Mirzam Cuba 85% Single Origin Dark Chocolate: Exploring Baracoa Cacao

The (Un)Known Story of Cuban Cacao: Isolation, Heritage, and Untapped Potential

When we speak of cacao-producing origins, Cuba is rarely part of the conversation. Yet this island has quietly cultivated cacao for well over a century, often far from the spotlight, shaped more by geopolitical constraints than by global market trends. And while today the spotlight shines brightly on West Africa, Latin America, and certain Pacific islands, Cuba’s cacao remains one of the most enigmatic and underexplored chapters in the world of fine-flavor chocolate.

A Legacy Rooted in Baracoa

Located on the easternmost edge of the island, nestled between the Atlantic coast and the Sierra del Purial, Baracoa is the beating heart of Cuban cacao. This region—lush, humid, and largely isolated by mountains—was Cuba’s first Spanish settlement, and remains one of its most agriculturally biodiverse zones. Cacao has been cultivated here since the colonial era, initially as part of broader plantation systems but later becoming a significant smallholder crop.

Today, Baracoa accounts for nearly 80% of all Cuban cacao production, according to recent agronomic surveys and national export data. The region’s abundant rainfall, volcanic soils, and unique microclimate provide ideal growing conditions. However, political and economic isolation over the past six decades has limited much of this production to domestic use or state-led exports, with rare exceptions that reach the bean-to-bar chocolate market.

A Surprising Genetic Reservoir

For decades, the assumption was that Cuban cacao plantations relied mostly on clones derived from Amelonado genetics, chosen for their disease resistance and productivity under state management. However, a groundbreaking study in 2024 by Cuban researchers - Ramírez-Ramírez et al., Revista Ciencias Técnicas Agropecuarias - used ddRADseq genetic mapping techniques to analyze the country’s cacao gene bank and on-farm plantings. The results overturned previous assumptions.

Rather than a monoculture of clones, the study revealed unexpected genetic diversity, including genotypes linked to Criollo, Iquitos, Contamana, Nanay, and even Putumayo ancestry. Some lineages appear to be endemic or distinct, likely preserved through decades of geographic and political isolation. This diversity, largely ignored by international breeding programs, may represent a reservoir of untapped potential both agronomically and sensorially.

What’s more, researchers emphasized the urgent need to diversify the country’s active plantings, which still rely heavily on a narrow set of older clones. The genetic richness within Cuba’s national collection is not currently reflected in most farms, limiting both disease resilience and flavor expression. This discrepancy between what exists in research stations and what’s actually grown highlights a missed opportunity to redefine Cuba’s cacao identity in the international scene.

From State Farms to Specialty Markets?

Since the 1960s, Cuba’s agricultural model has largely been state-controlled. Cacao, like coffee and sugar, was grown on cooperative or state-run farms, with minimal incentives for quality or innovation. However, in recent years, small policy shifts and market openings have begun to change this. Select export channels have emerged, with traceable cacao beans from Baracoa and other areas occasionally reaching the hands of specialty chocolate makers abroad. Yet, these operations remain limited, and access to post-harvest infrastructure remains uneven. Fermentation and drying practices are often centralized or simplified, potentially flattening the expression of origin-specific aromas. Despite these challenges, the raw potential is there. What’s lacking is investment, training, and market visibility.

Baracoa Cacao on the Chocolate Map

That’s why every bar crafted with Baracoa cacao deserves attention—not just as a product, but as a signal that Cuban cacao is slowly stepping into the world of single-origin chocolate, where origin, genetics, and processing converge to create memorable sensory experiences.

In this context, we turn to an 85% dark chocolate bar made with Baracoa beans, produced by a maker outside of Cuba. For years, Mirzam Chocolate Makers, based in Dubai, has built a reputation for sourcing origin-specific beans and crafting bars that highlight regional character. Their use of Cuban cacao is more than a sourcing decision; it’s a statement. It allows us to ask:

What does Baracoa taste like when it’s given the chance to shine?

Let’s find out.

Mirzam Cuba 85% Single Origin Dark Chocolate

Ingredients: cocoa beans, unrefined cane sugar.

Batch Number: CU027

Aromas: assertive and masculine, the aromas unfold with a dense blend of annatto seed, rum-barrel wood, and tobacco. A vegetal sharpness from pimiento pepper meets sage and boiled chestnut, wrapped in a warm, compact layer of nutmeg, clove, and ginger. Intense, coherent, and unapologetically bold.

Tasting Notes

• Annatto fruits

• Pimiento peppers

• Rum-barrel woodiness

• Tobacco

• Spices: Nutmeg, cloves, ginger

• Sage

• Peeled and boiled chestnut (with fresh bay leaf)

Appearance (4/4): Homogeneous, glossy, and uniform.

Snap (1/1): Clean and sharp, indicating excellent tempering.

Tactile Attributes

Fineness (4/5): silky mouthfeel.

Texture (8/8): silky and creamy.

Astringency (3/5): (not a defect here).

Roundness (7/7): engaging, rich, and "dense" mouthfeel.

Melting Point (3/5): slow.

Flavor Profile and Aftertaste

Primary Cacao Flavor (10/10): strong and earthy.

Secondary Pleasant Flavors (10/12): defined and well-perceptible.

Secondary Unpleasant Flavors (0/5): None detected.

Overall Aromatic Quality (5/5): complex and full of intense aromas and flavors.

Aftertaste (5/5): Long-lasting and satisfying (up to 15 minutes).

Taste

Sweetness (6/6): Balanced and well-integrated.

Bitterness (5/6): Subtle.

Acidity (6/6): none.

Harmony and Gustatory Pleasure (10/10): Excellent.

Final Sensation (5/5): surprising and complex.

Total Score: 92/100

This score places Mirzam Cuba 85% Single Origin Chocolate in the "Excellent” category.

Personal Reflection

There’s something profoundly seductive about this dark chocolate, and it starts even before the first bite. The moment the bar is unwrapped, it releases an aromatic presence that is anything but subtle: warm wood, rum-soaked barrels, pimiento heat, the earthy masculinity of rolled tobacco, and that curious blend of dry spices and sage that evokes an aged cologne. These are not fleeting impressions — they linger, intensify, and almost demand to be acknowledged before the chocolate bar even touches the palate. And yet, what happens on the tongue is even more commanding.

The Cuba 85% by Mirzam is not a chocolate that tries to soften its edges. From the first snap, it asserts itself with a strong cacao backbone, layered with bittersweet warmth, and a spicy virility that recalls both traditional Caribbean flavors and something far more primal.

The tasting journey begins with a burst of roasted cacao, before quickly expanding into the pungent sweetness of annatto and the subtle heat of pimiento peppers — not aggressive, but present, like a whisper of spice-infused smoke. These notes aren’t “additions”; they feel native to the bean, part of its DNA.

As you venture forward, it releases hints of peeled boiled chestnut, sweet and starchy in the best way — softened by the aromatic memory of bay leaf, which adds a cooked-herbal complexity that keeps the sweetness in check. Nutmeg, clove, and ginger rise in waves, pulling the profile toward a comforting, spiced warmth that never becomes overly festive or predictable. Sage, fresh and camphorous, cuts through in the mid-palate, cleansing and intriguing.

The finish? Remarkably long. And here the rum-barrel woodiness and dry tobacco return — not as top notes, but as grounding anchors. The flavor doesn't fade so much as it settles — into a deep, resinous echo that coats the palate and persists. It is at once earthy and aromatic, sharp and comforting, like the afterglow of cologne on skin hours after contact.

This isn’t a bar for casual snacking or quick comparisons. It’s a sensory encounter: bold, uncompromising, and uniquely evocative. The best Mirzam has ever produced, in my view. It tastes like nothing else in their collection.

And if chocolate can carry the weight of personality, this one does!

Masculine without cliché, aromatic without artifice, and sensual without sweetness. It doesn’t just deliver flavor. It delivers a presence.

References

1. Ramírez‑Ramírez, A. R., Mirzaei, K., Menéndez‑Grenot, M., Clapé‑Borges, P., Espinosa‑López, G., Bidot‑Martínez, I., & Bertin, P. (2024). Using ddRADseq to assess the genetic diversity of in‑farm and gene bank cacao resources in the Baracoa region, eastern Cuba, for use and conservation purposes. Frontiers in Plant Science.

2. Ramírez‑Ramírez, A. R., Bidot‑Martínez, I., Mirzaei, K., Rivo, O. L. R., Menéndez‑Grenot, M., Clapé‑Borges, P., & Espinosa‑López, G. (2024). Comparing the performances of SSR and SNP markers for population analysis in Theobroma cacao L., as an alternative approach to validate a new ddRADseq protocol for cacao genotyping.

3. Martínez‑Suárez, I. B., et al. (2016). Establishment of a Core Collection of Traditional Cuban Cacao Plants. UCLouvain / Centre for Research in agro‑ecology, genetics, and heritage.