228mg
Epicatechin
0.62 ppm
Cadmium - Low Verified
Raw
Never Roasted
Vital Purple vs Black Forest Supplements
If you found us by comparing high-flavanol cacao, this is the comparison that matters most. Here is how a single serving of Vital Purple measures up against the brand people line us up against.
Sourcing you can actually see
Black Forest discloses nothing about where their cacao or their flavanols come from. We publish our single origin, our process, and our lab results. You should never have to guess what is in a health product.
Grown in, not dosed in
Black Forest builds their number by adding flavanols as an extract. We preserve the flavanols already present in the cacao using modern low-temperature processing. One is a food. The other is a science project.
No mystery extracts
Most brands hitting big flavanol numbers rely on concentrated extracts, and those extracts are typically sourced from China. Ours are naturally occurring in single-origin cacao. That is the difference between a supplement and real food.
Every result, published
We are the only brand publishing both flavanol content and heavy-metal results for anyone to read. Radical transparency is not a marketing line for us. It is the entire point of the product.
Even the Market Leader Came to Us.
Santa Barbara Chocolate, one of the largest names in the category, recently reached out to source cocoa flavanol extract. Almost no one is producing genuinely natural, high-flavanol cacao at scale. That is the exact gap Vital Purple was built to fill.
| Attribute | Vital Purple | Black Forest Supplements |
|---|---|---|
| Flavanols per serving | 1,900 mg | 600 mg |
| Flavanol source | Naturally occurring in single-origin cacao | Added synthetic flavanol extract |
| Sourcing transparency | Full — origin and process disclosed | None disclosed |
| Extract origin | No extract — whole-food cacao | Extract, typically sourced from China |
| Published flavanol results | Yes — on our website | No |
| Published heavy-metal results | Yes — cadmium 0.62 ppm | No |
| Processing | Raw, never above 85°F | Not disclosed |
Why Most "Cacao" Has Almost None Left
Fermentation, roasting, and dutching each strip flavanols out. We stay fermentation-free and never exceed 85°F.
The anthocyanins (the purple) and the flavanols survive.
Your Body's Repair Crew
Cocoa flavanols measurably increase CD34+ progenitor cell mobilization.
These are the circulating cells that repair blood-vessel lining and seed new vessels.
Epicatechin Is the Part That Works
Of all the flavanols, epicatechin is the one with the research and the bioavailability. It's absorbed at up to 95%, and what triggers nitric oxide and opens your blood vessels.
228mg per serving. Ours is naturally occurring, not a concentrated extract.
1,900mg. Nobody Else Is Close.
We had it measured against the brands people actually compare us to. The result isn't a rounding-error edge ... it's a different category.
Potent and Clean
Most dark chocolate exceeds California's daily cadmium threshold. Our low-cadmium Ecuadorian soil + per-batch testing keeps us at 0.62 ppm, well under the EU 0.80 limit.
✔ Heavy metals — Cd / Pb / As / Hg
✔ Flavanol potency assay · every batch
✔ Public Certificate of Analysis
COSMOS Study
JACC 2022 — 21,000 adults, 5 years. Largest RCT on cocoa flavanols & cardiovascular outcomes.
EFSA Journal 2012
200mg cocoa flavanols daily supports normal vasodilation — a regulator-approved claim.
NIH Meta-Analysis
Trials linking cocoa flavanols to improved endothelial function. Consistently positive.
Consumer Reports 2022
A deep look at cadmium in dark chocolate. We built our extensive testing protocol around it.
What 1,900mg Actually Does
Here is what a serving does when you add it to your routine.
Cardiovascular Health
Flavanols spark nitric oxide. Vessels relax, blood flows easier, pressure drops. The most studied benefit of cocoa flavanols.
EFSA: 200mg/day supports normal vasodilation
Stem Cell Creation
Cocoa flavanols mobilize CD34+ progenitor cells, your body's own repair crew for blood vessels.
↑ circulating progenitor cells
Energy & Athletic Endurance
A calm four-to-six hour lift from theobromine. More blood flow means more oxygen to working muscle, with no caffeine crash.
No caffeine crash · pre-workout favorite
Low Heavy Metals
Single-origin soil plus per-batch ISO 17025 testing keeps cadmium at 0.62 ppm, well under the strictest thresholds.
0.62 ppm cadmium · under EU 0.80
Cognitive Performance
More blood flow to the brain means sharper focus now, and research links flavanols to slower cognitive decline over time.
Chronic Disease Defense
A dense antioxidant load neutralizes the free radicals behind chronic disease and aging.
4.7 ★★★★★ Rated
Over 230+ verified reviews. People love Vital Purple!
Flavanol FAQs
Flavanols are a subclass of flavonoids, the natural plant antioxidants found in cocoa, tea, and certain fruits.
Within cocoa, they're the specific compounds responsible for the cardiovascular and cognitive benefits the research keeps pointing to. The most important one in cocoa is epicatechin.
When you see brands advertise "flavonoids," they're naming the broad family; flavanols are the working subset that actually matters, so that's the number worth checking.
Human studies on blood flow, blood pressure, and cognition generally use 500–1,000mg of cocoa flavanols per day.
A single serving of Vital Purple delivers 1,900mg, clearing that research-backed range with room to spare.
Most cocoa and dark chocolate products deliver only a small fraction of that, often after processing has stripped most of it away. So the dose isn't about being the biggest number for its own sake; it's about reliably reaching an amount the science actually studied, in one cup.
Epicatechin is the single most-studied and most bioavailable flavanol in cocoa. Your body absorbs up to 95% of it. It's the molecule behind cocoa's best-known effect: it supports nitric oxide production, which relaxes and widens blood vessels to improve circulation.
When researchers talk about cocoa "doing something," epicatechin is usually the reason.
Each serving of Vital Purple contains 228mg of it — several times more than typical flavanol supplements.
Some effects are quick: improved blood flow can register within a few hours of a serving. But the meaningful cardiovascular and cognitive benefits build gradually over weeks of consistent use, the same way any nutrient works.
Think of Vital Purple as a functional food you take daily, not a pill you take for an instant hit. The people who get the most out of it are the ones who make it part of a routine.
Flavanols are fragile.
Fermentation, roasting, and dutching (alkalizing) destroy a large share of them, which is why conventional cocoa ends up with so little.
We do it differently: our cacao is fermentation-free and never heated above 85°F. Skipping the steps that kill flavanols is exactly what preserves both the deep purple color and the potency.
The color is the proof — that vivid purple is the flavanols still intact.
Yes. Intakes of up to roughly 2,000mg of cocoa flavanols per day are considered safe for most healthy adults, and Vital Purple sits within that range.
Consistency matters far more than mega-dosing.
One serving a day, every day, does more than an occasional large amount.
As with any new food or supplement, if you're pregnant, nursing, or managing a medical condition, check with your healthcare provider first.
