Bean to bar chocolate makers

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Permalink Reply by Masur on May 3, 2008 at 4:09pm

Neuhaus is a Callebaut customer and not a bean to bar company.

Permalink Reply by Clay Gordon on July 7, 2008 at 11:18pm

I can confirm this.

Permalink Reply by Lowe on August 13, 2009 at 8:57am

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.

Permalink Reply by Lowe on May 22, 2008 at 7:58am

Is Dagoba a bean-to-bar company?

On the Trader Joe's 72% thread Andrea said of the TJ 72%, "Don't think it's Barry Callebaut organic. (Which is the Dagoba bar.)"

I'm reviewing a Dagoba bar at the moment, so I'd like to know if Dagoba is a fondeur who uses Callebaut organic? Or are they bean-to-bar since they used to sell couverture? I always like to know where the chocolate comes from.

Permalink Reply by cybele on May 22, 2008 at 10:10am

Last I heard, Dagoba buys their beans pre-roasted (but this was pre-hershey). This is why Theo is very careful with their wording as the "only roaster of organic cocoa beans in the US."

So while they work from the bean, it's not the raw bean.

Permalink Reply by Lowe on May 22, 2008 at 2:36pm

Is Endangered Species a bean-to-bar company or a fondeur?

Permalink Reply by Lowe on May 22, 2008 at 7:33pm

Here are two statements that I've gleaned about ESC:

From the inside of the wrapper, "We only buy cacao grown in the natural shade of rich, diverse forests."

From the blog and FAQs on their website, "Endangered Species Chocolate sources our cacao for our all-natural milk and dark chocolate bars from small, family-owned farms in Nigeria"

These statements lead one to believe that they are a bean-to-bar company, but I'm still not sure. They could also be nuanced so that they merely give that impression.

What do you think?

Permalink Reply by Alan McClure on May 23, 2008 at 8:16am

For what it is worth, I saw a video online about ESC that included a trip through their plant and there wasn't one single shot of cacao, roasting, winnowing, grinding or conching--only molding and packaging. It isn't final proof, but it might add to one's skepticism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bZsaAqu4CA
They say in the video that you can tour the factory, so if you are in or near Indianapolis, IN, that would be a possibility.

Also, feel free to email the company. If they are bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers, and you ask some direct questions, they should certainly be able to answer them without any hesitation or oddly worded responses that just add to the confusion.

Permalink Reply by cybele on May 23, 2008 at 11:54am

I don't think that saying that they know how their cacao is sourced is in conflict with them NOT being bean to bar. There are a lot of companies that outsource stuff that requires huge specialized machinery and large amounts of space. They can still be very involved with the cacao selection process - they just have someone else winnow & roast and possibly go so far as to have someone deliver it as liquor. (Hershey's is no longer bean to bar on all their products.)

Permalink Reply by Herbert on May 23, 2008 at 11:15am

Huh. What about Caffarel? TSOR leaves it ambiguous. They talk about cocoa, not cacao, though that could be translation issues, but at the same time their site also says "In the main building - a hallowed hall of fine chocolate making - the processes that are performed include roasting, mixing, refinement and conching"

Permalink Reply by El Castillo del Cacao on June 28, 2008 at 4:19pm

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..

Permalink Reply by Grant S of Grant Candy Co. on July 15, 2008 at 10:00pm

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

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