Nacional / Arriba Chocolate
Ecuador's floral, jasmine-scented fine-aroma cacao. 123 Nacional / Arriba bars on Chof, from 56 makers, at an average of 71% cocoa.
Chof's Nacional / Arriba bars come mostly from Ecuador, Peru and Tanzania, and every bar lists Nacional / Arriba the way its maker states it, not as a verified fact. Tasting notes that come up most often: floral, honey, caramel, citrus, nuts and nutty.
What is Nacional / Arriba chocolate?
Nacional, also called Arriba, is Ecuador's signature fine-aroma cacao. Its calling card is a floral perfume of jasmine and orange blossom, carried in part by the aroma molecule linalool, alongside fresh fruit and gentle nuttiness. It is one of the clearest cases of genetics you can actually taste.
Nacional is Ecuador's gift to chocolate and the reason the trade coined the word "Arriba" for its lifted, perfumed aroma. Its signature is floral: jasmine and orange blossom, driven in part by a single aroma molecule, linalool, that Nacional trees produce in unusual amounts (Colonges et al., 2021).
Pure Nacional is scarcer than the name suggests. After disease and a century of crossing with introduced cacao, genetic studies of Ecuador's crop (Loor Solorzano et al., 2009, 2012) found that only a small share of trees were still genetically pure, so a lot of what is sold as Nacional today is really a Nacional-influenced hybrid.
The catalog agrees with the science. Among Chof's Nacional bars the flavour notes that rise to the top are floral and perfumed, alongside fresh fruit and berry, in a way no other major variety matches. Most comes from Ecuador, with a growing share from northern Peru, whose fine-aroma cacao carries a strong Nacional background of its own.
How to read a Nacional / Arriba claim
Every Nacional / Arriba bar on Chof shows the variety as its maker lists it, not as an independently verified fact. Of the 123 that name Nacional / Arriba, 17 list it as part of a blend rather than on its own; open any bar to see the full bean line its maker gave.
- A true Nacional or Arriba bar leans floral and bright rather than plain and chocolatey. If it tastes of flowers and fresh fruit, the label and the plant agree.
- Ecuador also grows a lot of the high-yield CCN-51 hybrid, which is bolder and more acidic, so a generic "Ecuador" bar is not necessarily Nacional.
Best Nacional / Arriba bars
Ranked by the Chof Score
- Rank 37:
JULAID70% Tanzania
70%darkTanzania - Rank 38:
Huma ChocolateVinces 70%
70%darkEcuador - Rank 39:
HogarthDreamy Milk
44%milkEcuador - Rank 40:
KarunaEdelschwarz Gin Infused 75%
75%darkTanzania - Rank 41:
CHOCOLATE TREECacao Fruit 100%
100%darkGuatemala - Rank 42:
Chocolaterie MorinEquateur Esmeralda Noir 70%
70%darkEcuador - Rank 43:
Moka OriginsTanzania 85%
85%darkTanzania - Rank 44:
CHOCOLATE TREEWhisky Nibs
70%darkPeru - Rank 45:
Standout ChocolateCloudberry Caramel 49%
49%milkDominican Republic - Rank 46:
Huma ChocolateEsmeraldas 70%
70%darkEcuador - Rank 47:
Svenska KakaoCardamom 70%
70%darkDominican Republic - Rank 48:
Pump StreetCroissant Bar 62%
62%darkEcuador - Rank 49:
Barre ClandestineKilombero 73%
73%darkTanzania - Rank 50:
Lucid ChocolatierMarañón 72%
72%darkPeru - Rank 51:
Palette de BineBines à l'érable 85%
85%darkEcuador - Rank 52:
Fruition Chocolate WorksDominican Nacional Dark Milk 68%
68%milkDominican Republic - Rank 53:
StrangerStranger
70%darkEcuador - Rank 54:
SOMAStratus
70%darkEcuador - Rank 55:
Chocolaterie MorinEsmeralda Lait 48%
48%milkEcuador - Rank 56:
Huma ChocolateGuayaquil 70%
70%darkEcuador - Rank 57:
Huma ChocolateCotopaxi 70%
70%darkEcuador - Rank 58:
Ór Dubh ChocolateSofia 75%
75%darkEcuador - Rank 59:
Piety and Desire ChocolateMarañón Canyon 55%
55%milkPeru - Rank 60:
Mindo ChocolateMichigan Blueberry 67%
67%darkEcuador - Rank 61:
Original BeansEsmeraldas 42%
42%milkEcuador - Rank 62:
AskinosieSan Jose del Tambo
70%darkEcuador - Rank 63:
Palette de BinePérou 70%
70%darkPeru - Rank 64:
Palette de BinePérou Lait aux Framboises 60%
60%milkPeru - Rank 65:
Green Bean to Bar ChocolateNativo Blanco - Peru - 73%
73%darkPeru - Rank 66:
Green Bean to Bar ChocolateFortunato No.4
75%darkPeru - Rank 67:
Mindo ChocolateSea Salt 67%
67%darkEcuador - Rank 68:
FossaKokoa Kamili 100%
100%darkTanzania - Rank 69:
Mindo Chocolate70% Rustic
70%darkEcuador - Rank 70:
Beskid ChocolateEarl Grey 70%
70%darkEcuador - Rank 71:
Lucid ChocolatierTonka 48% Milk
48%milkPeru - Rank 72:
SabadiPalermo
60%darkEcuador
Where Nacional / Arriba grows
Makers working with Nacional / Arriba
Common cocoa percentages
Frequently asked about Nacional / Arriba chocolate
What does Nacional or Arriba chocolate taste like?
Floral and perfumed, with jasmine and orange-blossom notes, fresh fruit and gentle nuttiness, and a soft acidity. The floral character comes largely from the aroma molecule linalool, which Nacional produces in unusual amounts. It is one of the most recognisable flavours in fine chocolate.
How many Nacional / Arriba chocolate bars are on Chof?
Chof lists 123 Nacional / Arriba chocolate bars, from 56 makers, at an average of 71% cocoa.
Which makers work with Nacional / Arriba cacao on Chof?
The most-represented makers using Nacional / Arriba on Chof are Paccari, Chokaico, Mindo Chocolate, Hogarth, SOLKIKI. Each bar links to the maker that made it.
Sources and further reading
- Loor Solorzano et al. (2012). Insight into the Wild Origin, Migration and Domestication History of the Fine Flavour Nacional Theobroma cacao L. Variety from Ecuador. PLOS ONE.The wild origin and near-loss of pure Nacional.
- Loor Solorzano et al. (2009). Tracing the native ancestors of the modern Theobroma cacao L. population in Ecuador. Tree Genetics and Genomes.Traces the native ancestry of Ecuador's Nacional cacao.
- Colonges et al. (2021). Two Main Biosynthesis Pathways Involved in the Synthesis of the Floral Aroma of the Nacional Cocoa Variety. Frontiers in Plant Science.The biochemistry of linalool, the molecule behind Nacional's jasmine and orange-blossom perfume.
Related varieties
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