Whether watching your favorite TV cooking show or perhaps observing a gourmet chef create a unique and decadent chocolate dessert, you constantly hear: "make sure to use the best quality chocolate you can find." But what is the "best quality" chocolate? Where does it come from? Fine chocolate, like fine wine, results from the combination of many factors such as geography, weather, ground conditions and type of cacao beans. As with wine, chocolate can vary with characteristics of flavor and fragrance, distinguished by the senses as woody, fruity, floral, musky, spicy, earthy, silky, tarty etc. What does "Single-Origin, Ecuador Arriba Dark Chocolate" mean? Single-Origin means that this chocolate is produced only from cacao beans originated from a single geographic region. Ecuador & Cacao: Did you know Ecuador is recognized and ranked as the source for the finest quality cacao in the world? Although Ecuador only yields 3% of total world production, due to its bio-natural resources and unique geographic conditions, Ecuador produces and exports about 70% of total world "high-quality and aroma" cacao. This high quality and scent soft flavor cacao is known as "Arriba"; a synonym for the finest cacao. Arriba is admired by chocolate makers and artisans, chefs and demanding consumers alike, worldwide. "Arriba" was a location given by local traders to a Swiss chocolatier over a century ago when asked where he could find the "fine aroma and flavored bean." He was instructed to go "del rio arriba," or up the river. Arriba Cacao: Not all Ecuadorian cacao receives the ARRIBA certification. World chocolate manufacturers strategically blend this scarcely available cacao with inferior cacaos to enhance flavor and scent of their chocolates. While the flavor and quality might improve, it is far from the fullness and quality of 100% Arriba cacao. ArribaNoir Chocolatier, in a meticulous process, has carefully selected the finest Ecuadorian Arriba cacao and combined it with over a 100 years of knowledge and expertise. Through the talent of our master artisan chocolatiers, we have crafted the world's premier gourmet Arriba chocolate. Our chocolate is produced using only 100% single-origin Arriba cacao and cane sugar: nothing else. We refuse to add any flavor changing natural or artificial ingredients such as vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, coffee, etc, to change, disguise, or "enhance" what is already natural and perfect! Whether you eat it straight up or use it in your favorite recipes, we guarantee and stand behind our Single-Origin Arriba Dark Chocolate. Our mantra is not a slogan, but a part of our DNA: Our Passion is Chocolate! Indulge and Enjoy.