Cacao, the Art of Chocolate is Santa Fe's only Bean to Bar chocolate maker. "Bean to Bar or Craft chocolate "means that the chocolate maker "owns " the entire process of making chocolate- from sourcing and roasting the beans to winnowing, grinding, tempering and molding.
Most chocolatiers on the other hand buy bulk, pre-made chocolate from a big supplier like Callebaut or Valhrona which are usually blends of beans, then re-melt and fashion the chocolate into whatever products they make.
When we receive a shipment of beans A roast profile is created for each origin bean. It could be light, medium or dark depending on the source or even the cocoa butter or moisture content of a particular bean. The object of course is to express the flavors inherent in each batch of beans. In the grinding process we determine what percentage sweetness to make the chocolate or whether to make milk or dark. This raw material is then used to craft drinking elixirs, truffles or bars with or without other things added to them (called inclusions) . We actually take it a step further- farm to bar , because we have a farm in both Hawaii and Belize so we occasionally get to participate in the harvest , fermentation and drying of the beans. Our most recent was a batch of chocolate we fermented in Maui in January and will be featured along with other Hawaiian origins we've crafted in a special chocolate tasting May 13th. Please see our booking calendar for details and be sure to wear your Hawaiian shirt to add to the fun. Come experience the difference of Bean to Bar chocolate at Santa Fe's only Craft chocolate maker. And our bars are Certified "NM True".
Melanie Boudar
Author