The orange wrapper displays the Venezuelan single bean origin, while the inner foil with its new-quarter shine and tight seal nicely preserves the chocolate's aroma and flavor. The bar has a matte finish with no visible sugar bloom, and a grayish brown color. The bar snaps cleanly along the lines delineating pieces approximately 1 inch square. The result of the scoring layout means each piece has to be broken a second time before eating.

The chocolate smells faintly of coffee, but most dominantly sugar. The flavor starts with a sensation of vanilla and then becomes blackberry and then shows undertones of coffee. None of the flavors in this bar are very prominent, and you are left mostly sugar and vanilla taste on your tongue. The flavor diminishes more quickly than many other bars, but given the somewhat overly sweet taste this is not a bad thing. As with many semisweet bars, the texture is noticeably grainy but the bar does melt with average amount smoothness.

This is a fine and unassuming semisweet bar for those that that do not like the bitterness of the higher cocoa percentage bars. It is definitely more palatable to the average chocolate eater than the Bucare, El Rey's other semisweet bar. Being moderately priced at $1.25/oz., it is certainly worth sampling.

Maker Comments:

Mijao is delicate and balanced with interesting hints of apricot and plum. High cacao butter content results in Mijao's fluid, buttery texture and relative low acidity without compromising flavor, aroma, and the subtle, lingering delight of this dark chocolate. The name, "Mijao", is taken from the many types of trees that have shaded the groves of cacao trees since the 1600's.