Bean to bar chocolate makers

The data are still available but I haven't found a good way to present it and make it both usable and useful. Still working on it.


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@DiscoverChoc

updated by @clay: 09/07/15 14:34:39

Clay,You said on 4/28/08-- "I have created a simple database that will enable us to track these companies more easily. It is located here.PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANY MORE COMPANY NAMES HERE. Please add them in the database. If you have added a company to this list, please consider making an entry in the database for it."Is this database still on TCL? The link you provided doesn't go anywhere, and I can't find anything else to get to the database.

Hi Samantha, We are looking into the possibility of making our own winnower. Do you have any tips? What sort of volume can your machine do? How much did you spend on it if you don't mind me asking? Are you happy with it?Any help would be much appreciated since there just doesn't seem to be many resources out there on winnowing machine design or even companys that make them for sale.Steve

Just for the record, Sacred Chocolate is both a WHOLE BEAN WITH SKIN to Bar company as well as a nib to Bar company. We include the skins of the beans in the chocolate we make for nutritional reasons. The vast majority of the naturally occuring iron in cacao amongst other phyto-nutrients show up in the skins. (just like virtually all the calcium in sesame seeds show up in the skins or husks of the seed). Sometimes we mix processes as well as do single types of processes to achieve both unique flavor an nutritional profiles. We do very "out of the box" chocolate making. We only use raw nibs and raw beans for nutritional reasons. We only stone grind.Steve

Are these companies b2b?Cote dOrEqual ExchangeRapunzel
updated by @chocofiles: 01/24/15 05:18:20

Clay,You said on 4/28/08-- "I have created a simple database that will enable us to track these companies more easily. It is located here.PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANY MORE COMPANY NAMES HERE. Please add them in the database. If you have added a company to this list, please consider making an entry in the database for it."Is this database still on TCL? The link you provided doesn't go anywhere, and I can't find anything else to get to the database.

i heard that they have duplicated all the processes in Illinois, including a new Barth Tornado roaster (very cool!) and a much bigger melangeur made in Russia etci bought some of their equipment from the Berkeley location - one of the roasters and the bean cleaner. if i ever find the appropriate location, it will be set up again along with an old winnower from a Lindt factory in Northern Italy and some other vintage goodies. Maybe that will move me up from microbatch to small batch:)Celebrating 6 years of microbatch chocolate making ....

Let me add that I also don't have proof that they are still bean-to-bar. i don't know one way or the other. I was just pointing out that despite the Berkeley facility being closed, Scharffen Berger is still being made, just in Illinois.

I think the jury is out until we have more information. For at least the last couple of years, Hershey has outsourced all liquor production in their Hershey, PA facility.Will they get (or are they already/still) back in the bean roasting and grinding business?Does anyone know for sure one way or another?


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@DiscoverChoc

Oh, ok! I suppose it is really Hershey who is doing the bean to bar then...?

Scharffen Berger's production has been relocated to Illinois by Hershey, who has owned them since 2005 iirc. That doesn't mean that they are no longer bean-to-bar.

Sacred Chocolate is a TRUE BEAN TO BAR MAKER in SAN RAFAEL, CA, USA. I know first hand because I built the machines and the whole factory for that matter.Hearts!Sacred StevePS. Scharffenberger Plant recently closed, so you may want to remove them from the list...

I would say so.Not that I'm defending them or anything, but one of the most important processes of making chocolate next to fermentation, is roasting. If they control the roast and processing of the beans they use, I don't really think it makes much difference whether or not they use someone else's equipment.Economically speaking if I had access to the roasting/cracking/winnowing facility to do all of our beans before we shipped them, I'd most likely do the same thing.

They do say that they supervise the roast. However, they have claimed that they are a bean-to-bar chocolate maker. Can this be accurate if they use other companies to do a large part of the production. Even if they are "supervising"?

I've read in other online locations that TCHO in fact DOES supervise the roasts. However don't take my written word here at gospel. It's only a regurgitation of my previous research.Having said that, as a chocolate maker myself, I can completely understand the economics behind their decision to roast and process the liquor in the country of origin. Some of the following reasons are:1. Cheap Cheap Cheap Labour2. Big savings in transportation costs (roasted beans weigh less, and processed liquor is as much as 20-25% less than the roasted beans due to no need to ship the shell.3. Disposal costs for shell are non existent4. Equipment costs are less (no destoning equipment, roasters, winnowers, etc etc)The fact that people have seen boxes from other origins may not mean what it appears. I am currently sitting on 3800lb of cocoa butter from Cargill. It's made and boxed in Brazil and labeled in big red letters as a product of Cargill. I also have Callebaut Cocoa butter in my shop. The boxes are labeled as such too. However beside that I also have over 7,000lb of sacked cocoa beans.Just my two cents for what it's worth.Sometimes things aren't all they appear to be - and that saying goes both ways.Regards

So I thought this was an interesting new addition to Tcho and their claims of being a bean to bar chocolatier. I have been hearing rumors about this for the past year and, unfortunately, now it looks like it is official. This is taken directly from their website.We generally roast and convert our cocoa beans to cocoa mass (also called cocoa liquor) at the country of origin then import the cocoa mass to our San Francisco factory, where we continue the process of making our chocolate from scratch. While more difficult for us, roasting at origin has many advantages: its more efficient and it creates more "value add" at origin. And we personally manage each individual roast, with one of our San Francisco obsessives traveling to origin to ensure all of our carefully-researched optimum roast times and temperatures are used.Now it sounds to me like they are saying this is a good thing for their chocolate?! What do you think?So what happens at the other factory is:1) bean sorting and cleaning2) roasting (the most important step in flavor development)3) winnowing4) grinding of cocoa nibs into liquor5) molding liquor into blocksThis means that Tcho:1) Sources beans2) Ships them to someone elses factory.3) grinds sugar4) conches5) Molds barsSince there are a lot of companies who make chocolate from liquor, what do we call them? Sugar grinders?Why has it taken Tcho over a year -- this whole time talking about transparency and saying that they do it all -- to make a public statement such as this?I would love if someone who has actually seen Tcho making chocolate comment on this. Ive heard several people say they have been there but never seen the machines operating and that they have seen boxes of cocoa products from Costa Rica. Will the next thing we find out be that they don't make their own chocolate?I would love for someone to tell me that I have this all wrong. Please give any feed back that you may have.

Brad Churchill here from Choklat ( www.SoChoklat.com ) in Calgary Alberta.We're definitely a bean-to-bar company.Opened in August 2008, and to date have sold over 10,000 hand made bars, and over 35,000 hand dipped/rolled truffles.

i found a great bean to bar in brooklyn called Mast Brothers.

Holy Cacao Chocolate is a bean to bar chocolate maker in Israel (sold 49th and 50th bar today). -We're young still!

Sacred Chocolate is a bean to bar maker in the USA.

I'm currently tasting a bar (Ecuador 75%) by Baratti & Milano, an Italian company. It appears that they are fondeurs NOT B2B. Can someone confirm this?
updated by @chocofiles: 09/08/15 22:07:35

Sacred Chocolate is a Bean to Bar Manufacturer of Chocolate Bars located in San Rafael, CA USA. http://www.SacredChocolate.com

Hawaii, KauaiGarden Island Chocolate

Here's a new updated list with one more addition: Pacari Chocolate, an Ecuadorian Organic Chocolate:AfricaMalagasy (Madagascar)Claudio Corallo (So Tom)AustraliaHaigh's ChocolatesTavaEuropeAustriaZotterBelgiumBarry CallebautPierre MarcoliniDenmarkCarlettiTomsFranceBernachonBonnatChocolaterie de L'OperaMichel CluizelPralusValrhonaWeissGermanyCoppeneurEuromarHachezHerzaLudwigLudwig WeinrichStorckItalyAmedeiAntica Dolceria BonajutoCioccolato PeyranoDeBondtDomoriDon PuglisiFerreroICAMMajaniVenchiSpainChocovicNatraSwedenMalm ChokladfabrikSwizerlandConfiserie BernerFelchlinUnited KingdomCadbury-SchweppesSir Hans Sloane of LondonNorth AmericaCanadaSoma ChocolatemakerUnited States(On other thread)South America & CaribbeanArgentinaFenixColombiaSantanderEcuadorPacari ChocolateVintage PlantationsGrenadaGrenada Chocolate CompanyNicaraguaEl Castillo del CacaoVenezuelaEl ReyHacienda Bukare

I posted a couple of links to less expensive options in a forum thread on Winnowers in the Home Brew Chocolate group. Sam Madell posted a picture of the winnower she mentions below in Photos.


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@DiscoverChoc

How did you do that? I would love to know. As of now I have to pay almost double for them when I get them from different growers. I'd love to try to make my own.

That is the least expensive cocoa bean winnower being manufactured in the US or Europe--by far. You can find some used machines for less than that, but they'll need quite a bit of work.

Thanks for the insight. I was just curious as to whether or not he should be added to the list.In his case the reason he uses nibs is that he is a new company and small ans doesn't have the money to buy the winnower yet. Maybe when he gets a little bigger he'll truly become bean to bar.By the way, any idea what a winnower would cost? Do they make small ones. The cheapest I have found is $70,000.

The reason I asked is that this guy does just what you mentioned of making chocolate from raw unroasted nibs. Sounds pretty crazy but he is sending me some samples for me to try as I am going to be getting him some of the nibs from a few other countries. I can't wait to try it. So, in this case do you think it qualifies as bean to bar?

Could a company that starts from nibs be considered bean to bar? I know that is not "bean to bar" but what do you think. I know a company that does this.

As always, thanks for the knowledgeable replies to my LCC question.Now, I'm curious about this one too-- Why is Kraft on this list? What chocolate do they make from bean to bar?

Lake Champlain is definitely not b-2-b. They are just down the interstate from St Albans VT where Callebaut has a factory. All of the chocolate LCCC uses comes from Callebaut. The clue is to take a look at the origins and percentages.:: Clay


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@DiscoverChoc

99.99% sure that they don't.

Mark,Here is the American bean-to-bar topic. You'll find Merckens and more there: http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topic/show?id=1978963%3ATopic%3A7700&page=2&commentId=1978963%3AComment%3A7847&x=1#1978963Comment7847

Is Lake Champlain, in Burlington VT, a bean to bar maker?From their website they seem to be, but I'm not sure.

Why is Kraft on this list? What chocolate do they make from bean to bar?

"I don't see World's Finest Chocolate listed here. "What country are they in?

No. Bean-to-bar requires roasting, winnowing, and grinding the cocoa beans.starting from cocoa liquor would be liquor-to-bar.

Would you consider cocoa liquor to bar "bean to bar"????

I can confirm this.


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@DiscoverChoc

Cotton Tree Chocolate is made in Belize. It is a bean to bar chocolate made at the Cotton Tree Lodge in the Toledo District of Belize.The initial batch of Cotton Tree Chocolate was made from tree (picked directly off a local farmer's trees and fermented and made at the Cotton Tree Lodge) to bar. Most batches are not fermented on the premises but instead start with freshly fermented and dried beans that are then roasted on the premises.Cotton Tree Chocolate likes to buy the freshest beans possible directly from the farmer.Cotton Tree Lodge arranges a chocolate week at the lodge which allow guests to tour cacao plantations, pick cacao, and participate in all of the steps to make their own chocolate bars. Guests can also tour the Cotton Tree Chocolate factory on the premises.
updated by @erin: 09/11/15 16:36:40

Hello. I see you put us on the list of Bean to Bar makers.. Thank you. Yes indeed we make chocolate from the beans we buy directly from cooperatives and individual farmers here in Nicaragua. We roast and peal the cacao, then mill it with sugar ending in very full tasting chocolate bars. The nice thing about being so close to the farmers is that you get very interesting variaties. I have seen at least 25 types of cacao in our area.We have contacts with some bean to bar chocolate makers and export small quantaties of cacao (starting at 200lbs) to the USA and Europe. We also train cacao farmers how to make chocolate using their own cacao with local technology. Lets hope we get some more bean to bar makers in this world..