My Top 50 Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers in the United States

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Lately chocolate is undergoing some changes, and most of them can be summed up with the phrase “bean to bar.” What the heck does that mean? I thought about this long and hard for my book, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America's Craft Chocolate Revolution, and came up with this short version: Bean to bar refers to a type of chocolate made from scratch with a focus on quality and transparency. The official definition from my book is:

“Bean-to-bar chocolate: A messy term without an agreed-upon definition. I define it as a chocolate made from scratch by one company, starting with whole beans. This usually includes buying, roasting, grinding, and refining the beans in a single facility. Some companies may not roast the beans, and others may not mold the chocolate into bars themselves, but in both cases it is still considered bean to bar. Chocolate made from preroasted nibs or premade chocolate liquor is not bean to bar.”

As I mentioned, everyone has their own definition, as well as their favorite chocolate maker, and opinions range widely. That’s why I’m calling this list “my top makers.” I’m not claiming that this is The Exclusive List of the best bean-to-bar makers ever; rather, they’re the ones that I personally think are worth trying and visiting (if they’re open to the public).

I published my first list in 2017 in my book and on this site, but the craft chocolate world is expanding almost every day! That’s why as of September 2020, I’ve updated it to include new makers as well as my top five favorite makers in Canada. (And if you want me to narrow it down further for you, well, you’re just gonna have to come to one of my private tastings!) Thanks so much to the amazing tasters who helped me with this list, in particular Brady Brelinski, Genevieve Leloup, Estelle Tracy, Matt Caputo, and David Arnold.

I’ve listed them in alphabetical order and divided them into tiny, small, medium, large, and giant — loose categories to give you a sense of whether they’re a one-person operation or a 200-person conglomerate. Tiny generally means it’s a one- or two-person shop without much distribution. Small- and medium-size makers have a few more employees as well as a retail location and/or café. Large makers have dozens of employees, a space where the public can visit, and good distribution. And giant makers have many employees (around 100), great distribution, and sometimes even wholesale or private-label businesses. This updated list also notes woman-owned companies and BIPOC-owned companies.

Of course, all of us, including these companies, have been affected by the global pandemic. The company sizes and visiting information is based on their pre-pandemic states, within reason. Definitely call or email them before planning a visit to their space, as things change daily in our brave new world.

Now, without further ado, THE CHOCOLATE!

Acalli Chocolate

Woman owned (woo-hoo)

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Year Founded: 2015

Founder: Carol Morse

Size: Tiny

Visit: No

Products: Two-ingredient bars as well as blends, inclusions, and milk chocolate made with beans from Peru and Mexico.


Amano Artisan Chocolate 

Location: Orem, Utah

Year Founded: 2005

Founder: Art Pollard

Size: Small

Visit: No

Products: Single-origin bars, especially from Venezuela, and some inclusion bars. Made with added cocoa butter and vanilla. Some private-label products. Provides to restaurants like Chez Panisse.

Askinosie Chocolate

Location: Springfield, Missouri

Year Founded: 2006

Founder: Shawn Askinosie

Size: Large

Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and shop.

Products: Single-origin (especially from Tanzania and the Philippines) and inclusion bars as well as collaboration bars made with other artisan makers. Milk chocolate and even white chocolate.

Batch Craft

Woman owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

Year Founded: 2015

Founder: Tamara LaValla

Size: Tiny

Visit: No

Products: Vegan dark chocolate bars that are released in limited edition two to three times per year 


Bar Au Chocolat

Woman owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Manhattan Beach, California

Year Founded: 2010

Founder: Nicole Trutanich

Size: Tiny

Visit: No.

Products: Two-ingredient single-origin bars and cacao and chocolate products for cooks (think chocolate chips, roasted nibs, and more).


Brasstown Fine Artisan Chocolate

Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Year Founded: 2011

Founders: Rom Still and Barbara Price

Size: Tiny

Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and shop.

Products: Single-origin bars as well as inclusion bars with interesting ingredients like dried blueberries.

Castronovo Chocolate

Woman owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Stuart, Florida

Year Founded: 2012

Founders: Denise and James Castronovo

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the shop.

Products: Focuses on rare heirloom beans and single-origin bars. If you visit the shop you can also try and buy truffles, cookies, drinking chocolate, and more.

Charm School Chocolate

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Year Founded: 2012

Founder: Joshua Rosen

Size: Tiny

Visit: Yes! The storefront is as dapper as chocolate maker Josh Rosen’s outfits.

Products: Vegan bars with lots of fun inclusions and other products (think toffee almond bites).

Chequessett Chocolate

Location: North Truro, Massachusetts

Year Founded: 2014

Founders: Katie Reed and Josiah Mayo

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the café with plenty of special desserts and confections.

Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars and bonbons as well as drinking chocolate, nibs, and beans.

Christopher Elbow Chocolates

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

Year Founded: Bean-to-bar program was started in 2017, but Christopher founded his confectionary company in 2003

Founder: Christopher Elbow

Size: Tiny (note that the entire company would be considered large)

Visit: Yes! View the bean-to-bar process through a window, and by spring 2021 (fingers crossed), the shop will feature an immersive experience about the history of cacao and how chocolate is made.

Products: Single-origin chocolate bars and drinking chocolate. Also be sure to check out confectionary treats (though these are not made bean to bar, just fyi).

Cloudforest Chocolate

Note: previously called Cocanu (and Cocanu was on this list!)

BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Portland, Oregon

Year Founded: 2009 under the name Cocanu, 2014 under the name Cloudforest

Founder: Sebastian Cisneros 

Size: Tiny

Visit: Yes! Pick up bars and treats to go. (Sebastian closed the café during the pandemic.)

Products: Single-origin bars and unusual inclusions like Palo Santo wood and Pop Rocks (there’s a recipe for it in my book!) as well as baked goods and ice cream

Creo Chocolate

Location: Portland, Oregon

Year Founded: 2014

Founders: Janet, Tim, and Kevin Straub

Size: Medium

Visit: Yes! The factory is an open space, so you can peep at production on your own or take a formal factory tour. Also hit up the café for chocolate soda and a brownie.

Products: Tons of inclusion bars as well as milk, white, and confections, all made with single-origin Hacienda Limon beans from Ecuador (the one exception is their Washu project, supporting an endangered species in Ecuador).

Cultura Craft Chocolate

Woman owned AND BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Denver, Colorado

Year Founded: 2016

Founder: Damaris Ronkanen

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the factoría with traditional Mexican food both savory and sweet.

Products: Single-origin bars as well as inclusions and drinking chocolate mixes. At the café, find fun drinks like champurrado and Tejuino (house nixtamalized corn with piloncillo, lime, and salt served over ice), plus confections, mole, cacao tea, and more.

Dandelion Chocolate

Location: San Francisco, California

Year Founded: 2010

Founders: Todd Masonis and Cameron Ring

Size: Large

Visit: Yes! Go on a guided tour and enjoy a sit-down snack with tea, or attend a guided tasting at the 16th Street Factory. Or grab a brewed cacao nib-coffee mashup at the Valencia Street cafe.

Products: Two-ingredient single-origin bars. If you visit the café you can also try brownies, cookies, and drinking chocolates.


Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate

Location: Eureka, California

Year Founded: 2010

Founders: Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor

Size: Large

Visit: Yes! Check out the shop and factory for tours.

Products: Two-ingredient single-origin bars, milk bars, and inclusion bars, as well as drinking chocolate and baking chocolate.

Enna Chocolate

Woman owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Exeter, New Hampshire

Year Founded: 2017

Founder: Enna Grazier

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the factory cafe and take a tour or do a guided tasting.

Products: Single-origin bars, inclusion bars, and drinking chocolate

Escazu Artisan Chocolates

Female AND BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Year Founded: 2008

Founders: Danielle Centeno and Hallot Parson (Danielle runs the business solo now)

Size: Medium

Visit: Yes! Check out the café.

Products: Single-origin bars, inclusion bars, and bonbons. If you visit the store, you’ll also find ice cream, drinking chocolate, and more.

Ethereal Confections

Woman owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Woodstock, Illinois

Year Founded: 2011

Founders: Mary Ervin, Sara Miller, and Michael Ervin

Size: Medium

Visit: Yes! Check out the café.

Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars, plus many confections, baking mixes, cookies, and more, available online and at the café.

5150 Chocolate Co.

Location: Delray Beach, Florida

Founded: 2018

Founder: Tyler Levitetz

Size: Large

Visit: Yes! Take a tour or class.

Products: Single-origin bars as well as a few inclusions, plus baked goods and confections (including some that intentionally look like marijuana!)

French Broad Chocolates

Location: Asheville, North Carolina

Year Founded: Café concept founded 2008, started making bean-to-bar chocolate in 2010, chocolate factory founded 2012

Founders: Dan and Jael Rattigan

Size: Large

Visit: Yes! Check out their lounge, factory, and boutique. Asheville is French Broad Country.

Products: Single-origin bars and some inclusion bars with ingredients like malted milk and scorpion pepper, as well bonbons, brownies, toffee, and drinking and baking chocolate online, plus cakes, cookies, and more in the lounge.

Fresco Chocolate

Location: Lynden, Washington

Year Founded: 2008

Founder: Rob Anderson

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the storefront on specific weekends and holidays.

Products: Single-origin bars that specify their roasting style and conching style, so you can get super nerdy about it. Also some confections like cocoa nib brittle and chocolate raspberry bark.

Fruition Chocolate*

Location: Shokan, New York

Year Founded: 2011

Founders: Bryan and Dahlia Graham

Size: Medium

Visit: Yes! Check out the retail shop and mini cafe.

Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars with creative ingredients like corn, as well as hot chocolate, bonbons, caramels, and other confections. They also make milk chocolate and even white chocolate.

Goodnow Farms Chocolate

Location: Sudbury, Massachusetts

Year Founded: 2016

Founders: Monica and Tom Rogan

Size: Small

Visit: No

Products: Single-origin dark bars and dark inclusion bars

Guittard Chocolate

Location: Burlingame, California

Year Founded: 1868

Founder: Etienne Guittard; run by his great-grandson Gary Guittard

Size: Giant

Visit: No

Products: Single-origin and blended dark and milk chocolate bars as well as dark, milk, and white baking chocolate, drinking chocolate, cocoa powders, and couverture chocolate for professional chefs. Used by many food manufacturers, restaurants, and chocolatiers around the country (and internationally), including See’s Candies.

Kahkow USA

BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Year Founded: Kahkow USA opened in 2018, Kahkow brand launched in 2007, and parent company Rizek Cacao opened in 1905 in the Dominican Republic

Founder: Hector Jose Rizek

Size: Small (Note: parent company Rizek Cacao is a giant cacao business)

Products: Single-origin Dominican Republic bars, hot chocolate mix, inclusion barks, candied cocoa nibs, cocoa beans, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and dolls made by women in cacao-growing communities in the Dominican Republic (profits from these sales go to these women)

LetterPress Chocolate*

Location: Los Angeles, California

Year Founded: 2014

Founders: David and Corey Menkes

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Go on a factory tour, participate in a guided tasting, and check out the cafe and retail area with goodies like single-origin ice cream.

Products: Single-origin bars as well as inclusions and milk chocolate, plus cacao nibs, T-shirts, hot chocolate, and more. LetterPress has also gone out of the box with chocolate-related puzzles (no, you can’t eat them).

Lillie Belle Farms Chocolate

Location: Central Point, Oregon

Founders: Jeff Shepherd

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the shop.

Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars like the famous/infamous blue cheese bar as well as tons of confections.

Lonohana Estate Chocolate

Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Year Founded: 2009 (first chocolate wasn’t released until 2013 though!)

Founder: Seneca Klassen

Size: Tiny

Visit: Yes! Call ahead for farm tours and factory/retail store visits.

Products: Single-origin and inclusion dark and milk bars made in Hawaii from tree to bar. Mostly available through a subscription chocolate club, but any leftover bars can be bought online. If you visit the store, you’ll also find drinks, truffles, granola, and more.

Madhu Chocolate

BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Austin, Texas

Year Founded: 2018

Founders: Elliott Curelop and Harshit Gupta

Size: Tiny

Visit: No

Products: Dark and milk bars with Indian-inspired inclusions like rose pistachio and lemon coriander. Masala Chai tea blend, cocoa nibs, and more.

Madre Chocolate

Location: O’ahu, Hawaii

Year Founded: 2010

Founders: Nat Bletter and David Elliott (Nat runs the company by himself now)

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the chocolate-making classes in Honolulu and the North Shore. Also find Madre at the KCC Farmers’ Market on Saturdays in Honolulu.

Products: Vegan single-origin Hawaiian bars as well as bars from other origins and with inclusions.

Manoa Chocolate

Location: Kailua, Hawaii

Year Founded: 2010

Founder: Dylan Butterbaugh

Size: Medium

Visit: Yes! Check out the factory.

Products: Single-origin Hawaiian bars as well as bars of other origins and with inclusions, plus brewing chocolate, nibs, and more.

Map Chocolate Co.

Woman owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Willamette Valley, Oregon

Year Founded: 2014

Founder: Mackenzie Rivers

Size: Tiny

Visit: Yes, for students enrolled in hands-on classes at the Next Batch online bean-to-craft chocolate school (hint, hint).

Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars, single-origin craft chocolate baking supplies like single-origin cocoa powder, and more.

Markham & Fitz Chocolate

Location: Bentonville, Arkansas

Year Founded: 2014

Founders: Lauren Blanco and Preston Stewart

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Schedule a factory tour and/or check out the dessert bar and café.

Products: Single-origin and inclusion chocolate bars. In the bar and café, find chocolate snacks and drinks, including chocolate cocktails.

Maverick Chocolate Co.

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Year Founded: 2014

Founders: Paul and Marlene Picton

Size: Medium

Visit: Yes! Check out both stores with full retail areas and reward yourself with some drinking chocolate or a mocha to go.

Products: Single-origin bars as well as milk and white bars, inclusion bars, drinking chocolate, and cocoa nibs.

9th and Larkin

BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: San Francisco, California

Year Founded: 2016

Founders: Brian Dusseault and Lan Phan

Size: Tiny

Visit: No

Products: Three-ingredient single-origin dark chocolate and occasional microbatches of “inclusions and infusions”


Nuance Chocolate

Location: Fort Collins, Colorado

Year Founded: 2014

Founders: Toby and Alix Gadd

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the café.

Products: Single-origin, milk, and inclusion bars, including a line featuring alcoholic spirits. At the café you’ll also find confections, hot chocolate, and more.


Parliament Chocolate

Location: Redlands, California

Year Founded: 2013

Founders: Ryan and Cassi Berk

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out their store.

Products: Two-ingredient single-origin chocolates as well as chocolate syrup and drinking chocolate. Visit the store for all sorts of confections.


Patric Chocolate

Location: Columbia, Missouri

Year Founded: 2006

Founder: Alan McClure

Size: Tiny

Visit: No

Products: Single-origin, blended, and inclusion bars like triple ginger and licorice. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter if you want to get your hands on some, as these bars go quick and are hard to find at retail stores.

Piety and Desire Chocolate

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Year Founded: 2017

Founder: Christopher Nobles

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the open factory and retail counter. The shop shares the address with a craft rum distillery and the local LGBTQ center too.

Products: Single-origin bars as well as blends, inclusion bars; dark, milk, and white couverture; bonbons; and confections.

Potomac Chocolate

Location: Woodbridge, Virginia

Year Founded: 2010

Founder: Ben Rasmussen

Size: Tiny

Visit: Yes! Visit the storefront.

Products: Two-ingredient single-origin bars as well as a few inclusion bars.

Raaka Chocolate

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Year Founded: 2010

Founders: Nate Hodge and Ryan Cheney

Size: Giant

Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and/or take a chocolate-making class.

Products: Vegan unroasted (not raw) chocolate. Mostly produces inclusion bars with unusual ingredients like ghost chiles and methods like steaming nibs over simmering wine.

Raphio Chocolate

Woman owned AND BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Fresno, California

Year Founded: 2016

Founder: Elisia Otavi

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the retail store and café.

Products: Single-origin bars as well as milk, white, and inclusion bars — and even some sugar-free dark chocolate bars. Also find single-origin bonbons and sipping chocolate, mochas, lattes, and teas.

Ritual Chocolate

Location: Park City, Utah

Year Founded: 2010

Founders: Robbie Stout and Anna Davies

Size: Medium

Visit: Yes! Check out the café with chocolate, coffee drinks, and pastries.

Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars, plus drinking chocolate, granola, and more.

Solstice Chocolate

Woman owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Year Founded: 2013

Founders: DeAnn Wallin and Scott Query (the company is now run by DeAnn)

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! But make sure you call ahead.

Products: Single-origin and blended bars as well as milk chocolate, white chocolate, and drinking chocolate.

SPAGnVOLA Chocolatier

BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland

Year Founded: 2011

Founders: Eric and Crisoire Reid

Size: Medium

Visit: Yes! Check out the store and go on a factory tour.

Products: Single-estate dark chocolate from the Dominican Republic, where the Reids own a plantation, as well as confections made with this chocolate

Taza Chocolate

Location: Somerville, Massachusetts

Year Founded: 2005

Founders: Alex Whitmore and Kathleen Fulton

Size: Giant

Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and store.

Products: Organic stone-ground chocolate in single-origin bars as well as inclusion bars and confections like chocolate-
covered nuts and nibs.

Terroir/TC Chocolate

(Note: The company goes by both names.)

Location: Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Year Founded: 2013

Founders: Josh and Kristin Mohagen

Size: Medium

Visit: No

Products: Single-origin bars as well as plenty of inclusions, plus a line of CBD-infused bean-to-bar chocolates under the brand RichCBD.com.

Theo Chocolate

Location: Seattle, Washington

Year Founded: 2006

Founders: Joseph Whinney and Debra Music

Size: Giant

Visit: Yes! Check out the factory and store.

Products: Blends and inclusion bars in flavors like coconut curry and cherry almond.

Wm. Chocolate

Location: Madison, Wisconsin

Year Founded: 2016

Founder: William Marx

Size: Tiny

Visit: Appointments only

Products: Single-origin and flavored dark chocolate bars

White Label Chocolate

Location: Santa Cruz, California

Year Founded: 2016

Founder: Stephen Beaumier

Size: Tiny

Visit: Yes and no. Stephen also owns Mutari, which focuses on drinking chocolate, ice cream, and other chocolatey things (yum), and you can find White Label bars there.

Products: Single-origin dark bars, milk chocolate, and couverture for chocolatiers and chefs. Under the Mutari label, also find confections, baked goods, and all sorts of deliciousness.

My Top Five Canadian Bean-to-Bar Makers

East Van Roasters

Woman AND BIPOC led (woo-hoo!)

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Year Founded: 2012

Founder: Shelley Bolton, for the PHS Community Services Society

Size: Small

Visit: Yes! Check out the café, where you can see through the glass into the roasting room and the chocolate-making room.

Products: Single-origin and inclusion bars, confections, corn nuts and coffee beans. In the café, find baked goods, hot chocolate, and coffee beverages.

Palette de Bine

Woman owned (woo-hoo)

Location: Mont-Tremblant, Quebec

Year Founded: 2014

Founder: Christine Blais

Size: Tiny

Visit: Yes! Grab bars and goodies from a counter, and peek at production through a window. (P.S.: They offer samples!)

Products: Single-origin bars as well as milk chocolate and inclusions. If you visit, be sure to try a baked good, coffee, or thick, European-style hot chocolate, which they’re famous for in the area.

Qantu Chocolate

BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Montreal, Quebec

Year Founded: 2017

Founder: Elfi Maldonado and Maxime Simard

Size: Medium

Visit: Yes! Make an appointment to visit.

Products: Single-origin bars featuring beans from different areas of Elfi’s home country of Peru, and a few single-origin inclusion bars, and spreads (like caramel and maple caramel). The shop is new as of this writing, and they hope to have homemade baked goods, hot chocolate, and more over time.

Sirene Chocolate

Location: Victoria, British Columbia

Year Founded: 2013

Founder: Taylor Kennedy

Size: Tiny

Visit: No

Products: Dark and dark milk bars with and without inclusions

Soma Chocolatemaker

BIPOC owned (woo-hoo!)

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Year Founded: 2003

Founders: David Castellan and Cynthia Leung

Size: Large

Visit: Yes! Visit two shops and their factory. You can view into all of their production spaces through big glass windows.

Products: Single-origin bars as well as milk bars, inclusions, and confections. Visit the shops for bars, baked goods, gelato, and more.

Parts of this list are excerpted from Bean-to-Bar Chocolate, © by Megan Giller, used with permission from Storey Publishing

*Indicates a company I have worked with as a consultant. I don’t believe that my consulting work affects my judgment of anyone’s chocolate, and there are no kickbacks or ways to pay one’s way onto this list, but I’m disclosing the names of these companies here for my discerning readers.

(Note: This story contains affiliate links.)