I am looking for a good source to buy chocolate for melting to use with molds. Preferably Latin American grown with minimal ingredients, soy free would be great but is not necessary. I appreciate any suggestions, Thank you!

updated by @juliana-desmond: 06/29/23 16:49:02

Juliana:

Two questions before we can answer this question for you:

1) How much chocolate do you want to buy? 10 pounds? 100 pounds? More?

2) What's your price range? $4-5/pound? $5-9/lb? $10 or more/pound?

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Hi Clay,

I am looking to buy 10 - 20 pounds at a time, with a price range of $5-9/lb.

I would prefer Latin American grown.

It would also be nice~ but not necessary ~ to find some that is Soy Free and Sugar Free for the purists.

I just ordered a sampler pack from El Rey to try their different varieties. If you know of other companies that have similar sampling packs that would be helpful too.

Muchas Gracias~

P.S. I am excited to get your opinion Clay! I am now reading your book Discover Chocolate! This is such a great site and community. I am very grateful for the the work that you and all the chocolate makers and lovers do to make this world more blissful and sweet one mouthful at a time! :D

Thanks,

Juliana

Juliana:

Thanks for the kind words about the community and the book. I am privileged to be able to work with so many people around the world who share a passion for chocolate.

I think your best bet is going to start working with an online store/distributor like ChocoSphere.com. They carry many brands and many different varieties from those brands. You can purchase in small quantities to start with, and larger quantities if you need to. I don't think that sourcing direct from the manufacturers makes much sense at this level.

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Wonderful, thanks Clay!