Updated: Dubiously Dubai | #PSC 184
OVERVIEW: Episode 184 features a tasting of three examples of so-called “Dubai” Chocolate I found at the checkout counter at a local C-Store here in north-central Arizona. Do these signal the coming demise of “Dubai” Chocolate? Join me and find out!
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Episode 184 Overview
“Dubai” Chocolate took the world by storm after going viral on TikTok a couple of years ago. Dubai- and Dubai-style derivatives have been, without a doubt, the trendiest trending trend in chocolate since it exploded onto the scene in 2022.
Clay Gordon
More coverage, including a brief look at the history of “Dubai” chocolate is in this episode.
Where I am in North Central Arizona, I have seen “Dubai-” and “Dubai-style” bars in local retailers (grocery and drug stores) from international brands such as Lindt, and others.
But I was surprised to see a selection of three products at the checkout counter of a c-store – that does not sell gas – I walk by regularly.
Intrigued, I asked the person behind the counter if the products were selling through and I was told they were.
So I bought one of each. The most expensive was $9.95 and the total for all three, including sales tax, was about $23.
I will taste all three for the first time, live, in this episode, share my thoughts, and rate them on TheChocolateLife Tier List.
I will also take a deep dive into the ingredient lists and label language and marketing claims in an effort to answer the question, “Do products like these signal the beginning of the end of the Dubai chocolate craze?”
Prologue: Setting Expectations
The original FIX Dessert Chocolatier Pistachio (Coco Pista Knafeh aka Can’t Get Knafeh of It) “Dubai” bar sported/sports a milk chocolate shell.
The filling (that which makes a genuine Dubai Chocolate bar a genuine Dubai Chocolate bar and not a “Dubai-style,” “chocolate” candy/confection) consisted of:
- Pistachio paste
- Knafeh (kataifi) pastry
- Butter
- Sugar
- Cream
- Vanilla
- Salt
While tahini (sesame paste) is often added, was/is not on the original’s ingredient list.
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at today’s tantalizing (?) tasting tidbits:
1️⃣ Dubai Chocolate Cones (made in the USA for Crave, NH)
Are they “Like Dubai in every bite?”
2️⃣ Bonjuks® Dubai Chocolate (Pakel, Türkiye)
The “with milk chocolatey” tells you where to set expectations.
3️⃣ Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Kunafa (Tatchy, Lebanon)
From just looking at the packaging this is the least dubaious – but the bar is set very low.
Pre-Tasting Impressions
All of these are “Dubai-style,” “chocolate” confections. None of them hews close to the original ingredient list. Of course, the true measure will be in how they taste.
Post-Tasting Impressions
I have not tasted these in advance. I will rate these on TheChocolateLife Tier List scale and add a TL;DR explanation after the episode.
TheChocolateLife Tier List has seven levels (instead of the usual six). SABOCDF. O stands for ordinary, and every rated item starts with an O rating. “Points” are added or subtracted to arrive at the final rating.
- Crave Dubai Chocolate Cones: D. The texture and flavor of the cone overwhelm the shredded phyllo, and if you weren’t told there was pistachio in it, you probably would not taste it. The product inside does not at all look like the image on the label, and the ingredient list on the back label is not legal in the US. The idea is cute – the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
- Bonjuks® Dubai Chocolate (made with chocolatey): D. This is not made with chocolate as it says on the front of the box, and there was very little pistachio in the filling. The overall flavor and texture are sweetly humdrum and nondescript: beige-ish. The texture from the shredded phyllo is the best thing about the bar, but the sweetness of the phyllo inclusion is out of balance.
- Tatchy Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Kunafa: C. The taste and texture are the best of the three entrants here, which is why it gets a comparatively higher rating. But the bar is badly constructed; the thickness of the chocolate shell (and, consequently, the thickness of the filling) varies greatly, and so it’s possible to get a bite with virtually no filling in it. The “chocolate” does contain palm oil, making it legally not chocolate. The texture is more like feuilletine crisps than shredded phyllo, and it’s also too sweet.
Trivia: Why Add Tahini?
- My guess is that tahini is added to reduce recipe cost. Tahini is considerably cheaper than pure pistachio paste of comparable quality. The difference is greater if you’re comparing high-end Sicilian or Iranian pistachio pastes with bulk sesame paste. Put into numbers, $25-30/lb for bulk pistachio paste; $4-5/lb for bulk tahini.
- That said, there are recipes for the original FIX bar that appear to have tahini in them. [HT to Mike King of Encore in Kansas City for pointing that out during the livestream.]
Epilogue
If these bars are representative of what most people are making or buying as “Dubai” or “Dubai-style” chocolate, it’s a wonder that the viral craze has persisted for as long as it has.
The hype level is so high that entrants like these can only be seen as not just underwhelming, they are disappointing, at least to people who are not satisfied with industrial chocolate candy bars. Even Lindt misunderstands what the appeal of the original Dubai bar was/is about; the shoehorning of a (very) little bit of pistachio cream into their standard thin (3mm? 4?) bar format is performative, at best.
The gap between hype and disappointment is what I wanted to poke at here.
IF you are going to be making and selling a Dubai chocolate experience, you need to understand what made the original FIX version viral-friendly in the first place, beyond the obvious limited availability, and start from there. As I said in the livestream, I recommend you approach your recipe development from the perspective of a baker, not a chocolatier.
Future Episodes
Salon du Chocolat NYC 2026 Preview
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Clay Gordon
Clay Gordon
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