2.3oz (65g) bar
Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, pineapple extract
19g sugar/65g serving (29.2% by wt.)
I bought Chocolate Santander's pineapple bar during a trip to Chocolopolis. It caught my eye because it seemed like a nice change of pace, conjuring images of an only-in-the-tropics merger of sweet chocolate and chewy pieces of sweet-tart dried pineapple.
This sharply molded, deep brown bar does smell of sweet tropical fruit, as well as the nuttiness I remember from my first Chocolate Santander bar. The chocolate is nutty, tart, and dryly tannic—fine, but not exactly what I was envisioning. The pineapple, while plentiful, is in such small pieces that they can't possibly be really chewy, though they do have enough presence to stick around in all their tiny glory as the chocolate melts in your mouth. They also contribute a hint of the fruity sharpness particular to pineapple, but the strong-tasting chocolate base dominates here.I have to admit I'm disappointed, though I'm not sure I'm being fair. This bar is just more sour than I had hoped, without the corresponding juicy sweetness I think of when I crave pineapple or the creaminess I thought the chocolate might contribute. On the other hand, I should have remembered that Chocolate Santander uses a stronger, sourer chocolate than the ideal I had in mind, and for what it is it's not bad. Maybe this is just not for me.
Conclusion: Chocolate Santander Colombian Single Origin 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate Pineapple Bits is strong, tart chocolate with a light touch of pineapple.
