The Bogota Chocolate Cafe You’ve GOT to Visit
Are you (or will you be) in Colombia and looking for the best Colombian chocolate? Well your search is over! There is an amazing Bogota chocolate cafe you won’t want to miss.
I present to you…
The Federación Chocolate in Bogota
The Federación Chocolate is a cafe centered around Colombia’s best plant-derived product. I am, of course, talking about chocolate!
This Bogota chocolate cafe is the storefront of Colombia’s best cacao producers. It sells a variety of food products, from chocolate bars to truffles, from hot chocolate to cappuccino, from cakes to chocolate croissants to paninis. It even sells skincare products made with cacao!
It’s an environmentally sustainable business that’s making a positive social impact in Colombia. That means you can enjoy the best chocolate Colombia has to offer and feel good about it at the same time.
What Makes It the Best Place for Colombian Chocolate?
✔️ The High Quality Chocolate
Colombia is known for producing high quality chocolate.
I’m not talking about Jet Chocolate and other mass-produced candies. Colombia produces far better chocolate than that.
In fact, it is one of a relatively small group of countries whose majority of cocoa exports is classified as “fine and flavour” by the International Cocoa Organization, an intergovernmental organization operating under the auspices of the United Nations.
This designation relates to the excellent “defect-free” flavors and aromas of the product. And with 95% of its exports receiving the designation, Colombia is among the top-rated countries for chocolate production and exportation.
Federación Chocolate in Bogota works closely with cacao producers in more than 10 regions of the country. The microclimates and varying altitudes of these locations result in a range of different fruity, flowery, and woody flavors.
Some of the chocolates for sale in the Bogota chocolate cafe have even won awards in international chocolate competitions. Tibitó chocolate is just one example.
This award-winning quality is present in each and every one of the cafe’s products. That means that no matter what you order, you’re sure to delight your tastebuds.
✔️ The Company’s Business Practices
Federación Chocolate has made a commitment to caring for its employees, its clients, and the environment.
It’s successfully helped thousands of farming families to move out of coca farming (i.e., the plant used to make cocaine) and into cacao production. By doing so, it helps restore peace to regions historically rife with violence.
Coca farmers, who often get into the business out of financial necessity, frequently find their lives entangled with violent organized crime members. Cacao gives them an opportunity to provide for themselves and their families in a legal, ethical way.
Additionally, Federación Chocolate in Bogota values the farmers’ demanding labor, paying them fair prices for it. It’s guilt-free!
✔️ The Cozy Ambience and Great Location
Federación Chocolate’s ambience is rather like a small, cozy coffee shop.
From the outside, it’s unassuming, tucked away in a corner of the popular Parque de la 93. You might never notice it if you weren’t looking for it.
But you walk under its awning to find an inviting patio with a few tables and chairs. It’s a great spot to sit and sip a hot chocolate while you watch the people passing by on the street.
There are also numerous tables inside as well, if you’d prefer to remove yourself from the buzz of the city.
Either way, it’s a comfy hang. Paula and I have spent quite a few mornings and afternoons there, drinking our hot cocoa and playing dice games. (The game isn’t provided. You have to bring your own.)
What Does This Bogota Chocolate Cafe Serve?
🍫 Chocolate Candies
When you first walk inside, you’ll notice the wall of gourmet, artisanal chocolate bars. There are a number of different Colombian chocolate brands. You’ll see they come from a variety of regions within Colombia.
They have varying degrees of purity and sugar content. Some contain nuts or fruit, including exotic Colombian fruits.
A majority of the chocolates are even vegan! (You can ask an employee if you’re not sure about a particular product.)
Moving past the packaged, commercial chocolates, you’ll find the counter’s display case. There you will see a number of chocolate truffles of all different flavors and fillings. All of them are delectable.
🥖 Paninis
The cafe serves a number of different panini sandwiches with various ingredients. Some have meat, while others are vegetarian. (None appear to be vegan.) They’re all served with potato chips.
I haven’t had their paninis, but literally everything I’ve tried there has been delightful. So I think it’s probably safe to say that the sandwiches will be tasty too.
🍰 Desserts, Baked Goods, and Pastries
Federación Chocolate offers a number of baked goods and pastries, both sweet and savory. There are waffles with ice cream, chocolate cakes, brownies, pies, muffins, and macarons.
There are also butter croissants, chocolate croissants, cheese-filled croissants, and whole loaves of bread with chocolate.
☕️ Traditional (and Not So Traditional) Bogota Hot Chocolate
You’ve probably heard about the famous chocolate santafereño (hot chocolate with cheese in it… yes, in it). You’ve probably been told to go to the 200+ year old restaurant La Puerta Falsa in the La Candelaria district to try this Bogota tradition.
Overrated.
The quality of the cocoa at La Puerta Falsa (and other nearby restaurants) is not the best. It’s usually made in water rather than milk. You can go there for the historical significance, but if you want a quality hot chocolate, go to Federación Chocolate Bogota.
In addition to using high quality cocoa, they make their hot chocolate in milk. (Though if you prefer, you can ask for it in water.)
They don’t put sugar in it, so you can taste it the way it’s meant to be tasted. (You can add sugar if you want.)
There are many flavors aside from the classic hot cocoa. There’s Italian style, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it. Mexican style has cinnamon and chili pepper. There’s one with marshmallows, another with orange or strawberry syrup, and one with cardamom.
If you really want the Bogota tradition, you can even order a classic hot chocolate with cheese and put the cheese in your cocoa. That’s called the Desayuno tradicional and it comes with a croissant (which is not part of the tradition, but oh so good!).
And if you’d rather make your own hot chocolate at home, they sell hot chocolate bombs.
☕️ Italian-Style Coffee
It just wouldn’t be a Colombian cafe without coffee. You can get standard Italian-style coffee drinks like espresso, latte, cappuccino, mocha, and others.
🫖 Tea and Other Beverages
If coffee’s not really your bag, you can get hot tea and other infusions (ask for flavors in the shop). There are also milkshakes, bottled water, soft drinks, and even 3 Cordilleras, which is a craft beer from Medellin.
🧴 Other Products
Not everything in the cafe is edible. Cacao can be used to make other products, too. And the cafe sells a limited selection of such items, including a chocolate-based skincare cream and jewelry made using parts of the cacao plant.
Where Is Federación Chocolate Bogota Located?
As mentioned earlier, the chocolate cafe is located at the corner of the Parque de la 93. More specifically, it’s by the corner of Carrera 11a and Calle 93a. It’s next door to the Bogotá Beer Company (BBC) and across the street from the Juan Valdez Cafe.
The location is great because the Parque de la 93 is a very safe and popular commercial area. It’s full of great restaurants, bars, and stores. That’s in addition to the park itself, a nice green space with benches for sitting and enjoying the weather on a nice day.
Are you in a different Colombian city but still want to try their chocolates? Well, you’re in luck! You can arrange a delivery to anywhere in Colombia. Just visit their online store.
Related post: Is Colombia Safer than Mexico in 2022?
Conclusion – Visit Federación Chocolate Bogota Today!
Although this article might read like sponsored content, it’s not. I’m not affiliated in any way with the cafe.
I’m just a chocolate lover who found the place and fell in love. Paula and I both did. We’ve gone back several times, and we’ve been surprised that not many people have heard of it, including local people.
That’s why I decided to write this article in hopes of turning more people on to it.
So if you’re in looking for the best chocolate in Bogota, I highly recommend Federación Chocolate. It showcases some of the finest chocolates in Colombia. And since Colombia is known for high-quality chocolate, we’re talking about the best of the best.
This Bogota chocolate cafe is a fantastic place to experience what Colombian chocolate is about. At the same time, you can enjoy its cozy coffee-shop vibe.
So grab a hot chocolate and a pastry, and treat yourself! And then pick up a gift box of truffles for a loved one. And (who am I kidding?) for yourself too.
Want to learn more about chocolate in Colombia? Check out one of these Bogota chocolate tours!
👉 Bogota Chocolate Tasting Tour 3 Hrs – Learn how chocolate is made and where it comes from. Also, sample some!
👉 Bogotá: Colombian Chocolate Workshop with Tastings – Learn about chocolate, sample different chocolates, and make your own!