Which cacao bean should you brew?
Four estates, three roast levels, and the differences are bigger than people expect. Ivory Coast drinks smooth and velvety. Volta is deep and rounded. Nigeria is bold. Ecuador is the smokiest and the closest to strong black coffee. Below is the full chart with a tasting note on every one, and you can add any of them from it; first, the two questions that decide which is yours.
Every estate roasted on its own. Blending would even them out.
The two things that decide your cup
The estate sets the character
Ivory Coast comes through smooth and velvety. Volta is deep and rounded, and it is the one most people settle on. Nigeria is bolder, with a dried-fruit edge. Ecuador is the smokiest of the four. Hold the roast constant and these are genuinely different drinks — which is why the variety set exists.
The roast sets the intensity
French is the darkest we make and the closest to strong black coffee, with aged wood and smoke behind it. Dark sits deeper and more cocoa-forward. Medium is the softest, with the bean's own character further forward. If you drink your coffee black, start French; if you are not a coffee drinker at all, start Medium.
Why ours brew cleanly
A bean roasted for chocolate is ground fine and sweetened; a bean roasted for brewing needs a different curve and a coarser grind. Ours runs on roasting software we wrote, so a profile repeats batch after batch, and every roast is tasted against the standard before it goes to market. Beans are sorted and destoned after the roast, so the only thing reaching your water is cacao.
Every roast we make, side by side
Read down for the estate, across for the roast. Each square is one estate at one roast — the tasting note is that bean’s own. Add any of them here without leaving the page.
“The dark roast is great if you enjoy the dark, almost burned flavor. The flavor is rich and full and it is very easy to modify the taste with creamers and sweeteners.”
Mark Morris · verified buyer
The cheapest way to find yours
Three estates at one roast, side by side — or go straight to the one most people choose.
French Roast Variety Set Choffy Brewed Cacao
Ecuador, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, all at French roast. Three bags, one roast held constant — the only honest way to taste what the estate itself does.
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Volta Dark Choffy Brewed Cacao
Volta Dark, the roast most people settle on once they have chosen. Deep, rounded and completely unsweetened.
Shop thisChoosing a bean
Which bean is best if I am coming from coffee?
A French roast, and Ecuador French most of all. It is the darkest and smokiest we make, and it is the one that holds the place a strong black coffee held. Most people switching from coffee start there and stay.
Which tastes most like chocolate?
The Dark roasts, and Volta Dark in particular — deep and cocoa-forward without a grain of sugar in it. Ivory Coast Dark runs a close second and reads a little smoother.
What actually changes between estates?
Where the bean grew. Soil, climate and fermentation give each estate its own character, and because we roast each one separately rather than blending, that character survives into the cup. Hold the roast constant across three estates and you can taste it immediately.
How much should I buy to start?
The three-bag variety set is the usual answer — it costs less than one large bag of a single estate and it tells you which one you actually want. Going straight to a 32 oz bag makes sense only if you already know.
How coarse should I grind it?
It arrives already ground for brewing, so there is nothing to do. Use slightly more grounds than you would for coffee, because cacao is less dense.
How fresh is it?
We roast, sort, grind and pack it ourselves, and orders are filled from cacao we roasted rather than from stock sitting in a distribution chain.
From people who tried more than one
Google, Amazon and Walmart figures last checked 11 September 2026. The on-site figure updates itself.
“Dark rich and creamy. My favorite! I make with a french press and healthy creamer.”
“Loved the Nigeria medium roast but not so much the French roast.”
“Ordered the Ecuador dark roast at the suggestion of Choffy. Also ordered French roast. The dark is my favorite. It has a deep smooth flavor, more chocolate taste and aroma.”
Four estates, roasted by the people who started this
We invented roasted cacao and we still do every step ourselves — sourcing, roasting, sorting, tasting, packing. The chart is above; if you would rather not choose yet, the three-bag set answers it for you.
Start with the three-bag set →