Cacao Sampaka - Frida Mexico 70% Chocolate Negro (bar) - July 2, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Cacao Sampaka 
Frida Mexico 70% Chocolate Negro (Dark) (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.32 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 255 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week. 

Today's Frida Mexico 70% Chocolate Negro (bar) was from Cacao Sampaka (Catalunya, Spain).* 

The company offers a variety of bean to bar chocolates and confections with flavor inclusions--as well as single origin chocolates (from cacaos grown in Honduras, Mexico and other countries).

Aroma and flavor notes included: chocolate and delicious ripe and refreshing fruit (white grape, and mixed tropical punch); with sweet green botanical (sweet green fig jam) and nut. 

This dark chocolate was relatively low in bitterness and acidity, but delightfully rich in subtle flavors that I associate with fine-quality, heritage/criollo cacao beans.

Texture: smooth, creamy. 

I loved the balanced complexity, the naturally sweet fruit notes, and the overall mellow nutty chocolate-y flavor. (Note: eat this chocolate soon after opening. I tried eating some of the same bar a day later and the amazing fruit and almost fruit-floral/botanical notes were muted--while the mellow, nutty and very faint balanced earth notes remained.)

Ingredients: "Criollo Albino Cocoa Bean, Cocoa Nibs, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Cocoa: 70% minimum."

Allergen-related information: "Our products may contain traces of Nuts (Hazelnut, Pistachio, Macadamia Nut, Pecan Nut), Peanuts, Lactose, Milk and Sesame."

*This bar was made in (a product of) Spain. It was imported by Forever Cheese LLC (New York, NY). 

Cacao Sampaka - Copan Honduras 70% Chocolate Dark (bar) - May 28, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Cacao Sampaka
Copan Honduras 70% Chocolate Dark (bar)
Good ++   

Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $13.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Caputo's, online order

Bienvenidos (welcome) to Day #7 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

Today's Copan Honduras 70% Chocolate Negro (Dark) (bar) from Cacao Sampaka (Barcelona, Spain) was made in Spain and imported by Forever Cheese LLC (New York, NY).

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate with diffuse fruit (fresh cherries, very faint cherry brandy, dark sugar (brown sugar) and faint vanilla.

Texture: well-tempered, smooth texture and melt.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate with natural sweetness/brightness, balanced bitterness, diffuse faint fruit (cherry, sweet orange) and very faint (barely detectable) sweet tobacco and whiskey cocktail.

I enjoyed this relatively hearty, well-balanced chocolate and its authentic and subtly complex fruit notes.

Ingredients: "Honduras Cacao Nibs, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Cocoa: 70% minimum."

Allergen-related information: "May Contain Traces of: Nuts (Almond, Hazelnut, Pistachio, Macadamia Nut, Pecan Nut), Peanuts, Lactose, Milk and Sesame."

Cacao Sampaka - Bergamot Orange Milk Chocolate (bars) - Oct. 14, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Cacao Sampaka
Bergamot Orange Milk Chocolate 50% (bars)
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 290 calories in 1 bar (1/2 package)
Cost: $Missing information for 1 package of 2 bars
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week.

Today's Bergamot Orange 50% Milk Chocolate (bar) was from Cacao Sampaka (Barcelona, Spain). The company has been influenced by the art, architecture, culture and foods of Barcelona -- from the ceramic tiles of Gaudi to the flavorings in their chocolates.*

Aroma notes included: dark milk chocolate and fragrant citrus (orange) with faint vanilla, and very faint and pleasant spiced fruitcake--the kind you'd enjoy with a cup of tea.

Texture: creamy and smooth.

Instead of one thick bar, I appreciated this package included two, slimmer bars, back-to-back. (It can be easier to wrap your mouth around the textures and tastes associated with different chocolates when they are thinner.) 

Flavor notes included: satisfying dark milk chocolate with orange, vanilla and bergamot orange. (Bergamot is used to flavor Earl Grey tea.)

Normally, 50% milk chocolate is too sweet for me; but it may have been a more substantial cacao; and the added flavors helped balance out the sweetness. (Warning, this chocolate was slightly addicting.)

Ingredients: "Cocoa butter, sugar, cocoa mass, whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, natural bergamot flavor (0.2%), emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavor."

Allergen-related information: Contained milk, soy. "Our products may contain traces of nuts, peanuts, lactose, milk and sesame."

*Spain is the top producer of oranges in Europe, and bergamot flavored items can be found throughout Europe. Calabria, Italy, is often considered the "home" of bergamot oranges,

Cacao Sampaka: Dark Chocolate Pistachio 44% (bar) & White Chocolate Roses & Strawberries (bar) - Oct. 8, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Cacao Sampaka
Dark Chocolate Pistachio 44% (bar)
Good ++

Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar

Calories: 320 calories in 2 oz. of bar
Cost: $8.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order

Cacao Sampaka
White Chocolate - Roses and Strawberries (bar)
Good ++

Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar

Calories: 330 calories in 2 oz. of bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Flowers Theme Week.

Today's attractively packaged tabletas (bars): Dark Chocolate Pistachio 44% (bar) and a White Chocolate Roses and Strawberries (bar)--were from Cacao Sampaka S.L. (Barcelona, Spain). 

Both packages were adorned with images of colorful ceramic tiles designed by architect (and some would say tile-obsessed) Antoni Gaudi over a century ago.

Dark Chocolate Pistachio

Aroma notes included: pleasing dark chocolate (cocoa) and very faint nut.

Texture: smooth dark chocolate with embedded fresh-tasting, softly crunchy pistachio nuts. 

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (dark cocoa with a hint of vanilla, fudge brownie) with perfectly salted (at least for me) green pistachio nuts. The base chocolate was low in acidity and bitterness, and had a pleasing smooth dark chocolate flavor.

I loved the pretty, mostly whole, green pistachios, the added salt, and the 44% dark chocolate that tasted more like a smooth 65% cacao dark chocolate.   

Ingredients: "Sugar, cocoa mass, pistachio (16.5%), cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavor."

Allergen-related information: Contained pistachios. "Our products may contain traces of nuts, peanuts, lactose, milk and sesame."

White Chocolate Roses and Strawberries

Aroma notes included: aromatic sweet roses, red berry (strawberry) and very faint strawberry and vanilla milkshake/frappe. 

Texture: creamy, luxurious texture (but without being too heavy), interspersed with bits of crunchy, freeze-dried strawberry fruit. 

Flavor notes included: creamy and sweet white chocolate, lovely rose and strawberry.

Surprisingly, I did not find either one of today's chocolates--the 44% dark pistachio bar or this white chocolate bar--too sweet. The high-quality rose and strawberry inclusions helped balance the vanilla-tinged wall of authentic cocoa butter and sugar. Notably, cocoa butter was the number one ingredient and not sugar (thank you!).

Ingredients: "Cocoa butter, sugar, skimmed milk powder, strawberry crispy (12%) (strawberry, sucrose, fructose, acidity regulator (citric acid), reinforced by natural flavors), anhydrous milk fat, rose flavor (0.1%), emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavor, flavor. Cocoa 33% minimum."

Allergen-related information: "Our products may contain traces of nuts, peanuts, lactose, milk and sesame.

Cacao Sampaka - Dark Chocolate with Ibiza Sea Salt (bar) - Oct. 8, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Cacao Sampaka
Chocolate Negro Flor de Sal de Ibiza (bar)
Good +
Weight: 2.64 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 418.7 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Village Market, Ferry Building Marketplace, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Salt and Savory Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Negro (Dark Chocolate) Flor de Sal de Ibiza (bar) was from Cacao Sampaka (Barcelona, Spain). Imagine, if you will, eating this chocolate on a beautiful beach on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, Spain (where the sea salt in this bar originated), about 500 km from Barcelona (where the bar was created).

This dark bar, in a beautifully designed wrapper, had a smooth texture with a creamy, rapid melt. The chocolate (no % specified) had a relatively smooth but opaque dark flavor (likely from a Forastero* variety of cacao if I had to guess), with a slightly earthy note, and with a twinkle and light crunch of Ibiza sea salt crystals.

Savory Chocolate - Chicken Mole
Switching continents from Europe to South America...We've also been enjoying cooking up different variations on chicken mole this week, using combinations of onions, spices, mesquite, chili, pepper, salt, dark chocolate, butter, nuts and seeds (almond, pumpkin, sesame) and other ingredients lightly simmered with chicken.

*Forastero cacao is quite common and is cultivated widely in West Africa, Brazil and elsewhere. The majority of chocolate bars are made using this variety of cacao. It is known for a relatively bold flavor, and for being relatively more robust (and disease resistant) than more delicate heritage varieties, e.g. Criollo cacao that may have more delicate fruit and cream notes.

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Cacao Sampaka - Chocolate Negro/Dark Chocolate 100% Cacao Ecuador bar - Nov. 7, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cacao Sampaka S.L.
Chocolate Negro 100% Cacao Ecuador bar
Good
Weight: 1.32 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 212.3 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's ebony-colored Chocolate Negro/Dark Chocolate 100% Cacao Ecuador bar was created by Cacao Sampaka (Barcelona, Spain).

The beautifully-designed* bar (with two interlocking, raised swirls on the bar itself) had an even dark aroma with fleeting, light nutty, floral fruit and spiced hazelnut hot chocolate notes—all the while conveying what lay ahead would be a fairly robust, dark, slightly bitter flavor.

The two-ingredient (cocoa mass, cocoa butter), ultra-dark, bar had an even, unadulterated, balanced bitter flavor with a hint of fruit acidity. The acidity lingered a bit in the finish, which was relatively clean with no off notes.

*The outer packaging was decorated with a collage of colorful ceramic tile pieces, evoking a wall or floor one might see when strolling through Barcelona in Spain.