(photo by Lee McCoy)
Awards: Good Food Awards 2012
According to Amano: “From the fertile Guayas River floodplain comes the pride of Ecuador — The Nacional cocoa bean, grown nowhere else in the world. In seclusion, farmers have cultivated a wild cacao into a balanced expression of untamed nature and sophistication. We handroast this bean, and, using our antique stone grinder, release its characteristic floral aroma. Rich nuanced notes of smoke, green banana, and blackberry will transport you to another time and place where magic and love abound.”
Ingredients: cocoa beans, pure cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole vanilla beans.
Amano Guayas reviews:
20n 20s – http://www.20n20s.com/2010/03/amano-guayas-70.html
“Delicate and gorgeous in hiding it’s secrets. “ (Candice Alström)
Chocolate Ratings – http://chocolateratings.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/amano-dos-rios-guayas/
” Amano’s Guayas is its own ode to chocolate. One bite transports you to chocolate nirvana. The texture floods your mouth with silkiness, but not of the Lindt variety, which I like but find fairly simplistic. This chocolate offers itself up in a multi-layered taste and texture experience that can only be described as sensuous.”
Chocolate Reviews – http://www.chocolatereviews.co.uk/amano-guayas-70/
“The expectations the brand has established are very high and I don’t see this bar as being as enjoyable as the Morobe or the Ocumare.” (Lee McCoy)
Dark Chocolate Blog – Critical Tastings – http://criticaltastings-chocolate.blogspot.com/2010/12/amano-guayas-70-dark-chocolate.html
Mostly About Chocolate – http://mostlyaboutchocolate.com/amano-guayas-70-chocolate-bar-review/
“I am being hard on this chocolate by describing it as slightly flat and somewhat dull as it would shine out as a stunning example of the chocolate makers’ art when compared to other bars. If you’re looking for a dark chocolate bar with some character which is slightly challenging with a hint of smoke which doesn’t taste of over roasting and possibly a light mention of berry, this is the perfect bar. It is a complex, slightly acidic chocolate and as such it is absolutely in top notch chocolate but it isn’t at the top of the scale of top notch.” (Judith Lewis)
http://chocolatenote.blogspot.com/2009/11/catching-up-with-amano.html (blog discontinued)
http://www.seventypercent.com/2010/03/amano-guayas/
“A very bright chocolate for an Ecuador origin, Amano’s interpretation here indicates that there may be a lot more range in the Ecuador Arriba than the typical blackberry/molasses we’ve all come to expect. “ (Alex Rast)
“As rich and pleasing as it is, though, the flavor has a serene, passive feel due to its relative lack of vigor and distinct highs and lows in the profile.” (Hans-Peter Rot)
Choco Files – https://sites.google.com/site/chocolatereviewsite/reviews/Amano-Guayas-70.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1 (PDF file)
Amano Artisan Chocolate on the Web: