A 100% cacao bar can be uncompromising. Ara’s Santa Cruz shows us just how elegant one can be.
The cacao comes from Finca Santa Cruz in Aragua, Venezuela, where Ara works directly with the plantation to purchase exceptional heirloom Criollo beans. That direct relationship supports fair pricing for the producers while giving Ara access to cacao whose distinctive character can be followed all the way from farm to finished chocolate.
We know 100% chocolate isn’t for everyone, but we can’t help loving this one. When we place a piece on the tongue and let it melt slowly, the first surprise is how mild it feels. Ara has coaxed away the bitter edge we might expect from an unsweetened chocolate, leaving the cacao itself to unfold. Nutty notes appear first, followed by an array of unexpected fruit flavors that seem to shift as the chocolate melts.
There’s no sugar here to soften or disguise anything—just an unusually expressive Criollo cacao and the skill of the maker.
Tasting notes: Nuts, fruit.
Cacao: Heirloom Criollo cacao from Finca Santa Cruz, Aragua, Venezuela. Direct trade.
About Ara Chocolat: Founded in Paris in 2015 by Venezuelan chocolate makers Andrés Zakhour and Sabrina Trillos, Ara Chocolat makes micro-batch bean-to-bar chocolate with an extraordinary focus on cacao origin and biodiversity. Andrés works directly with growers and cooperatives throughout Latin America to source rare native and ancestral cacao varieties, building transparent relationships while helping preserve the remarkable diversity of fine cacao. Ara roasts and crafts its chocolate in its small Paris workshop, allowing the character of each origin and cacao variety to remain at the center of every bar.
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Best Cocoa Ever
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Our favourite cocoa
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