertively opposed to passive resistance which to Gandhi’s mind connotes a weaker feminine principle, very similar to the way Nietzsche viewed meek Christianity.
Pacari similarly takes a non-violent though very active approach, adhering to the Hippocratic oath for the health of the cacáo bean to ‘first, do no harm’. The success of this bar is less earth-shattering than the Mahatma’s Salt March; more personally sweet... privately moving & shaking... the soft power of a quiet revolution.
Most ignore how much Gandhi’s own military background & experience in the Boer War shaped his philosophy of satyagraha (literally ‘soul-force’ in Mahatma’s translation) – borrowed in part from Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, both concepts later seized upon by the likes of MLK Jr. - a decidedly masculine warrior stance assertively opposed to passive resistance which to Gandhi’s mind connotes a weaker feminine principle, very similar to the way Nietzsche viewed meek Christianity.
Pacari similarly takes a non-violent though very active approach, adhering to the Hippocratic oath for the health of the cacáo bean to ‘first, do no harm’. The success of this bar is less earth-shattering than the Mahatma’s Salt March; more personally sweet... privately moving & shaking... the soft power of a quiet revolution.
Appearance 4.3 / 5
| Color: | purple raven w/a touch of orange |
| Surface: | got some vibrational issues (pin holes, bubbles) |
| Temper: | good mirror |
| Snap: | bottom of the bass-ment in Dolby™ Surround-Sound |
Aroma 6.8 / 10
distant hit of Coppeneur's chocolate-bong undercut by cereal grains & vinyl leather -> flash cinnamon mixed w/ diesel (those reliable Ecuadorian drying techniques at work) -> topped off w/ blood orange blossom & Pacari's signature cheese; the balance all on the ferment & away from the roast
Mouthfeel 13.1 / 15
| Texture: | gentle & on the slender side |
| Melt: | moderate time-release; extremely even |
Flavor 44.7 / 50
big cocoa draw right off -> Rios fig sugar -> backstory plantain & yucca -> dried figs-in-licorice predominate while never losing sight of chocolate against white laurel wood -> swollen fudge pack -> souring action... borojó & guanabana in the house, hook up w/ citrus blossom -> mocha brings it all down
Quality 18.3 / 20
Another in-country regionalized play. Pacari's most 'real' bar, with genuine chocolate flavor that sustains its tannic structure, breaking down & randomizing only at the very end, based on one of its cleaner bean selections, for Ecuador can be fraught with post-harvest problems. Rather typical Rios profile done differently. Reminiscent of RdC's spotlighting fig but here a lighter roast & conche in keeping with Pacari's under-processed style, to yield an overall softer touch & tone while still developing the notes, indeed stretching the range on the upper register by way of those late-arriving high fruit acids. Good effort.
ING: cocoa mass, cacáo butter, cane sugar, sunflower lecithin; CBS: 2:3:5
ING: cocoa mass, cacáo butter, cane sugar, sunflower lecithin; CBS: 2:3:5