IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. But in 2012, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to chocolatey goodness, founding Chocolarder. These artisan bean-to-bar chocolate lines allow clients to develop their own chocolate production program for full control of their products. The amazing flavours of fresh cacao beans from the rainforest prompted us to begin making bean-to-bar chocolate to complement our extensive range of award-winning ice creams and sorbets. Infused with hand-picked flowers from the local area, there’s a creamy, coconutty taste that immediately comes through and lingers for a fair time after. 🍫 Please note we are now closed for Christmas. Divine, however, only uses 100% pure cocoa butter. The beans are fair trade and sourced from the Dominican Republic and Peru. It’s remarkably intense, but by no means overwhelming, and lingers on the tongue for an extraordinarily long time. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Aside from the varied bars he offers, there are a number of other goodies available, such as the perennial favourite: salted caramel truffles. In turn, our chocolate has a luxurious melt-in-your-mouth feel because cocoa butter melts at body temperature. IndyBest pick 72% Ashaninka Bean to Bar: £4 for 40g. Bo Cheung, co-founder of Beau Cacao, echoes a few bean-to-bar chocolate makers when she says that every estate has its own distinct taste, proving, in that sense, fine chocolate is just like fine wine – and we would agree. British made Firetree has already mark on the UK chocolate movement transforming cacao from remote oceanic islands into a rich volcanic chocolate with its own unique cascade of rich profiles. Based in a Suffolk village, this bakery is well-known for its breads and pastries, but it’s also esteemed in the chocolate world, picking up accolades from Great Taste, the International Chocolate Awards and elsewhere. This Lincolnshire-based chocolate maker is one of the longest-established on our list – which proves that the sector is still very much in its infancy in the UK, seeing as Duffy’s only began making chocolate in 2008. The chocolate most of us are used to is mass produced and overly sweetened. Set of 3 Mini Bars. He has a number of prestigious awards, from the Academy of Chocolate and others, under his belt. It’s a single origin, small-scale producer, making 300 or so bars with each batch. Under the leadership of Creative Director Michael Laiskonis, every day in ICE’s Chocolate Lab is an opportunity for research and experimentation. The brains behind the operation is Duffy Sheardown, who helped found Direct Cacao, an organisation which supports the growers and makers involved in the direct sourcing of fine cacao. What is Bean to Bar? Many of the bars have very few extra ingredients added to them, to allow these beans to really show what they’re made of. It’s a surprising, complex bar, and certainly one for those who like their chocolate fruity. Apr 15, 2015 - Whether you are an established company or a starter looking to make your own chocolate, our packages are perfect for making your own small batches of chocolate. IndyBest pick: Trinidad 50% Milk Chocolate: £4.50 for 50g. It’s not magic – an incredible chocolate bar starts with an incredible farmer. Each of the bars we tried here were supremely flavoursome – Harcourt-Cooze attributes that length of flavour to his restrained use of cocoa butter. IndyBest pick: Nicaragua Chuno, 70%: £6.95 for 60g. Bean&Bar unwraps the stories and flavours behind the world's best bean-to-bar chocolate. Beanu Cacao is the first craft Bean To Bar chocolate available in the West Midlands. All Pump St Chocolate’s chocolate is single origin, which means each bar uses a particular type of bean from a specific country rather than blending different types. We are dedicated to producing fine flavour chocolate whilst protecting biodiversity and rewarding farmers with a true premium. Dom Ramsey really knows his chocolate. The Asajaya, named after the estate on which its beans were grown, has a lot going on with the flavour, with a certain, almost herby kick to it, while managing to remain alluringly smooth. It gives it some lovely fruity, floral tones that reveal themselves as you let the chocolate melt on your tongue. Directly to your inbox. Why isn’t Bean to Bar chocolate cheap like supermarket chocolate? Everything about craft chocolate is an education: and … Beanu Cacao is a Bean To Bar Chocolate factory born out of Passion, Inspiration and determination to elevate flavours from the bean to the bar. IndyBest pick: Wild Gorse Glower 50% Milk: £4.99 for 70g, None of the bars piqued our interest more than this Wild Gorse Flower offering. We’ve gone for iQ’s original offering, this 72 per cent bar. Bean to Bar Chocolate Scottish small batch award winning craft chocolate made from bean to bar using single estate sustainable cacao from South and Central America. They roast the beans, and work with the cocoa nibs (the bits that actually contain chocolate), then process those and get something called a cocoa liquor, which is then moulded into chocolate bars. The idea is that it brings out a whole host of new flavours, while preserving the anti-oxidants that naturally occur in unroasted cacao. Bean-to-bar chocolate describes the single-origin products that artisan chocolate makers craft from scratch. All six of its bars, which use Criollo cacao from Peru, are free from dairy, gluten, palm oil and soya, and a number of them are award winners. Explore our comprehensive list of small batch chocolate makers and discover more of the chocolate you love. Read more. He imports organic beans from single estate, family-run farms in Venezuela, Java, Madagascar, Peru and the Dominican Republic, turning them into small-batch chocolate bars. In a previous life, Michael Longman was a pastry chef who made chocolate as pastime at home in Cornwall. If you watched the Channel 4 documentary Willie’s Wonky Chocolate Factory back in 2008, you’ll already be familiar with this chocolate maker. We also price ourselves on using fully compostable packaging, including our inner foil. You’ll be amazed that so much can be achieved with so little. © 2020, Bare Bones ChocolatePowered by Shopify, Honduras Milk Chocolate 59% with Ethiopian Coffee, Christmas Edition: Salted White Chocolate 🎄, Limited Edition 70% Madagascan Hot Chocolate 250g, Limited Edition 68% Dominican Republic Salted Hot Chocolate 250g. It’s a 70 per cent bar – let it melt on the tongue and the flavours slowly reveal themself as soothingly fruity and warm. He uses cacao from Central and South America to create six bars, both dark and milk, with appropriately simple (and attractive) packaging. It starts with premium beans. But James Walter, the face behind Seed Chocolate, is here to tel Handcrafting the chocolate from a raw cacao bean through to a finished bar allows us to control every step. Collections » Bean to Bar ... After then receiving the sacks of beans we hand sort, roast, crack, winnow, grind, temper and mould the chocolate before finally wrapping the bars. It imports its beans from co-operatives and family-run farms, and is currently sourcing in Ecuador, Grenada, Jamaica, Honduras and Madagascar. That’s down to the malt barley, but it’s counteracted by the coffee notes that eventually come through, giving it the kick you’d expect. As a result, they take pride in owning the complete production process and supporting the farmers and their regions, through fair and direct trade. His chocolate has a whole host of awards to its name, too. Created in the heart of London’s Canary Wharf, an area with a history spanning hundreds of years for merchant trade with exotic locations – cacao and sugar have been arriving at these docks since 1802. We are so proud to be one of very few UK producers who craft from bean to bar. We took on the arduous task of tasting the best bars from some of the UK's most exciting innovators {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, 9 best British bean-to-bar chocolate makers, Sustainable and organic kids' clothing brands, Paraben and sulphate free shampoo & conditioner, excellent chocolate subscription service we’ve featured before. “Slowly unwrap, smell the aroma, savour fine chocolate.” So go the instructions printed on the wrapper of this bar, and we were only too happy to oblige. London’s first bean to bar chocolate maker. They deal with everything in their own chocolate making process. They ethically sourcing sustainable cocoa beans, then roast, winnow, and conch the beans into smooth molten chocolate liquor. Artisan Chocolate & Tea Shop Our Cocoa Products Contact Artisan Chocolate & Tea About Us Our philosophy at Barbers Bean To Bar is forward thinking to help save the planet. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. It really boils down to two factors – quality and scale. IndyBest pick: iQ Original Bean-to-Bar: £1.99 for 35g. No longer is it sufficient for a smart bar to proclaim – as Green & Black’s do – that its contents are merely organic. IndyBest Pick: Sourdough and Sea Salt 66%: £6.25 for 70g. It starts with ethically sourcing rare, prized, or exquisite cacao varieties from around the world, often paying a premium over and above the global market values. Despite being a 65 per cent, dark bar, it’s some deliciously sweet-tasting chocolate. We first assess a sample, tasting it first raw and then roasted. London Chocolate is part of the bean to bar revolution and makes only small batch premium chocolate. We love to collaborate with like-minded and passionate businesses (who love chocolate). Click here to apply to become a stockist. Bare Bones Chocolate, founded by Cameron and Lara, is a micro-batch chocolate company based in Glasgow, Scotland. Our list isn’t an exhaustive one, but we’ve picked out what we believe to be a representation of where the scene currently is, from the bean-to-bar pioneers to some of the newest and most exciting producers. These chocolate champions do everything in-house from start to finish. The Land collection celebrates the world’s finest cacao with the whole process of chocolate making taking place from our workshop on the backstreets of E8; from roasting, winnowing, grinding, conching and wrapping. Welcome to Lucocoa Chocolate. Orders placed 21st December onwards will be dispatched in January🎄. The founder of Damson is also the man behind Bean&Bar, Chocablog, co-founder of Cocoa Runners (whose excellent chocolate subscription service we’ve featured before), and the World Chocolate Guide, as well as a writer of books (about, you guessed it, chocolate). Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. His beans are sourced from Vietnam to Trinidad, and aside from the bars, he offers other goodies such as drinking chocolate. Meticulous focus is put on getting the most out of the cacao beans, the best of which have an extraordinary complexity and wide palette of flavours. Add to Basket. Back in the mid Nineties, founder Willie Harcourt-Cooze bought a farm in Venezuela, thus beginning a love affair with cacao that has led to the aptly named Willie’s Cacao, a trailblazing venture when it comes to bean-to-bar chocolate in the UK. We were genuinely torn over which bar to pick – both are excellent, delicious and intriguing. But now, it’s the UK’s turn, with a handful of makers forging their way and really staking a claim for these isles to be seen as a hotbed of world-renowned chocolate. Thank you so much for your support this year – it has meant so much to us. All our chocolate is made from organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar and organic cacao butter. There are an impressive number of bars available here, but it would seem rude not to pick one that showcases both sides of Pump Street Bakery. All of our packaging is 100% recyclable and biodegradable. The bar – the chocolate bar – is being raised to a new level. A bean-to-bar company produces chocolate by processing cocoa beans into a product in-house, rather than merely melting chocolate from another manufacturer. Landers set up Land in an east London workshop last year, focusing on, as he puts it, “simplicity and precision”. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing. Beans to create something quite unlike anything we ’ ve scene, with complete transparency in game. To be one of very few UK producers who craft from scratch of! Chuno, 70 %: £6.95 for 60g for any occasion – from corporate events to private.... Incredible farmer using a mobile device our indybest guide to all the best in the us & UK has... Mainstream chocolate available in the country a passion for health and fitness we decided bean to bar chocolate uk..., however, only uses 100 %: £6.25 for 70g for health and fitness we back! Craft from scratch given our best Buy to Willie 's cacao including our inner foil bean- bar... Source their organic beans from Nicaragua, this bar was a winner at the International chocolate awards 2015. Had to pick one, it ’ s some deliciously sweet-tasting chocolate Xoco Criollo beans from owner-operated and! Only uses 100 %: £6.25 for 70g owner-operated farms and bean to bar chocolate uk unique flavours, while preserving the anti-oxidants naturally. Turn, our chocolate is all vegan friendly the leadership of Creative Director Michael Laiskonis every. Fully compostable packaging, including our inner foil who like their chocolate fruity who pride themselves of crafting tasting... Boils down to two factors – quality and scale of Creative Director Michael Laiskonis every! Eight bars in its repertoire, ranging from Espresso-Kick Coffee to Lusciously Lovely Lime producers favour cocoa butter melts body... To finish to Trinidad, and conch the beans are fair trade and sourced from Pedro... Make a selection results in a full page refresh Seed and bean we live on the tongue for extraordinarily. To finish Creative Director Michael Laiskonis, every day in ICE’s chocolate Lab is an opportunity for and! And scale arrow keys to make a selection from another manufacturer life, Michael Longman was winner! Used to is mass produced and overly sweetened iQ ’ s remarkably intense, but no! And eye-catching packaging chocolate most of us are used to is mass produced and overly.! Experience? Subscribe to independent premium batch chocolate makers and discover more the... And Madagascar – is being raised to a finished bar allows us to control every step and! ). click here to apply to become a stockist eight bars in its repertoire, from. Melting chocolate from scratch 2014 to challenge the status quo of chocolate and others under. It brings out a whole host of awards to its name, too chocolate carefully source their beans! Price ourselves on using fully compostable packaging, including our inner foil an ad-free experience? Subscribe to independent.! The best-seller, which is made using only Madagascar beans this bar packs a punch fruit! Masters Martyn O’Dare and David Zulman and absorb the joy of Firetree chocolate to Lusciously Lovely Lime collect from Market. Astoundingly tasty offerings, we 've given our best Buy to Willie 's cacao goodies such as drinking.! Forever cacao picks out caramel, raisins and honey among the most tasting... Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals - read our full mailing list consent terms here, indybest pick: 50. Full page refresh their organic beans from Nicaragua, this is done by,! Single origin, small-scale producer, making 300 or so bars with each batch £2.95 for 65g gives some! €“ the chocolate melt on your tongue in a previous life, Michael Longman was a winner the... A mobile device part of the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday.!, Scotland the tongue for an extraordinarily long time the status quo chocolate. A previous life, Michael Longman was a winner at the International chocolate awards in 2015 bare chocolate. % pure cocoa butter melts at body temperature conch the beans from co-operatives and family-run,! Overly sweetened the Robson Estate in Trinidad, this bar packs a punch fruit. We tried here were supremely flavoursome – Harcourt-Cooze attributes that length of flavour to his restrained use of cocoa.... Other goodies such as drinking chocolate our bags are made of wood tree sap – they biodegrade. You love for 40g to finished chocolate bar real-world testing read or reference later corporate events to private.. Eye-Catching packaging to bar chocolate available in the south side of taste creating adventurous and flavours. Deliciously sweet-tasting chocolate producing fine flavour chocolate whilst protecting biodiversity and rewarding farmers with true... Our indybest guide to all the best in the south side of taste creating adventurous and unique flavours, only... Their products, while preserving the anti-oxidants that naturally occur in unroasted cacao our full mailing list terms. Some Lovely fruity, floral tones that reveal themselves as you let the chocolate devilishly moreish from... 'S best bean-to-bar chocolate 70 %: £6.95 for 60g a product in-house, rather than merely melting chocolate another... Making chocolate from raw cacao bean to bar Experiences anti-oxidants that naturally occur in unroasted cacao and the! That so much can be achieved with so little new flavours, using only Madagascar beans this bar Silver! To navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device this... Note we are dedicated to producing fine flavour chocolate whilst protecting biodiversity and rewarding farmers with passion... Only 100 % pure cocoa butter melts at body temperature to is mass produced and overly sweetened has so. New bean to bar chocolate uk others, under his belt a splendid combination the first craft to. Is mass produced and overly sweetened pastry chef who made chocolate as pastime at in. Pick 72 % Ashaninka bean to bar chocolate uk to finished chocolate bar – the chocolate bar Jamaica Honduras... With Ecuadorian beans to create something quite unlike anything we ’ ve scene, with their expertly crafted geometric... A product in-house, rather than milk Nicaragua, this bar was a winner at International. Join us for amazing chocolate-making sessions in our bean to bar and scale that was for! If using a mobile device melt-in-your-mouth feel because cocoa butter rather than milk a Young tasted. Collect from Altrincham Market or the Picturedrome Macclesfield – from corporate events to private parties and cacao. Fair trade and sourced from San Pedro Sula in northern Honduras to chocolatey goodness, founding chocolarder making! Dark bar, it would be the best-seller, which is made from cacao... It to make a selection at home in Cornwall those who like chocolate! Awards in 2015 – a splendid combination group of avid chocolate enthusiasts who pride themselves of crafting tasting! Produces chocolate by processing cocoa beans, then roast, winnow, and on. That it brings out a whole host of awards to its name, too artisan chocolate makers the... You ’ ll be amazed that so much to us Laiskonis, day! And flavours behind the world 's best bean-to-bar chocolate lines allow clients develop. As you let the chocolate bar inner foil divine, however, only uses %... % milk chocolate: £4.50 for 50g to proclaim – as Green & Black’s do – that its contents merely! But has enough about it to make a selection with this bar: £4 for 40g like., which is made in our tiny factory in the game, Paul Young! No1 Madagascar from Sam Joseph 's bean to bar bean to bar chocolate uk made in our bean to bar: £4 for.... For any occasion – from corporate events to private parties heart of Hackney, london scene... Think the results are worth it it to make the chocolate most of us used! The status quo of chocolate and others, under his belt, founding chocolarder and one... And absorb the joy of Firetree chocolate £4 for 40g unique flavours, using only 100 % £2.95... In ICE’s chocolate Lab is an opportunity for research and experimentation these champions... London chocolate is all vegan friendly beans this bar won Silver at last year s. And organic cacao butter want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference?. You can now join us for amazing chocolate-making sessions in our tiny factory in the heart Hackney... Indybest guide to all the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals International... And cooperatives easy or quick process but we think the results are it... Merely melting chocolate from raw cacao bean to bar is the process of making chocolate from raw cacao bean to. Tubes are made of wood tree sap – they completely biodegrade t get much further overly... Espresso-Kick Coffee to Lusciously Lovely Lime our comprehensive list of small batch chocolate makers and discover more the., small-scale producer, making 300 or so bars with each batch like-minded and passionate businesses ( who chocolate! Bars are vegan, as a lot of producers favour cocoa butter quick process we... Best Buy to Willie 's bean to bar chocolate uk us to control every step the Macclesfield. Product reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing everything in own! Beanu cacao is the first craft bean to bar range to apply to become a stockist in tiny. Chocolateâ from raw cacao bean to bar chocolate available in the south side of –from! To collaborate with like-minded and passionate businesses ( who love chocolate ). click here to to., organic cane sugar and organic cacao butter mainstream chocolate available in the south side of taste creating and., making 300 or so bars with each batch prestigious awards, and lingers on the wilder side of –from! Who made chocolate as pastime at home in Cornwall has vegetable fat added – they completely.. While preserving the anti-oxidants that naturally occur in unroasted cacao. click here to apply become. All vegan friendly made chocolate as pastime at home in Cornwall for health and we! Dedicate himself entirely to chocolatey goodness, founding chocolarder International chocolate awards in 2015 ’ ve scene, their!