We source 100% organic beans from leading farms and collectives in South and Central America, supporting fair trade and sustainability practices as much as possible. Beans arrive in giant 60kg (134lb) bags, requiring the strength of two to carry from truck to storage.
Roasting cacao beans at specific temperatures reduces acidity and brings out the true chocolate flavor. Just like roasted coffee beans, crunch a few in your mouth and you’ll be delighted at how much closer to chocolate they taste than the raw beans.
Winnowing is a process that separates the cacao nibs inside of the bean from the outer shell. Harnessing the natural forces of gravity and some powered suction we end up using 80% of each cacao bean to make chocolate.
It takes 3 days of grinding to transform roasted cacao nibs into luscious chocolate. Cacao nibs are 54% fat (a.k.a. cacao butter) and 46% cacao solids, so after a few minutes of grinding, the cacao nibs turn into paste and then into liquid. Lots of grinding is required for cacao nibs and added sweeteners to yield the luxurious sensation everyone loves when chocolate melts on the tongue.
Once the chocolate has become a smooth liquid, we must bring it to a specific temperature in a special machine called a temperer, which is where the magical crystals in the cocoa butter turn the liquid chocolate into a solid – tempering is the critical step to making bars with the perfect breaking point, the snap you feel when you break off a square of chocolate.
Knowing exactly when to mold chocolate is more art than science – chocolate is dependent on a host of factors including its internal temperature, air temperature, the humidity and equipment. Pouring chocolate into a mold is not as easy as it looks – you have less than a minute to mold it into our branded square shape before the chocolate starts to harden.
Every single chocolate bar and square is carefully packaged by hand – first, we wrap the bars in gold foil to preserve the chocolate and then we enclose them in our custom-designed envelopes that ensures their quality and flavor are preserved for you to enjoy.