Products · Chocolate · Spinnaker Chocolate
Spinnaker Chocolate 70% Guatemala Dark Chocolate Bar, 57 g
Reader ratings
Organic cacao from one Guatemalan farm and organic cane sugar. Its one posted lot (July 2026) had 0.08 mg/kg of cadmium and no detectable lead, about 55 percent of California’s cadmium limit per ounce. Maker-paid.
Best for Readers who want a very short list from a single named farm, with a current lot result they can read, and who will pay about $6.50 an ounce.
- Our rating
- Fair (3.4 of 5)
- Price range
- Premium
- Verified marks
- Vegan, dairy free, nut free, gluten free and soy free, per the maker. The facility is not certified organic or Fair Trade; the farm’s cacao is certified organic, per the maker.
- Size
- 57 g (about 2 oz) bar
- Made in
- Made bean to bar in Seattle from cacao grown by Kampura on 800 hectares in Izabal, Guatemala, certified organic for the USA and EU, per the maker.
approx. $13 for a 57 g (2 oz) bar
See it on Spinnaker Chocolate’s site → (opens in a new tab)We are not affiliated with Spinnaker Chocolate. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.
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Your review
Reviews are personal experiences, not research, and they never change our quality ratings. Every review is read by our team before it appears.
How we evaluated it
How it scores Our rating, metric by metric
- Ingredients 25% of the rating 4 of 5
Two organic ingredients and no lecithin or vanilla; 70% leaves up to 30 percent sugar and we did not read the sugar per serving.
- Lead & cadmium 35% of the rating 3 of 5
One lot (#836.3, July 2026) at IEH Analytical in Seattle found low cadmium and lead under 0.01 mg/kg, but the maker ordered it and only one lot is posted.
- Sourcing 15% of the rating 4 of 5
One named farm (Kampura, certified organic for the US and EU per the maker) and direct buying; not Fair Trade certified.
- Trust 10% of the rating 4 of 5
Posts lab reports with lot numbers; no Prop 65 notice or FDA recall found, and it does not make health claims for the bar.
- Value 15% of the rating 2 of 5
About $6.50 an ounce, the dearest bar here with a published result.
The rating, 3.4 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank chocolate and our standard.
What’s in it Every ingredient, in label order
- Organic cacao
- Organic cane sugar
Who tested it What each test found, and who paid for it
- Maker’s own test IEH Analytical Laboratories, Seattle (ordered by Spinnaker; FDA EAM 4.7 / EPA 6020B method) July 2026
Lot #836.3, 70% Guatemala (2025 cacao), report of 6 July 2026: cadmium 0.08 mg/kg, lead under 0.01 mg/kg. At 28 g a serving that is about 2.2 µg of cadmium (limit 4.1) and under 0.28 µg of lead (limit 0.5). Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Who paid, and why it matters
- Independent The tester took no money from the maker for it: a consumer group, a journalist, a university or a regulator.
- Paid certification An outside lab or certifier tested or listed it, and the maker paid for that.
- Maker’s own test A lab report or certificate of analysis the maker commissioned and published.
A certification is a floor, not a verdict: it checks what its program checks and nothing else. We weigh tests by someone with no stake in the result most.
What people ask Worries raised online and elsewhere, and what we found
- Does it contain lead and cadmium?
- A little cadmium, yes: 0.08 mg/kg in the one lot posted, which is 55 percent of California’s limit for an ounce. Lead was under the lab’s 0.01 mg/kg detection limit. It is one sample from the maker.
- Are all Spinnaker bars this low?
- No. Its published reports (opens in a new tab) show Colombia at 0.22 and 0.23, Belize at 0.29 to 0.37 and Ecuador at 1.17 mg/kg of cadmium, which is over California’s limit in one ounce. We list the lowest origins only.
- Is there a Prop 65 notice or recall?
- None found. We searched the California Attorney General’s list (opens in a new tab) for “Spinnaker” and the FDA’s enforcement database on 2026-11-05.
- Is it organic?
- The ingredient list says organic cacao and organic cane sugar and the maker says Kampura’s cacao is certified organic, but Spinnaker says its facility is not certified organic (opens in a new tab). We did not see Kampura’s certificate.
- How much sugar is in it?
- The nutrition label is behind a drop-down we could not read. A 70% bar is about 30 percent sugar and cocoa solids by recipe.
Why we chose it What put it on our list
- It posts lead and cadmium reports with the lab named, the method given and lot numbers; this lot is dated July 2026.
- Cadmium of 0.08 mg/kg is among the lowest it has posted, next to Tanzania (0.06 to 0.09), India (0.08) and Vanuatu (0.08).
- The list is two organic ingredients with no vanilla or soy lecithin, and the cacao comes from one farm that the maker names and describes.
Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy
- Spinnaker ordered and paid for the report, and only one Guatemala lot is posted, so Tanzania, with three lots, is the better-documented bar.
- It is about $6.50 an ounce and the 57 g bar is two ounces, so one bar is two servings against the limits.
- Other origins from the same maker are higher, so buy these two, not just any Spinnaker bar.
- Sold by the maker, with a store locator for Seattle shops; we did not find an online store besides its own.
What to know Details worth knowing first
This is Spinnaker’s 70% bar from Kampura, a Guatemalan farm that replanted 800 hectares of worn pasture as a cacao forest, per the maker. The list is organic cacao and organic cane sugar.
The July 2026 report from IEH Analytical measured 0.08 mg/kg of cadmium and no detectable lead. At an ounce a day that is about 2.2 micrograms of cadmium against California’s 4.1. It is the newest result Spinnaker posts, but it is one lot and the maker paid for it, which is why we rate Tanzania’s three lots a little more firmly.
The 57 g bar is two ounces at about $6.50 an ounce.
What we checked Each claim, and how sure we are of it
| What we checked | What we found |
|---|---|
| Lead and cadmium measured and published Maker’s claim | IEH Analytical, one Guatemala lot, July 2026: cadmium 0.08 mg/kg, lead under 0.01 mg/kg. |
| A short list: cacao, a named sweetener, perhaps cocoa butter or vanilla Verified | Organic cacao, organic cane sugar. |
| 70 percent cacao or more, sugar per serving stated Not verified | 70%; sugar per serving not read. |
| Traceable cacao, organic, how farmers are paid Maker’s claim | Kampura, Izabal, Guatemala; certified organic per the maker; direct purchase per the maker; not Fair Trade certified. |
| No Prop 65 notice or recall Verified | None found 2026-11-05. |
What the labels mean
- Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
- Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
- Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
Sources Where our facts come from
- Spinnaker: 70% Guatemala. Maker’s page. $13, 57 g, ingredients, Kampura. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Spinnaker: heavy metal testing. Maker’s page. Links the IEH Analytical reports read for this page. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- IEH Analytical report IAL-91868 (July 2026). Test report. Lot #836.3 Guatemala cadmium 0.08, lead under 0.01 mg/kg. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- IEH Analytical report IAL-84787 (February 2026). Test report. Ecuador 1.17, Belize 0.31, Haiti 0.29, Uganda 0.19 mg/kg cadmium: why we list two origins only. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Spinnaker: FAQ. Maker’s page. Not certified organic or fair trade; buys direct. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search. Certifier or regulator listing. No notice for Spinnaker, searched 2026-11-05. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Alternatives Other options to compare
- Spinnaker 70% Tanzania The same maker, with three posted lots at 0.06 to 0.09 mg/kg cadmium and a dollar less.
- Taza Deliciously Dark 70% Independent Consumer Reports result, about $2.80 an ounce.