Single Origin Cocoa Butter Is Awesome
It’s true – single origin cocoa butter really IS awesome. I know this because I taste it. A lot. If you don’t agree with me about cocoa butter’s awesomeness you’ve probably never tasted the right kind. And the reason you’ve probably never tasted the right kind is because it’s very, very, very hard to find….
ContinueThe Importance of Ethical Sourcing
The Washington Post recently published an excellent article, “Cocoa’s Child Laborers,” detailing the issues with child labor and unsafe working conditions in the global cacao supply chain. The article explains how, for nearly twenty years, the large industrial chocolate companies have missed goals to eradicate child labor from cacao production. These goals were set collaboratively…
ContinueDominican Republic Sourcing Trip
We had a great visit to Zorzal Cacao in the Dominican Republic! We loved their beans since we first tasted them last year but up until now we haven’t had time for a visit. We’re so happy we finally made it happen! Our timing was great as Zorzal recently completed construction of their new fermentation…
ContinueThe cost of quality
One of our goals when we started was to make great tasting, ethically sourced craft chocolate available to as many people as possible. Most high quality single origin bars were priced in the low-to-mid teens, which was more than many people wanted to spend to try something new. After all, what if they didn’t like…
ContinueCacao Sourcing in Costa Rica
We just got back from a very successful trip to an amazing farm in the Puntarenas region of Costa Rica. Perched high atop a hill just outside the town of Cotu Brus, this 96 acre farm is planted with ten acres of classic Trinitario cacao. The main house at Coto Brus. The owner of Cotu…
ContinueCelebrating 100 Locations!
It’s been just over year since we launched and we’re happy to announce a milestone we’re very proud of – our chocolate bars are now available in over 100 fine stores nationwide! We spend a long time carefully sourcing and making our chocolate and it’s gratifying to partner with so many retail stores that truly…
ContinueWhy is This Chocolate Bar $10?
Perhaps not surprisingly we get this question a lot. It’s an important question to address. The answer goes to the heart of why we make, and love, single origin chocolate and helps explain why our bars retain the unique flavors of the cacao from which they’re made. It’s a long answer, so grab a cup…
ContinueHandcrafted for the Holidays!
When we decided to make holiday gift sets this year, we wanted to include something that really spoke to one of the heartfelt reasons of why we make our chocolate. Yes, an assortment of premium, fine flavor chocolate is a gift in and of itself, but we also wanted to include something without a shelf…
ContinueInclusion bars are here!
After months of (very tasty!) testing our inclusion bars are now available! We’re very excited to finally be able to share these new flavors with you! For each of our Signature Line bars we searched for the best flavor combinations, and did many test batches to find the perfect balance of flavors. As with our cacao,…
ContinueBack from Ecuador & Peru!
We just returned from a very successful (and warm!) sourcing trip to Ecuador and Peru, where we visited two amazing producers: Costa Esmeraldas Cacao in Ecuador and Ucayali River Cacao in Peru. Our first stop was Costa Esmeraldas. Freddy Salazar and his family have more than two hundred acres of cacao trees on their farm…
ContinueRaiders of the Lost Cacao
Well, it’s not exactly Indiana Jones but tomorrow we’re off to South America to search for more great cacao beans. This always takes us off the beaten path, which is why I use the Raiders of the Lost Ark reference, but the comparison stops (hopefully) before the point where blow darts are being launched in…
ContinueFair Trade vs. Direct Trade
We’re heading to Ecuador and Peru next week for a sourcing trip, so this seems like a good time to talk about how we buy our cacao beans. You’ll often see two terms describing how chocolate makers buy their beans: “Fair Trade” and “direct trade.” There’s a lot of confusion about what these terms mean,…
ContinueOur Black Bottom Cupcakes!
We love baking at our house, and it is awesome exploring all of the different, chocolate-based recipes with our single origin chocolates! What’s better than some yummy, Black Bottom love? We made these delicious cupcakes over the weekend using our El Carmen dark chocolate and freshly ground cocoa powder. Our son helped by unwrapping our chocolate…
ContinueFun with inclusions
What, exactly, is an “inclusion?” The term “inclusion” is one we hadn’t heard until we started making chocolate. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines inclusion as “a relation between two classes that exists when all members of the first are also members of the second.” Hmm. That one doesn’t quite work, so we’ll go with the OTHER…
ContinueSalty & Sweet
We’ve been looking for the perfect salt to pair with our Guatemalan Asochivite bar and we’re in the process of making test batches. Right now we’re working with sea salt from the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Finding exactly the right salt to complement the flavors of the Asochivite bean takes a lot of time and research…
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