American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List

Hi All,

I have never seen a complete list of American, bean-to-bar chocolate makers. Since most American companies that market chocolate or chocolate products don't actually make it, I thought that it would be interesting to compile a list for everyone to see who really does make it, and who doesn't.

I'll type the first entry, and if everyone could copy it and add to it in each additional post, along with comments and questions, then that would be great.

Complete List:
Guittard

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Permalink Reply by Molly Drexelius on April 30, 2009 at 8:49pm

I will be visiting the Brothers next week. Excited to meet them and see their shop/factory.

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Permalink Reply by Molly Drexelius on May 19, 2009 at 6:46pm

Hi again!
The visit went very well -- check out my blog entries if you want to see more:

http://drexeliuschocolates.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/mast-brothers-c...

http://drexeliuschocolates.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/mast-brothers-c...

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Permalink Reply by Jeff on August 14, 2009 at 10:15am

you can add us to the list. we have made 4 outstanding chocolates from beans from venezuela, DR, and ecuador....all used in bon bons in out store....

another shark in the pool....

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Permalink Reply by Andrea on August 14, 2009 at 11:17am

"All of our chocolates are made with a proprietary blend of organic couvertures." From your website.
Are you bean to bar or do you blend couverture? If you are making it from the bean, I think you might want to make that clearer on your site. Just a suggestion. ;)

Andrea

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Permalink Reply by Jeff on August 14, 2009 at 12:34pm

andrea,

it is not on our website for a reason. we just started it and have only slowly allowed the public who walks into our store the opportunity to try and buy. I have no intention of selling our bean to bar on our website at this current time. I need a new SKU like I need another hole in my head. besides, I went through 10 metric tons of couverture last year...I am not going to be able to ever make that kind of quantity.

jeff

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Permalink Reply by Alan McClure on August 14, 2009 at 10:23am

Hi everyone,

I'm not the boss of the list or anything, so please feel free to add new companies to the list at will (just copy, paste, and add a company). For the sake of everyone who cares, just please make sure that they really belong there.

Best,

Alan

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Permalink Reply by cybele on August 17, 2009 at 1:34pm

Just so everyone knows, Jenn Harn is a PR rep for Dove.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff on August 17, 2009 at 1:47pm

I figured as much

hey cybele....we made a new bar and I thought of you...its called;

"DO NOT EAT THIS CHOCOLATE!"

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Permalink Reply by Jenn Harn on August 17, 2009 at 2:11pm

Dove Chocolate is crafted from "bean to bar." Dove uses specially selected cocoa beans to deliver the signature taste, a special process that produces the signature silky smooth texture, and thoughtfully designed chocolate shapes and packaging to provide a chocolate experience like no other.
-Jenn, Dove Team

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Permalink Reply by ChocoFiles on August 17, 2009 at 3:39pm

This surprises me to hear that Dove is bean-to-bar. Is anyone else surprised by this as well?

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Permalink Reply by Clay Gordon on August 17, 2009 at 3:48pm

It all depends on what your definition of "bean to bar" is. I think most people think that in order to be bean to bar you have to be a small producer. You don't.

Dove (which is sold under the Galaxy name in the UK) is a Mars brand. So somewhere there is a Mars/Dove factory (or factories) where beans are processed to produce chocolate that gets wrapped in Dove wrappers for sale to consumers. That's bean to bar.

Bean to bar is a process description not a quality metric.

Now, Hershey no longer processes beans, they buy liquor. So they're not bean to bar. Callebaut deposits large bars of chocolate mostly used by professionals. So they are a bean to bar company.

I think that there are other process labels - "artisan" and "craft" are really applicable to smaller scale production and are more useful and usable than bean to bar has become.

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Permalink Reply by Lauren Gosnell on August 27, 2009 at 2:01pm

Kristen Hard, owner and Master Chocolate Maker of Cacao in Atlanta, Georgia, needs to be added to this list. She has been making her own chocolate since the beginning of 2009 and is the first female bean to bar producer in the U.S..