This story is part of our February 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here.
Dubai chocolate was made for our image-obsessed social media
culture. A thick chocolate shell breaks open to reveal a bright
green pistachio filling, threaded with crunchy strands of
kataifi, a shredded phyllo dough traditionally used in Middle
Eastern and Mediterranean desserts. The dramatic reveal became
central to how the chocolate spread on social media, with
creators searching their own cities for places to try it.
The chocolate bar reportedly began as a pregnancy craving in the
mind of Dubai-based, British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda.
Filipino chef Nouel Catis Omamalin helped her translate her
vision into reality. After videos of the bar circulated on
TikTok, it quickly gained international attention, inspiring
countless imitations and variations.
In the Capital Region, home to California’s massive pistachio
industry, the trend quickly took root and spread. At farmers
markets, customers began asking for it by name. In bakeries and
dessert shops, the same pistachio-and-kataifi combination
appeared in other forms, like cheesecakes, brownies, strawberries
and coffee drinks.
To understand how the trend is playing out locally, Comstock’s
visited bakeries and cafes across the region and spoke with the
people behind the counters.
Local twists on a global trend
Tina Haddad, the baker behind Dubai Chocolate Obsession, first
encountered Dubai chocolate on TikTok. When she started looking
into how it was made, the ingredient lists on store-bought
pistachio creams gave her pause.
“When I looked at the pistachio cream in the store, pistachio was
barely in there,” she says. “It was maybe 17 percent pistachio.
The rest was syrup.”
Dubai Chocolate Obsession offers a variety of Dubai
chocolate-inspired cakes and sweets, like this cheesecake.
With a background in catering and baking in the Bay Area, Haddad
decided to make her own version from scratch, building a
pistachio butter that relied on clean ingredients like coconut
oil and plenty of the nut itself. “My Dubai chocolate cheesecake
is the one people ask for the most,” she says. “I also do a
Biscoff version because I know not everyone can have nuts.”
Haddad primarily sells through Instagram and supplies desserts to
cafes across the region, including Mochi Café in Sacramento and
Teaspoon in El Dorado Hills. Early exposure came through farmers
markets, where chocolate bar samples introduced new customers to
the flavors.
One of those market appearances led to an unexpected boost. After
sampling her Dubai Chocolate, a producer from Good Day Sacramento
invited Haddad to appear on the show.
“They came to my house to film,” she says. “That day, I got so
many orders.” Social media continues to drive discovery, but much
of her business now comes from repeat customers. “I thought it
was going to be a trend,” she says, “but it’s the same people
coming back every week.”
Talgat Kazakbaev, who goes by TJ, was operating Chokberry out of
a trailer parked near the Westfield Galleria in Roseville when
videos of his pistachio-and-kataifi desserts began circulating on
TikTok. Demand escalated quickly. At the height of the surge,
customers waited up to two hours in line.
“After our second TikTok hit over a million views, everything
changed,” Kazakbaev says. “We were selling out every day.”
One of the trailer’s most ordered items is the strawberry Dubai
cup. Creamy chocolate spills over the rim, strawberries soak it
up, and the whole thing plays well on camera. It is easy to see
why people were willing to wait in line for it.
The trailer became a destination, driven almost entirely by
online visibility. The demand was intense enough that Kazakbaev
opened a permanent Chokberry storefront inside the Galleria. The
original trailer continues to operate and has since expanded its
offerings to include loaded baked potatoes alongside desserts.
From bars to beverages
Owner Abdul Aziz spent years developing his coffee shop, Qisa
Coffee, before opening the brick-and-mortar space in Curtis Park.
The cafe draws inspiration from Yemeni and Peshawar coffee
traditions and from a neighborhood he describes as deeply
community-oriented.
Pistachio was already a prominent part of the menu, so when the
Dubai chocolate trend emerged, the flavor combination fit
naturally. Aziz translated those elements into drinks. Dubai
chocolate-inspired pistachio matcha and coffee drinks were first
introduced through Qisa’s monthly membership program, which
offers points and discounts.
Later, the drinks became available to regular customers and
remain on Qisa’s secret menu. The matcha version uses pistachio
cream, chocolate and cold foam, rotating in and out as
ingredients and demand allow.
“The chocolate is expensive, and our menu changes often,” he
says. “So we pay attention to what people keep coming back for.”
While Qisa quietly introduced Dubai chocolate, Sweet Oven Bakery
in Arden took a more visible approach.
The bakery makes desserts that catch your eye, but the appeal
goes beyond looks. Owner Mindy Le makes everything from scratch,
and the flavors reflect that hands-on approach. Sweet Oven is
known for playful drinks like a tiramisu latte finished with a
full slice of tiramisu perched on top, along with the viral burnt
marshmallow hot chocolate.
When Dubai chocolate entered the picture, Le created her own
version and produced it all in-house. “It started with the
macaron,” she says. “And surprisingly, it’s still one of our best
sellers.” Dubai chocolate also appears in matcha and lattes, but
many customers specifically ask for the Dubai chocolate
strawberries.
Mindy limits those to when the fruit is at its peak. “In the
summer, the strawberries are sweeter and bigger,” she says.
“That’s when we bring it back.” This choice mirrors how many
Sacramento businesses approach trends, with seasonality setting
the boundaries.
Feda Faizi, owner of Chocolate Bash at Delta Shores, pours
chocolate on a Dubai strawberry cup, one of many reimaginings of
the Dubai chocolate bar that are available around Sacramento.
Chocolate Bash is a franchise with multiple locations across
California. In Sacramento, it sits in Delta Shores, tucked into
the shopping complex in a hidden spot that makes it feel almost
like a secret. Desserts rotate frequently, but items include a
Bash Burger, four fluffy pancakes piled high with three fruits
and your choice of drizzle.
And, of course, the Dubai chocolate craze is firmly part of the
mix. The shop carries its core offerings while letting the trend
spill into mini pancakes and milkshakes, giving customers more
than one way to satisfy their flavor obsession.
“Once people liked the flavor, they wanted it on everything,”
says owner Feda Faizi.
Faizi doesn’t run the shop based on predictions about which
trends will last. Some desserts flare up and disappear quickly.
Others stick around longer than expected. What stays is decided
in real time, shaped by repeat orders and by how often people
return for the same item. When asked what trends he’s watching
for in 2026, he laughs and refuses to give anything away. “Top
secret,” he says. “You’ll have to come see.”
What’s the next Dubai chocolate?
Dubai chocolate is one example of how international, social
media-driven food trends now move through the country. A single
post can change the trajectory of a food business overnight. A
video circulates, the algorithm picks it up, and suddenly, a
dessert that existed quietly the week before is drawing lines,
selling out, or forcing owners to get creative.
For Maddy Edmunds, a Sacramento-based influencer who tracks
emerging food and drink trends, that repeat behavior is the tell.
“When I start seeing the same thing pop up across multiple
platforms from creators or food accounts I trust, that’s usually
when I pay attention,” she says. “What really sparks my interest
is when local spots start putting their own spin on it.”
Looking toward 2026, Edmunds expects fewer trends built purely
around shock value and more that reflect how people are eating
now. She points to the continued rise of low-ABV and nonalcoholic
drinks, along with plant-forward and gluten-free options becoming
more integrated into everyday menus rather than treated as
alternatives.
As dining out gets more expensive, more food trends are being
shaped by what content creators are making at home, ideas that
feel approachable, affordable and easy to recreate. Social media
may spark the idea, but what lasts in Sacramento is whatever fits
into real life and what keeps people coming back for more.
–
Stay up to date on business in the Capital Region:
Subscribe to the Comstock’s newsletter
today.