Review of Pascha Soy Free Chocolate – Dairy Free, Top 8 Allergen Free
I’m in the middle of writing a post on soy free chocolate, but just tried a new brand and had to write about it immediately! I’ve heard about Pascha Organic Dark Chocolate bars but never saw them at the store until today. Pascha chocolate bars are vegan and free from peanuts, nuts, dairy, soy, eggs, wheat and gluten. The products also do not contain any GMOs, and are Fair Trade Certified to boot!
The bar I tried is called 55% Cacao with Goldenberries. Pascha only makes dark chocolates which range from 55% to 85% chocolate cacao. A higher percentage of cacao means a more intense chocolate flavor, and less sweetness. Milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolates have a much lower quantity of cacao than any dark chocolates.
The packaging of this bar is very fancy. It has a paperboard outer box and a printed inner package that says it is also sesame free, preservative free and kosher. I don’t know what a goldenberry is, and was surprised when I opened the package and saw these large dried berries sticking out of the back of the bar! Pretty, though. And I love how you can see the swirls in the smooth chocolate, contrasted with the rough surface of the berries! Apparently goldenberries are a superfruit found in the Andes Mountains. The bar is scored into small squares on the front, which is great for portion control, if you can actually control yourself. 🙂
The taste of the chocolate itself is delicious and smooth. There is a subtly complex flavor that makes your tongue want to explore it further. When I bit into a piece with a goldenberry, it was like an explosion in my mouth! A blast of sweet and tart at the same time that I thought went well with the chocolate. It seems to be whole dried goldenberries in there and not pieces, so it was a lot of berry in one bite. I think I’d prefer smaller pieces of berry mixed in more with the chocolate. But I still enjoyed this chocolate a lot.
Pascha has other bar flavors, such as 55% Cacao with Cocoa Nibs, 60% Cacao with Maca, 85% Cacao, and 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate with Lucuma. Pascha’s website says lucuma is a superfruit with a low glycemic index, which is used to sweeten this bar.
I paid $4.29 for this bar, which is a little pricey, but less than you can find for this brand at some other retailers. However, it is premium chocolate which is delicious AND allergy free. If you enjoy dark chocolate, I think these Pascha soy free chocolate bars are worth the price! See their whole product line at www.paschachocolate.com. And I’ll be posting on other brands of soy free chocolate – stay tuned!