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Our Chocolate

 

Our small batch chocolate is made from cacao that is sustainably and ethically grown, harvested, fermented and sun-dried on small farms throughout the Americas and East Africa.  Once we receive the whole beans we inspect them by hand, picking out any inferior or broken beans. We then hand-crack, winnow, and stone-grind them for days until they have become a beautiful chocolate liquor.

​We use only two ingredients - cacao and organic cane sugar - in our single-origin dark chocolate.  No added cocoa butter, no soy emulsifiers and no fillers of any kind so that what you taste is the true flavor of the chocolate from different regions.  Our flavored bars are also made of two-ingredient chocolate, but have additional flavor ingredients like peppermint, coffee, coconut milk, and sea salt, all sourced with an eye for local, organic and fair.  By sticking with just cacao and cane sugar, the end result are bars that are not only delicious, but that are also vegan, soy and gluten free.  

Peru: San Martin de Pangoa

We were introduced to the Pangoa Cooperative in San Martin de Pangoa, in the Upper Amazon of Peru, by Georgia-based coffee roasters Cafe Campesino.  The cooperative had been producing coffee for many years, and wanted to be able to access international, craft chocolate makers like us in order to get better prices for their harvests than they are able to get on their local market.  Since 2015, Xocolatl owners and co-founders Elaine Read and Matt Weyandt have been traveling to Peru to meet with these cacao farmers and support them as they improve their post-harvest process to achieve a consistent and high quality product.  We are thrilled with the complex taste of these beans that show notes of dark fruits and tropical flowers.

Products made with this cacao

Nicaragua: Matagalpa

We source our Nicaraguan cacao from Cacao Bisiesto- a small, socially conscious fermentary in the Nicaraguan highlands.  Co-founders José  Enrique Herrera and Gifford Laube met while Gifford was a Peace Corps volunteer in the region years ago and opened their business to support farmers interested in producing higher quality cacao for the craft market.  Cacao Bisiesto pays above market prices for wet cacao and then manages the fermentation and drying of cacao in larger batches, thereby improving overall quality and decreasing the variability in taste and quality between batches.  In addition to their superior prices, Cacao Bisiesto also offers free training and education for farmers in cacao tree planting and management.  

In 2017 we personally visited their fermentary and met with José Enrique, Gifford, and several of their farmers.  We love meeting our producers in person and are always encouraged at seeing the positive impacts of direct and socially responsible trade in the countries of origin.  

Products made with this Cacao