PURE PERUVIAN – Ceremonial Cacao, 100% Raw Criollo Chocolate Bar, Unsweetened – 35g

Dark chocolate with nothing to hide behind

This is chocolate stripped right back to the bean. One ingredient, raw Criollo cacao from a single cooperative in northern Peru, and nothing else at all. No sugar, no milk, no lecithin, no vanilla. What you taste is the cacao itself, undiluted, which is exactly the point.

Most 100% bars earn their grim reputation, made from bulk beans and roasted hard until they turn chalky and flatly bitter. Ours is different because the bean is different, and because we never roast it. If you want the full story, we’ve made the honest case for eating 100% chocolate in its own guide.

Made from rare Criollo, the prince of cacaos

Criollo is the rarest fine-flavour cacao in the world, a sliver of global production, prized for flavour rather than yield. It’s what stops this bar tasting one-dimensional. Instead of pure bitterness you’ll find notes of dried fruit, plum and a subtle floral edge, with a smooth, almost creamy melt rather than the gritty texture cheap 100% is known for.

Kept raw, so the good stuff stays in

We keep our cacao below 42°C from start to finish and stone-grind it slowly, rather than blasting it with the high heat that flattens flavour and destroys cacao’s natural compounds. When the Oxford Brookes Centre for Nutrition and Health tested five UK dark chocolate brands, ours came out top for polyphenols and antioxidant capacity. We didn’t add anything special to win that. We simply didn’t roast the good bits out. There’s a full breakdown of the nutritional benefits of 100% dark chocolate if you’d like the numbers.

One ingredient, a lot going on

Because it’s pure cacao with no added sugar, every square is dense with what makes cacao worth eating: fibre, magnesium, iron and protein, plus a gentle, long-lasting lift from theobromine. It barely touches your blood sugar, which makes it a natural fit for low-sugar, keto and diabetic ways of eating, and it’s naturally vegan and made in a nut-free facility.

How to enjoy it

Don’t bolt it like a milk chocolate bar. Let a small piece melt on your tongue and give it about thirty seconds. The first hit of bitterness fades, the cacao warms, and the fruit comes through underneath. It’s also a beautiful base for cacao ceremonies, hot cacao drinks and raw recipes, where keeping it unheated preserves everything the bean brought with it.

Prefer to ease in? Our yacon-sweetened Atey Ate% 88% bar is a gentler step, or browse our full range of organic raw vegan chocolate bars.

Found a favourite? Our letterbox chocolate bar subscription boxes let you build your own selection and have it posted through your door every week or fortnight, you choose the bars, and you can change them anytime. The easiest way to keep Pure Peruvian in the cupboard.

Nutrition Information (per 100g): Energy 2612kJ / 634kcal, Fat 58.9g (of which saturates 34.2g), Carbohydrates 3.8g (of which sugars 1g), Fibre 17.6g, Protein 13.6g, Salt 0g

Available in 35g and 75g bars.

Allergy Information:
Dairy free ✔ Gluten free ✔ Soya free ✔
No nuts ✔ No palm oil ✔ No cane sugar ✔

Made in a strictly nut-free facility under a HACCP allergen-control plan. Every ingredient in this bar is sourced from suppliers who do not handle or sell nuts, and all equipment is thoroughly cleaned between batches. As a small-batch maker we don’t carry out end-product testing, so we stop short of a 100% legal guarantee, but nuts are never present anywhere in this product’s supply chain or our facility. If you have a severe allergy, we’re always happy to talk it through.

Pure Peruvian 100% FAQs

What does it taste like? Intense and pure at first, then surprisingly fruity, with notes of dried fruit, plum and a subtle floral edge, and a smooth, almost creamy melt rather than the gritty bitterness of cheap 100% chocolate.

How do I eat 100% chocolate if it’s so strong? Slowly. Let a small piece melt on your tongue rather than chewing it, and give it about thirty seconds. The first hit of bitterness fades and the real flavour comes through underneath. Most people are surprised how quickly their palate adjusts.

Is it really sugar-free? Completely. It’s a single ingredient, raw cacao, with no added sugar of any kind and just 1g of naturally occurring sugar per 100g. That makes it a natural fit for low-sugar, keto and diabetic ways of eating.

Is it vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free? Yes to all three. It’s pure cacao, so it’s naturally plant-based with no dairy and no gluten ingredients.

Is it nut-free? It’s made in a strictly nut-free facility, and every ingredient comes from suppliers who don’t handle or sell nuts. As a small-batch maker we don’t carry out end-product testing, so we stop short of an absolute legal guarantee, but nuts are never present in this product or our facility. If you have a severe allergy, please get in touch.

Can I cook or bake with it? Yes, it works beautifully in recipes, hot cacao and raw desserts. If you care about the nutritional benefits, keeping it unheated preserves the most goodness, but it melts and bakes wonderfully too.

Is the cacao ethically sourced? Yes. It’s grown by a cooperative in the Peruvian Amazon using sustainable agroforestry, fairly traded, and wrapped in plastic-free, fully compostable packaging.

What sizes does it come in? It’s available as a 35g or 75g bar.