Lately chocolate is undergoing some changes, and most of them can be summed up with the phrase “bean to bar.” What the heck does that mean? I thought about this long and hard for my book, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America's Craft Chocolate Revolution, and came up with this short version: Bean to bar refers to a type of chocolate made from scratch with a focus on quality and transparency. The official definition from my book is:
“Bean-to-bar chocolate: A messy term without an agreed-upon definition. I define it as a chocolate made from scratch by one company, starting with whole beans. This usually includes buying, roasting, grinding, and refining the beans in a single facility. Some companies may not roast the beans, and others may not mold the chocolate into bars themselves, but in both cases it is still considered bean to bar. Chocolate made from preroasted nibs or premade chocolate liquor is not bean to bar.”
As I mentioned, everyone has their own definition, as well as their favorite chocolate maker, and opinions range widely. That’s why I’m calling this list “my top makers.” I’m not claiming that this is The Exclusive List of the best bean-to-bar makers ever; rather, they’re the ones that I personally think are worth trying and visiting (if they’re open to the public).
I published my first list in 2017 in my book and on this site, but the craft chocolate world is expanding almost every day! That’s why as of September 2020, I’ve updated it to include new makers as well as my top five favorite makers in Canada. (And if you want me to narrow it down further for you, well, you’re just gonna have to come to one of my private tastings!) Thanks so much to the amazing tasters who helped me with this list, in particular Brady Brelinski, Genevieve Leloup, Estelle Tracy, Matt Caputo, and David Arnold.
I’ve listed them in alphabetical order and divided them into tiny, small, medium, large, and giant — loose categories to give you a sense of whether they’re a one-person operation or a 200-person conglomerate. Tiny generally means it’s a one- or two-person shop without much distribution. Small- and medium-size makers have a few more employees as well as a retail location and/or café. Large makers have dozens of employees, a space where the public can visit, and good distribution. And giant makers have many employees (around 100), great distribution, and sometimes even wholesale or private-label businesses. This updated list also notes woman-owned companies and BIPOC-owned companies.
Of course, all of us, including these companies, have been affected by the global pandemic. The company sizes and visiting information is based on their pre-pandemic states, within reason. Definitely call or email them before planning a visit to their space, as things change daily in our brave new world.
Now, without further ado, THE CHOCOLATE!
Acalli Chocolate
Woman owned (woo-hoo)
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Year Founded: 2015
Founder: Carol Morse
Size: Tiny
Visit: No
Products: Two-ingredient bars as well as blends, inclusions, and milk chocolate made with beans from Peru and Mexico.
Amano Artisan Chocolate
Location: Orem, Utah
Year Founded: 2005
Founder: Art Pollard
Size: Small
Visit: No
Products: Single-origin bars, especially from Venezuela, and some inclusion bars. Made with added cocoa butter and vanilla. Some private-label products. Provides to restaurants like Chez Panisse.
Askinosie Chocolate
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Year Founded: 2006
Founder: Shawn Askinosie
Size: Large
Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and shop.
Products: Single-origin (especially from Tanzania and the Philippines) and inclusion bars as well as collaboration bars made with other artisan makers. Milk chocolate and even white chocolate.
Batch Craft
Woman owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Year Founded: 2015
Founder: Tamara LaValla
Size: Tiny
Visit: No
Products: Vegan dark chocolate bars that are released in limited edition two to three times per year
Bar Au Chocolat
Woman owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Year Founded: 2010
Founder: Nicole Trutanich
Size: Tiny
Visit: No.
Products: Two-ingredient single-origin bars and cacao and chocolate products for cooks (think chocolate chips, roasted nibs, and more).
Brasstown Fine Artisan Chocolate
Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Year Founded: 2011
Founders: Rom Still and Barbara Price
Size: Tiny
Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and shop.
Products: Single-origin bars as well as inclusion bars with interesting ingredients like dried blueberries.
Castronovo Chocolate
Woman owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Stuart, Florida
Year Founded: 2012
Founders: Denise and James Castronovo
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the shop.
Products: Focuses on rare heirloom beans and single-origin bars. If you visit the shop you can also try and buy truffles, cookies, drinking chocolate, and more.
Charm School Chocolate
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Year Founded: 2012
Founder: Joshua Rosen
Size: Tiny
Visit: Yes! The storefront is as dapper as chocolate maker Josh Rosen’s outfits.
Products: Vegan bars with lots of fun inclusions and other products (think toffee almond bites).
Chequessett Chocolate
Location: North Truro, Massachusetts
Year Founded: 2014
Founders: Katie Reed and Josiah Mayo
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the café with plenty of special desserts and confections.
Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars and bonbons as well as drinking chocolate, nibs, and beans.
Christopher Elbow Chocolates
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Year Founded: Bean-to-bar program was started in 2017, but Christopher founded his confectionary company in 2003
Founder: Christopher Elbow
Size: Tiny (note that the entire company would be considered large)
Visit: Yes! View the bean-to-bar process through a window, and by spring 2021 (fingers crossed), the shop will feature an immersive experience about the history of cacao and how chocolate is made.
Products: Single-origin chocolate bars and drinking chocolate. Also be sure to check out confectionary treats (though these are not made bean to bar, just fyi).
Cloudforest Chocolate
Note: previously called Cocanu (and Cocanu was on this list!)
BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Portland, Oregon
Year Founded: 2009 under the name Cocanu, 2014 under the name Cloudforest
Founder: Sebastian Cisneros
Size: Tiny
Visit: Yes! Pick up bars and treats to go. (Sebastian closed the café during the pandemic.)
Products: Single-origin bars and unusual inclusions like Palo Santo wood and Pop Rocks (there’s a recipe for it in my book!) as well as baked goods and ice cream
Creo Chocolate
Location: Portland, Oregon
Year Founded: 2014
Founders: Janet, Tim, and Kevin Straub
Size: Medium
Visit: Yes! The factory is an open space, so you can peep at production on your own or take a formal factory tour. Also hit up the café for chocolate soda and a brownie.
Products: Tons of inclusion bars as well as milk, white, and confections, all made with single-origin Hacienda Limon beans from Ecuador (the one exception is their Washu project, supporting an endangered species in Ecuador).
Cultura Craft Chocolate
Woman owned AND BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Year Founded: 2016
Founder: Damaris Ronkanen
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the factoría with traditional Mexican food both savory and sweet.
Products: Single-origin bars as well as inclusions and drinking chocolate mixes. At the café, find fun drinks like champurrado and Tejuino (house nixtamalized corn with piloncillo, lime, and salt served over ice), plus confections, mole, cacao tea, and more.
Dandelion Chocolate
Location: San Francisco, California
Year Founded: 2010
Founders: Todd Masonis and Cameron Ring
Size: Large
Visit: Yes! Go on a guided tour and enjoy a sit-down snack with tea, or attend a guided tasting at the 16th Street Factory. Or grab a brewed cacao nib-coffee mashup at the Valencia Street cafe.
Products: Two-ingredient single-origin bars. If you visit the café you can also try brownies, cookies, and drinking chocolates.
Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
Location: Eureka, California
Year Founded: 2010
Founders: Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor
Size: Large
Visit: Yes! Check out the shop and factory for tours.
Products: Two-ingredient single-origin bars, milk bars, and inclusion bars, as well as drinking chocolate and baking chocolate.
Enna Chocolate
Woman owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Exeter, New Hampshire
Year Founded: 2017
Founder: Enna Grazier
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the factory cafe and take a tour or do a guided tasting.
Products: Single-origin bars, inclusion bars, and drinking chocolate
Escazu Artisan Chocolates
Female AND BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Year Founded: 2008
Founders: Danielle Centeno and Hallot Parson (Danielle runs the business solo now)
Size: Medium
Visit: Yes! Check out the café.
Products: Single-origin bars, inclusion bars, and bonbons. If you visit the store, you’ll also find ice cream, drinking chocolate, and more.
Ethereal Confections
Woman owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Woodstock, Illinois
Year Founded: 2011
Founders: Mary Ervin, Sara Miller, and Michael Ervin
Size: Medium
Visit: Yes! Check out the café.
Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars, plus many confections, baking mixes, cookies, and more, available online and at the café.
5150 Chocolate Co.
Location: Delray Beach, Florida
Founded: 2018
Founder: Tyler Levitetz
Size: Large
Visit: Yes! Take a tour or class.
Products: Single-origin bars as well as a few inclusions, plus baked goods and confections (including some that intentionally look like marijuana!)
French Broad Chocolates
Location: Asheville, North Carolina
Year Founded: Café concept founded 2008, started making bean-to-bar chocolate in 2010, chocolate factory founded 2012
Founders: Dan and Jael Rattigan
Size: Large
Visit: Yes! Check out their lounge, factory, and boutique. Asheville is French Broad Country.
Products: Single-origin bars and some inclusion bars with ingredients like malted milk and scorpion pepper, as well bonbons, brownies, toffee, and drinking and baking chocolate online, plus cakes, cookies, and more in the lounge.
Fresco Chocolate
Location: Lynden, Washington
Year Founded: 2008
Founder: Rob Anderson
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the storefront on specific weekends and holidays.
Products: Single-origin bars that specify their roasting style and conching style, so you can get super nerdy about it. Also some confections like cocoa nib brittle and chocolate raspberry bark.
Fruition Chocolate*
Location: Shokan, New York
Year Founded: 2011
Founders: Bryan and Dahlia Graham
Size: Medium
Visit: Yes! Check out the retail shop and mini cafe.
Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars with creative ingredients like corn, as well as hot chocolate, bonbons, caramels, and other confections. They also make milk chocolate and even white chocolate.
Goodnow Farms Chocolate
Location: Sudbury, Massachusetts
Year Founded: 2016
Founders: Monica and Tom Rogan
Size: Small
Visit: No
Products: Single-origin dark bars and dark inclusion bars
Guittard Chocolate
Location: Burlingame, California
Year Founded: 1868
Founder: Etienne Guittard; run by his great-grandson Gary Guittard
Size: Giant
Visit: No
Products: Single-origin and blended dark and milk chocolate bars as well as dark, milk, and white baking chocolate, drinking chocolate, cocoa powders, and couverture chocolate for professional chefs. Used by many food manufacturers, restaurants, and chocolatiers around the country (and internationally), including See’s Candies.
Kahkow USA
BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Year Founded: Kahkow USA opened in 2018, Kahkow brand launched in 2007, and parent company Rizek Cacao opened in 1905 in the Dominican Republic
Founder: Hector Jose Rizek
Size: Small (Note: parent company Rizek Cacao is a giant cacao business)
Products: Single-origin Dominican Republic bars, hot chocolate mix, inclusion barks, candied cocoa nibs, cocoa beans, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and dolls made by women in cacao-growing communities in the Dominican Republic (profits from these sales go to these women)
LetterPress Chocolate*
Location: Los Angeles, California
Year Founded: 2014
Founders: David and Corey Menkes
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Go on a factory tour, participate in a guided tasting, and check out the cafe and retail area with goodies like single-origin ice cream.
Products: Single-origin bars as well as inclusions and milk chocolate, plus cacao nibs, T-shirts, hot chocolate, and more. LetterPress has also gone out of the box with chocolate-related puzzles (no, you can’t eat them).
Lillie Belle Farms Chocolate
Location: Central Point, Oregon
Founders: Jeff Shepherd
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the shop.
Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars like the famous/infamous blue cheese bar as well as tons of confections.
Lonohana Estate Chocolate
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Year Founded: 2009 (first chocolate wasn’t released until 2013 though!)
Founder: Seneca Klassen
Size: Tiny
Visit: Yes! Call ahead for farm tours and factory/retail store visits.
Products: Single-origin and inclusion dark and milk bars made in Hawaii from tree to bar. Mostly available through a subscription chocolate club, but any leftover bars can be bought online. If you visit the store, you’ll also find drinks, truffles, granola, and more.
Madhu Chocolate
BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Austin, Texas
Year Founded: 2018
Founders: Elliott Curelop and Harshit Gupta
Size: Tiny
Visit: No
Products: Dark and milk bars with Indian-inspired inclusions like rose pistachio and lemon coriander. Masala Chai tea blend, cocoa nibs, and more.
Madre Chocolate
Location: O’ahu, Hawaii
Year Founded: 2010
Founders: Nat Bletter and David Elliott (Nat runs the company by himself now)
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the chocolate-making classes in Honolulu and the North Shore. Also find Madre at the KCC Farmers’ Market on Saturdays in Honolulu.
Products: Vegan single-origin Hawaiian bars as well as bars from other origins and with inclusions.
Manoa Chocolate
Location: Kailua, Hawaii
Year Founded: 2010
Founder: Dylan Butterbaugh
Size: Medium
Visit: Yes! Check out the factory.
Products: Single-origin Hawaiian bars as well as bars of other origins and with inclusions, plus brewing chocolate, nibs, and more.
Map Chocolate Co.
Woman owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Year Founded: 2014
Founder: Mackenzie Rivers
Size: Tiny
Visit: Yes, for students enrolled in hands-on classes at the Next Batch online bean-to-craft chocolate school (hint, hint).
Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars, single-origin craft chocolate baking supplies like single-origin cocoa powder, and more.
Markham & Fitz Chocolate
Location: Bentonville, Arkansas
Year Founded: 2014
Founders: Lauren Blanco and Preston Stewart
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Schedule a factory tour and/or check out the dessert bar and café.
Products: Single-origin and inclusion chocolate bars. In the bar and café, find chocolate snacks and drinks, including chocolate cocktails.
Maverick Chocolate Co.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Year Founded: 2014
Founders: Paul and Marlene Picton
Size: Medium
Visit: Yes! Check out both stores with full retail areas and reward yourself with some drinking chocolate or a mocha to go.
Products: Single-origin bars as well as milk and white bars, inclusion bars, drinking chocolate, and cocoa nibs.
9th and Larkin
BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: San Francisco, California
Year Founded: 2016
Founders: Brian Dusseault and Lan Phan
Size: Tiny
Visit: No
Products: Three-ingredient single-origin dark chocolate and occasional microbatches of “inclusions and infusions”
Nuance Chocolate
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Year Founded: 2014
Founders: Toby and Alix Gadd
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the café.
Products: Single-origin, milk, and inclusion bars, including a line featuring alcoholic spirits. At the café you’ll also find confections, hot chocolate, and more.
Parliament Chocolate
Location: Redlands, California
Year Founded: 2013
Founders: Ryan and Cassi Berk
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out their store.
Products: Two-ingredient single-origin chocolates as well as chocolate syrup and drinking chocolate. Visit the store for all sorts of confections.
Patric Chocolate
Location: Columbia, Missouri
Year Founded: 2006
Founder: Alan McClure
Size: Tiny
Visit: No
Products: Single-origin, blended, and inclusion bars like triple ginger and licorice. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter if you want to get your hands on some, as these bars go quick and are hard to find at retail stores.
Piety and Desire Chocolate
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Year Founded: 2017
Founder: Christopher Nobles
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the open factory and retail counter. The shop shares the address with a craft rum distillery and the local LGBTQ center too.
Products: Single-origin bars as well as blends, inclusion bars; dark, milk, and white couverture; bonbons; and confections.
Potomac Chocolate
Location: Woodbridge, Virginia
Year Founded: 2010
Founder: Ben Rasmussen
Size: Tiny
Visit: Yes! Visit the storefront.
Products: Two-ingredient single-origin bars as well as a few inclusion bars.
Raaka Chocolate
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Year Founded: 2010
Founders: Nate Hodge and Ryan Cheney
Size: Giant
Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and/or take a chocolate-making class.
Products: Vegan unroasted (not raw) chocolate. Mostly produces inclusion bars with unusual ingredients like ghost chiles and methods like steaming nibs over simmering wine.
Raphio Chocolate
Woman owned AND BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Fresno, California
Year Founded: 2016
Founder: Elisia Otavi
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the retail store and café.
Products: Single-origin bars as well as milk, white, and inclusion bars — and even some sugar-free dark chocolate bars. Also find single-origin bonbons and sipping chocolate, mochas, lattes, and teas.
Ritual Chocolate
Location: Park City, Utah
Year Founded: 2010
Founders: Robbie Stout and Anna Davies
Size: Medium
Visit: Yes! Check out the café with chocolate, coffee drinks, and pastries.
Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars, plus drinking chocolate, granola, and more.
Solstice Chocolate
Woman owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Year Founded: 2013
Founders: DeAnn Wallin and Scott Query (the company is now run by DeAnn)
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! But make sure you call ahead.
Products: Single-origin and blended bars as well as milk chocolate, white chocolate, and drinking chocolate.
SPAGnVOLA Chocolatier
BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Year Founded: 2011
Founders: Eric and Crisoire Reid
Size: Medium
Visit: Yes! Check out the store and go on a factory tour.
Products: Single-estate dark chocolate from the Dominican Republic, where the Reids own a plantation, as well as confections made with this chocolate
Taza Chocolate
Location: Somerville, Massachusetts
Year Founded: 2005
Founders: Alex Whitmore and Kathleen Fulton
Size: Giant
Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and store.
Products: Organic stone-ground chocolate in single-origin bars as well as inclusion bars and confections like chocolate-
covered nuts and nibs.
Terroir/TC Chocolate
(Note: The company goes by both names.)
Location: Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Year Founded: 2013
Founders: Josh and Kristin Mohagen
Size: Medium
Visit: No
Products: Single-origin bars as well as plenty of inclusions, plus a line of CBD-infused bean-to-bar chocolates under the brand RichCBD.com.
Theo Chocolate
Location: Seattle, Washington
Year Founded: 2006
Founders: Joseph Whinney and Debra Music
Size: Giant
Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and store.
Products: Blends and inclusion bars in flavors like coconut curry and cherry almond.
Wm. Chocolate
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Year Founded: 2016
Founder: William Marx
Size: Tiny
Visit: Appointments only
Products: Single-origin and flavored dark chocolate bars
White Label Chocolate
Location: Santa Cruz, California
Year Founded: 2016
Founder: Stephen Beaumier
Size: Tiny
Visit: Yes and no. Stephen also owns Mutari, which focuses on drinking chocolate, ice cream, and other chocolatey things (yum), and you can find White Label bars there.
Products: Single-origin dark bars, milk chocolate, and couverture for chocolatiers and chefs. Under the Mutari label, also find confections, baked goods, and all sorts of deliciousness.
My Top Five Canadian Bean-to-Bar Makers
East Van Roasters
Woman AND BIPOC led (woo-hoo!)
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Year Founded: 2012
Founder: Shelley Bolton, for the PHS Community Services Society
Size: Small
Visit: Yes! Check out the café, where you can see through the glass into the roasting room and the chocolate-making room.
Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars, confections, corn nuts and coffee beans. In the café, find baked goods, hot chocolate, and coffee beverages.
Palette de Bine
Woman owned (woo-hoo)
Location: Mont-Tremblant, Quebec
Year Founded: 2014
Founder: Christine Blais
Size: Tiny
Visit: Yes! Grab bars and goodies from a counter, and peek at production through a window. (P.S.: They offer samples!)
Products: Single-origin bars as well as milk chocolate and inclusions. If you visit, be sure to try a baked good, coffee, or thick, European-style hot chocolate, which they’re famous for in the area.
Qantu Chocolate
BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Year Founded: 2017
Founder: Elfi Maldonado and Maxime Simard
Size: Medium
Visit: Yes! Make an appointment to visit.
Products: Single-origin bars featuring beans from different areas of Elfi’s home country of Peru, and a few single-origin inclusion bars, and spreads (like caramel and maple caramel). The shop is new as of this writing, and they hope to have homemade baked goods, hot chocolate, and more over time.
Sirene Chocolate
Location: Victoria, British Columbia
Year Founded: 2013
Founder: Taylor Kennedy
Size: Tiny
Visit: No
Products: Dark and dark milk bars with and without inclusions
Soma Chocolatemaker
BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Year Founded: 2003
Founders: David Castellan and Cynthia Leung
Size: Large
Visit: Yes! Visit two shops and their factory. You can view into all of their production spaces through big glass windows.
Products: Single-origin bars as well as milk bars, inclusions, and confections. Visit the shops for bars, baked goods, gelato, and more.
Parts of this list are excerpted from Bean-to-Bar Chocolate, © by Megan Giller, used with permission from Storey Publishing
*Indicates a company I have worked with as a consultant. I don’t believe that my consulting work affects my judgment of anyone’s chocolate, and there are no kickbacks or ways to pay one’s way onto this list, but I’m disclosing the names of these companies here for my discerning readers.
(Note: This story contains affiliate links.)