Nacional / Arriba Chocolate
Ecuador's floral, jasmine-scented fine-aroma cacao. 152 Nacional / Arriba bars on Chof, from 68 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, floral and fruity.
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 152 that name Nacional / Arriba, 18 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 109:
AWKITrilogy Chocolate Bar 50g
75%darkEcuador - Rank 110:
ChokaicoJade Verdi
38%whiteEcuador - Rank 111:
SabadiTritone
85%darkEcuador - Rank 112:
Mindo ChocolateVanilla 70%
70%darkEcuador - Rank 113:
RococoDark 72%
72%darkEcuador - Rank 114:
PaccariRaw Organic Chocolate
70%darkEcuador - Rank 115:
Petrova ChocolatesStrawberry Urfa Pepper 85%
85%darkEcuador - Rank 116:
AmbrionaEcuador 71%
71%darkEcuador - Rank 117:
Vinte Vinte100% Peru
100%darkPeru - Rank 118:
HogarthDreamy Milk
44%milkEcuador - Rank 119:
PaccariLos Rios 72% Cacao
72%darkEcuador - Rank 120:
PaccariManabí 65% Cacao
65%darkEcuador - Rank 121:
PaccariBitter Orange 60%
60%darkEcuador - Rank 122:
Moka OriginsCherry 72%
72%darkTanzania - Rank 123:
Hoja Verde58%
58%darkEcuador - Rank 124:
AskinosieSuper Dark Blend
88%darkTanzania & Ecuador - Rank 125:
PaccariRaw 85% Cacao Coconut Sugar
85%darkEcuador - Rank 126:
Petrova ChocolatesCardamom Coffee 65%
65%darkEcuador - Rank 127:
François PralusÉquateur Arriba 75%
75%darkEcuador - Rank 128:
PaccariAndean Rose 60%
60%darkEcuador - Rank 129:
PaccariAndean Mint
60%darkEcuador - Rank 130:
PaccariPassion Fruit
60%darkEcuador - Rank 131:
SOMACacao Fruit Pulp
whiteEcuador - Rank 132:
Blue StripesPure Dark 70%
70%darkEcuador - Rank 133:
Mindo ChocolateMichigan Cherry 77%
77%darkEcuador - Rank 134:
Mindo ChocolateApricot Cardamom 52%
52%milkEcuador - Rank 135:
AskinosieMidnight Crunch Blend
68%darkTanzania, Ecuador & Philippines - Rank 136:
AWKIIntensity Chocolate Bar 50g
75%darkEcuador - Rank 137:
AntidoteOrange Confit + Earl Grey 70%
70%darkEcuador - Rank 138:
AntidoteRose Salt + Lemon Peel 77%
77%darkEcuador - Rank 139:
HogarthButtered Toast & Sea Salt
48%milkEcuador - Rank 140:
HogarthMonsoon
66%darkEcuador - Rank 141:
Mindo ChocolateCoffee Toffee
77%darkEcuador - Rank 142:
AWKIIntimacy Chocolate Bar 50g
75%darkEcuador - Rank 143:
PaccariCuzco Pink Salt & Nibs
60%darkEcuador - Rank 144:
AWKISerenity Chocolate Bar 50g
75%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 152 Nacional / Arriba chocolate bars, from 68 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, Cárdenas Chocolate, Hogarth. 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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