Chocolate Bars Makers are Snacking on
The amount of amazing craft chocolate bars coming into the market is wild, every year there is an abundance of new makers being recognized for their delicious chocolate.
Have you ever thought, what are the makers munching on? We have!
This is why we reached out to a couple of makers to see, here is what they said.
Bertil Akesson- Akesson's Organic Chocolate
The new bar Friis Holm made with my beans… and Morin’s last batch of Madagascar… He has been using my beans for many years and this is the best batch he has made… showing both the grower and the maker can get better.
Juan Aldana- Taita Chocolates
Right now I have bars from different chocolatiers from Colombia and other countries, such as Tibito, Disidente, Manoa.
Emily de Urías- Belu Cacao
Geordan Spicer- Kin+Pod Chocolate
However, the bars that made me want to become a maker were, of course, Omnom’s bars. You can tell that they were chefs first and trained in culinary arts before becoming chocolate makers. Their bars are done with the customer in mind and appeal to a broader crowd.
Gustavo Pradilla-Tibito Chocolate
Goodnow Farms, Ecuador Esmeraldas 70% Chocolate.
Anna Davies- Ritual Chocolate
There are so many wonderful craft makers out there now. It’s so inspiring and I love how everyone has developed their own style and focus. For instance, I love how Pump St started as a bakery first and then incorporated that into their chocolate. I love their rye and sourdough bars. I love everything from Dick Taylor and I had an amazing Omnom the other day that had liquorice. I hate to admit that I don’t get out and try other makers bars enough, but I’m always so inspired when I do.
Luisa Abram- Luisa Abram Chocolate
Hum… oh gosh, Hogarth, Forte Chocolates, Metiisto, Fruition, Sirene, Mission Chocolate, Soma, Mirzam, Naïve. Sorry for the long list!
Duffy Sheardown- Duffy's Chocolate
I don’t get to meet other makers very often but do always like to try new makers and, if I see them, new origins and flavours that look intriguing. I do like the bars that Amano and Askinosie make as well, of course as a lot of the Friss-Holm bars
David Menkes- LetterPress Chocolate
For single origin, you really can’t beat SoMa. Those guys are insanely talented, and they’re super super nice! I will always have great things to say about them. For flavored bars, I really love Patric - he made a raspberry balsamic pear bar a while back that almost made me cry, it was so good.
DeAnn Wallin- Solstice Chocolate
Right now my personal stash includes Fruition's Hispanola bar, Good Farms Putnam Rye Whiskey bar, Harper Macaw Bordeaux Barrel Aged bar and Manoa Hawaii Island bar.
George Domurot- Ranger Chocolate
Dustin Taylor- Dick Taylor Chocolate
We're new to milk chocolate and we look so we spend a lot of time eating other phenomenal milk chocolate from OmNom and Fruition (Brian Graham is the king of milk!). We still snack on a large tub of OmNom milk chocolate samples that we scored at the Northwest Chocolate Festival!
Philipp Kauffmann- Original Beans
Since we share our Sourced As Original Beans cacaos with colleague craft makers, we get to taste more and more chocolates from beans we know intimately. I find that super exciting and very inspiring: what Standout Chocolates of Sweden have made from our Chuncho beans, or Hasnaa in their Dark Milk from our Arhuaco cacao, or Casa de Cacao in Girona from the Piura is amazing. It really shows how far craft chocolate is coming.
Corinne Joachim- Les Chocolateries Askanya
Me: Raaka’s Coconut Milk Bar
My Husband: Pacari’s Passion Fruit Bar
Tim McCollum- Beyond Good Chocolate
Solstice. 70%. Uganda.They do a great job with this origin.
AJ Wentworth- The Chocolate Conspiracy
I love French chocolate. It is exactly opposite of what I am doing. Rich dark roasts, high cocoa butter content. I have been slowly eating my way through Chapon's bar selection.
Juliana Aquino- Baiani Chocolate
The 70% Mililani O’ahu Bar from our friend Dylan at Manoa Chocolate is the latest favorite. Also the Solstice 70% Uganda bar, excellent and bringing that origin unique flavors. There's Dandelion Chocolate’s version of our cacao in their single origin 70% Vale Potumuju bar, very unique and delicious. And any bar made by Soma, our favorite chocolate maker!
Any surprises? It's cool to see what the makers are eating. We will keep updating this list so come back another time to find out what your favorite makers are indulging in.
To get started with craft chocolate, start with our Kekao Box. We search the world for the finest chocolate bars and bring them right to your doorstep monthly. From rich dark Peruvian chocolate bars to new start-up chocolate bars on the come up, you never know what you'll get inside the box! Each month we will curate 4 to 5 premium specialty crafted chocolate bars.
If you want to just try a couple of bars, check out our online chocolate store.
If you have any questions regarding this blog, our Kekao Box, or premium specialty crafted chocolate bars, feel free to contact us! Keep up with us by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
