What Is Bean To Bar Chocolate?
Image by Bean To Bar World.
What makes the chocolate here so unique?
it Does not just taste like “cocoa”
it is more aromatic. Contains a range of flavours that come from the cocoa bean itself
the ingredients are few, real, and pure.
The dark chocolate here is not very bitter or bitter at all
the milk chocolate here is not overly sweet
the Cacao used is always fairly traded, and organic when possible
Continue reading below for more details on what “bean to bar chocolate” is all about.
Image by Bean To Bar World.
What it is
In the literal sense it is chocolate made from the raw cacao bean and made by a chocolate maker not a chocolatier.
However, the term “bean to bar” has evolved past the literal meaning, and has also become a synonym for:
High quality chocolate (quality refers to the quality of the cacao bean, quality of other ingredients, and quality of the methods used to produce it)
Made from fine cacao (cacao that is not too bitter or acidic, with a depth of aromas beyond “cocoa”)
Most often, but not always, associated with fairly or directly traded cacao (but not always certified due to costs and bureaucracy)
A focus on fine flavour & texture, transparency (trade, ingredients, process)
So when someone refers to chocolate as “bean to bar”, they are often suggesting all of the above. Sometimes people refer to it as “craft” or “fine” chocolate as well.
What it is NOT
Technically, all chocolate is “bean to bar” in the literal sense. All chocolate was made from a manufacturer who took the cacao seeds (aka cacao beans) and ground them up into chocolate. However, as stated above, it has become to mean more than just the literal meaning. Bean to bar is also used to separate these makers from two other main players within the chocolate industry.
“Bean to bar chocolate” is used to differentiate itself from two other main groups in the chocolate world
Chocolatiers: Bean to bar chocolate makers want you to know they are not (or not only) a chocolatier. Chocolatiers do not make chocolate. They use chocolate already made to produce truffles, bonbons, bars, and figurines often made from bulk couverture chocolate. This chocolate is often cheaper because the chocolatier didn’t have to make it, and it was produced by gigantic chocolate manufacturer.
Bulk chocolate makers: Bean to bar chocolate makers are not enormous-scale bulk chocolate manufacturers who produce chocolate from bulk cacao. Bulk cacao, which is used to make most of the chocolate in the world (Nestle, Hershey, Callebaut, Cadbury, Cacao Barry, etc.), is often more bitter, less aromatic, infused with artificial flavourings and high sugar content, and sometimes associated with less than favorable conditions for those who grow and harvest it. Bulk chocolate is much more simple in flavour and aroma, standard as far as taste and texture go, and often with much less transparency on ingredients and trade practices.
Essentially, bean to bar chocolate makers want you to know they made the chocolate from scratch with control over the whole process from bean to bar. As well, their chocolate should be high quality in regards to ingredients and flavour profile (similar to fine coffee or fine wines).
Cocoa bean under electron microscope. Image by Bean To Bar World.
Image by Bean To Bar World.
But why is it so expensive?
Economies of scale
The chocolate bars you see most often in the grocery store or local convenience store are mass produced in volumes that would blow you away. The fine chocolate sold on this site and used in the tasting kits is made in very small batches (especially when compared to makers such as Cadbury or Callebaut). Some craft bean to bar makers make as little as 5-20 kilograms of chocolate at a time. The large companies have chocolate making machines bigger than two refrigerators put together, and can have dozens of these going at one time, every day.
Their equipment is often state-of-the-art, super efficient, and constantly pumping out chocolate the same chocolate. Small artisan makers have 1-4 small refiners, and constantly having to switch gears to make the array of origins and flavoured bars they sell (often cleaning the machine between batches, especially for flavoured bars). The large companies have machines that easily pump out tons of chocolate rarely having to stop or change gears.
Ingredients, supplies, and packaging are also purchased in smaller amounts and therefore increasing the cost for craft bean to bar makers.
When you learn how much labour is involved in producing chocolate from the tree to the final product, it’s amazing that many manufacturers can produce it for under $5 and still make a large profit.
The cost the maker pays for cacao
Craft bean to bar makers often pay a premium for high quality fine cacao, which can range from $6-$15 per kilogram of cacao, before processing it. Compare this to larger manufacturers who pay closer to market price of $2 or less per kilogram, or perhaps $3 for fair trade certified cacao. Imagine that a bulk chocolate maker can sell fair trade certified cacao, and pay much less than a craft maker who is also using fairly traded cacao but without the certification (which impedes both the small business maker and the farmers who grow it).
It requires a great deal of labour to transform the cacao into chocolate, not to mention packaging and marketing costs. This is why craft bean to bar chocolate can cost from $8 to nearly $20 per bar. For those who appreciate fine chocolate, like fine wine or specialty coffee or tea, it’s worth the extra cost. Considering how expensive fine wine or coffee can cost, a top of the line fine chocolate at $12 a bar is quite reasonable.
overhead & Packaging
Many fine craft chocolate makers also run a retail shop or café as well. This can also add greatly to the costs of their business. Many want to have a in-person experience so they can better educate and share what makes their chocolate different, have tastings and events, and engage consumers to better appreciate the world of fine chocolate.
As well, due to a premium product, many consumers expect elaborate packaging, which also adds to the cost of the bars. This is especially true since this packaging is often unique to each bar they produce, and purchased in quite small quantities compared to the packaging for bigger brand names.
Small food businesses also have less margins for mistakes, such as a receiving a large batch of cacao that is spoiled, or contains off-flavours. Many craft makers respect and appreciate the famers and co-ops from which their cacao comes from. Not only do they not want to use a batch of cacao that contains poor flavour, they also feel bad as they don’t want to have the farmers lose out either since they often have a close relationship with them. Chocolate made by the large manufacturers often don’t have the time or room for such concerns.
Chocolate Maker vs Chocolatier
Image by Bean To Bar World.
A bean to bar chocolate maker
Simply put, A Bean To Bar Chocolate Maker makes chocolate from raw cacao beans. They source, roast, and grind the beans into chocolate, and then form it into bars and confections.
Examples include makers such as Lindt and Cadbury on one end of the spectrum, and Qantu or Dick Taylor at the other end. They all make chocolate from the cacao bean. Some are bulk chocolate makers, some are fine chocolate makers, and then there are many in between.
There is a growing trend worldwide for small-scale entrepreneurs to start up “bean to bar chocolate” businesses. These companies don’t just make chocolate, but also focus on the 4 points I mentioned at the beginning (high quality, fine cacao, fair trade, fine flavour, transparency).
Not all bean to bar makers produce high quality fine chocolate. There is a range of quality, and a range of business practices and values. There is a massive difference between the chocolate made by Qantu vs Cadbury. There is no hard and fast rule that determines a maker to be fine versus, well, not so fine. Sometimes it is clear, and sometimes it is less apparent. While you can follow what industry leaders and trend setters say is best, in the end it’s really up to you to learn and taste the differences for yourself. The Bean To Bar World Map focuses on fine or craft bean to bar chocolate makers worldwide.
Image of my pear and spice bonbons I made while at Gem Chocolates. Image by Sabine Edrissi Photography
A chocolatier (AKA chocolate melter)
What is so unique then about being a (bean to bar) chocolate maker? Most chocolate shops in the world, and likely every chocolate shop you’ve ever been to (included the top chocolatieries from New York to Paris) are NOT bean to bar chocolate makers. They are what we call chocolatiers or chocolate melters.
Chocolatiers take chocolate already made (usually from companies such as Callebaut or Cacao Barry), and transform it into bonbons, figurines, and other confections. They don’t actually make the chocolate from the bean. They don’t make the chocolate at all. They make chocolate confections, not the actual ingredient: chocolate.
Therefore, in the past couple decades, as bean to bar chocolate makers begin to pop up everywhere, they need to differentiate themselves from these chocolatiers. They want the consumer to know that they are not simply melting and using chocolate someone else made, but actually making the chocolate from scratch! This is similar to a tree to bean coffee roaster, who sources the coffee, processes it in their method, and roasts it themselves.
Another way to think of this is the difference between a flour miller and baker. A flour miller takes the wheat and transforms it into flour. The baker takes the flour, and uses it to make breads, cakes, and cookies. The flour miller is comparable to the bean to bar chocolate maker. The baker is comparable to the chocolatier.
So when a business states they make bean to bar chocolate, they are (supposed to be) making chocolate from the raw cacao bean, roasting it, and turning into chocolate themselves. If they don’t, they are not a bean to bar chocolate maker. It’s as if a bakery selling croissants that they did not make (they didn’t make the dough or laminate them), but only baked them off. They are not a croissant maker.
Can someone do both? Of course. A bean to bar business can not only make their own chocolate, but also use it to make truffles, bonbons, and even desserts.
Image by Bean To Bar World.
Why does this difference matter?
There is a different skill set involved in being a chocolate maker versus a chocolatier. A maker has full control over flavour development from how they roast the cacao beans to how long and the methods used to grind it up. A chocolatier has no control over the flavour their chocolate, since they purchased it from a manufacturer. Compare chocolate makers to coffee roasters, or wine makers. They source the ingredient and processes it to their liking to create a very unique product. Chocolatiers have a very standard chocolate that is familiar to most, but not very unique in regards to flavour. What makes their creations unique is what they add to the standard chocolate.
Today, most chocolate shops (and by most I mean around 90%+) do not make chocolate from scratch. Most people today who have been to a chocolate shop, even a high end world famous chocolate shop, have not been to a chocolate maker. Therefore, a bean to bar maker is rare today, and the work they do is often not appreciated or even understood. Perhaps you’ve made bread or cake from scratch, and you understand the work involved. Now imagine before making the bread, you also have to mill wheat (and sometimes even grow it!).
Image by Bean To Bar World.
Where it gets confusing
Bean to bar & couverture business
Some businesses are chocolatiers (they receive chocolate known as couverture to produce confections) while also having a line of bean to bar chocolate they make themselves. In the map, these are categorized as “bean to bar & couverture”.
Bean to everything
Some bean to bar businesses don’t just make chocolate bars, but also make bonbons and figurines from their own bean to bar chocolate. Some bean to bar makers only make the bars, but some are expanding into other products as well.
Tree to bar
This term is used loosely to suggest those who make the chocolate also grow the cacao themselves. Therefore, they make chocolate from tree to finished product. However, some makers term themselves tree to bar but those who grow the cacao are not the same people or business that make the chocolate, but may be in close proximity.
Private Label
Some bean to bar chocolate falls under what is known as “private label”. There are businesses that source fine cacao, then get a third party (who sometimes also makes fine chocolate, or bulk chocolate) to processes and make the chocolate form them. The “bean to bar” brand is not a chocolate maker themselves, but they may sell a high quality chocolate. These are categorized under “other related business” in the map. They are not chocolate makers themselves, but some sell wonderful high quality chocolate.
Bulk Versus Fine Makers
Not all bean to bar chocolate is created equally. At one end there is bulk chocolate, and on the other end is fine chocolate. Most chocolate falls somewhere in between. Many conflate the idea that a small bean to bar maker is automatically fine chocolate. This isn’t always the case.
Some bean to bar makers focus on very high quality ingredients and careful production methods. They pride themselves on sourcing the finest cacao beans possible.
Some bean to bar makers make a product that isn’t high quality, but is better than most of the bulk chocolate which exists. Some of this variance is due to the quality of the cacao, but also the skill set of the chocolate maker.
The Bean To Bar Compass
Fine Chocolate Tasting Tool & Workbook
How does one discern fine chocolate?
A fine chocolate sommelier or connoisseur can help guide you towards fine chocolate. Awards sometimes can guide you towards fine chocolate, but even these can be misleading. Awards are handed out like candy (not pun intended) and are associated more with the image of the business than the quality of the chocolate.
The best way is to educate yourself on what makes for high quality chocolate is plenty of practice tasting chocolate and building your own discerning palate.
Anyone can learn to appreciate and enjoy fine chocolate. You don’t require a certificate or high pointed nose either. All you require is the right information and a willingness to learn.
Explore this website, ask me questions, and discover for yourself. You may want to introduce yourself via a private chocolate tasting, or buy some fine chocolate paired with my tasting tool and workbook to get you started. You can even book one-on-one tutoring lessons so I can help you with where you are in your chocolate journey!.