Chami Cacao - 70% Cacao Aji Cayenne, Canela & Nibs de Cacao (bar) - July 26, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Chami Cacao 

70% Cacao Aji Cayenne, Canela & Nibs de Cacao (tableta)

(70% Cacao Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon & Cacao Nibs (bar))
Good ++ 
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories in one serving (20 g.) of bar 
Cost: $11.80 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Fire & Passion Theme Week.

Today's Chami Cacao 70% Cacao Aji Cayenne, Canela & Nibs de Cacao (tableta/bar) was made in Bogota, Colombia.

The company's founder, Juliana, tells us the name "Chami" is "a tribute to the Embera Chami indigenous people in Colombia. It also means mountain range in their language..."

Aroma notes included: chocolate; subtle, sweet, slightly smokey chilis; and warm spice (cinnamon).

Texture: relatively smooth, chocolate base with crunchy cacao nib shards and tiny bits of chilis.

Flavor notes included: balanced cacao, chili, and cinnamon flavor blend with very faint roasted red clay/earth and a whisper of wood smoke. 

I appreciated the stoneground-like texture and the feeling of the place or origin when I ate this chocolate. (Do savor slowly to fully enjoy this and other single origin dark chocolates.) I could taste the fresh cacao nibs, chilis, spices and raw sugar that had been mindfully ground together--a process that maintained more of their authentic flavors. The cacao nibs added more cacao flavor depth to this 70% cacao bar.

This chocolate wasn't too sweet (thank you), too bitter, or too smoke-y. There was some roasted chili heat (more in some bites than others); but it wasn't enough to stop me from enjoying more of it. For me, a dark chocolate lover who loves origin stories, this landed in the Goldilocks zone. It was just right.

Ingredients: Cacao beans, Organic raw cane sugar, cayenne pepper, cinnamon & cacao nibs.

Allergen-related information: (None found on packaging.)

Vixen Chocolate - Rising Phoenix 71% dark + spicy hibiscus (bar) - July 25, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Vixen Chocolate
Rising Phoenix - 71% dark + spicy hibiscus (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $22.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Fire & Passion Theme Week.

Today's "Rising Phoenix" 71% dark + spicy hibiscus (bar) was from Vixen Chocolate (Portland, OR).

"From the fire comes rebirth" the packaging for this chocolate tells us. (And spicy flavors can also warm and cheer our hearts.) 

Aroma notes for this bold bar included: chocolate, come hither red floral-tart-sweet red grape (wine), warm spice, and fresh, mineral notes.

Texture: smooth chocolate base, with tiny, slightly crunchy chili bits and possibly candied hibiscus bits.

Flavor notes included: smooth chocolate base, with tart-sweet floral (hibiscus), warm spices (balanced spicy cinnamon, very light chili).

I enjoyed the balanced, bold flavors; unique, intriguing complexity; and slightly smokey, tasty, restrained chili fire. I felt like I enjoyed a perfect marriage of smooth dark chocolate with spicey Jamaica (the bright red beverage made with hearty, red hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) flowers, aka roselle or sorrel).

Maker's Tasting Notes: "dark chocolate laced with bold chilies and vibrant hibiscus--forged in the fire--blooming unapologetically" ("Infused with Solfeggio Sound Frequencies" -- 417 Hz)

Ingredients: cacao beans*, cane sugar*, cacao butter*, hibiscus, guajillo chile, royal cinnamon, chipotle chili, 417 Hz, LOVE (*organic)

Allergen-related information: No information found on bar packaging