The Untold Truth Of Ghirardelli Chocolate

With its Italian name, one would assume Ghirardelli has roots in the boot. However, while its founder was born in Italy, the company itself ended up in the US via South America. Domenico Ghirardelli was born in Rapallo, Italy, in 1817 where he completed an apprenticeship in the confectionery business before leaving for Uruguay with his wife at the tender age of 20. He began working in the chocolate and coffee trade, but the couple soon moved to Lima, Peru where Ghirardelli opened his first chocolate and confectionery shop (via Candy Hall of Fame).

According to Chocolate Class, a neighboring businessman named James Lick brought 600 pounds of Ghirardelli's chocolate to California, which he quickly sold. Realizing the potential of the chocolate's popularity in the US, Lick encouraged Ghirardelli to set up shop in California. Ghirardelli headed to San Francisco in 1849, keen to sell his chocolate to the large number of miners who had appeared for the Gold Rush.

In 1893, following decades of chocolate-selling success, the company purchased the Pioneer Woolen Building on the northern waterfront in San Francisco — the modern-day location of Ghirardelli Square. In 1906, an earthquake and fire ruined a significant part of San Francisco, but Ghirardelli production facilities avoided the worst, and business started up again 10 days following the disaster. The giant Ghirardelli sign erected on the square in 1923 is still a landmark for boats coming in and out of the Golden Gate Strait (via Ghirardelli).

In 1962, shortly after the chocolate factory was sold, a group of San Franciscans bought Ghirardelli Square fearing that the area would be destroyed. To renew the space, shops and restaurants were opened, taking special care not to impinge on its Victorian character (via Ghirardelli Square). In 1982, the square earned its place on the National Historic Register, preserving it for future generations. Today, it offers a maze of passageways and plazas, as well as the original Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop and the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience Shop.

In 1865, a Ghirardelli employee accidentally discovered a new chocolate-making process after leaving a sack of ground cacao beans hanging at a warm temperature. Unbeknownst to the employee, the chocolate butter dripped out through a hole in the bag and when the residue was processed, it resulted in a more intense chocolate flavor than what was produced with other methods (via Ghirardelli).

The Broma processing technique remains very popular in the production of cocoa and chocolate in the US. Per Chocolate Apprentice, it manages to withdraw more cocoa butter than a hydraulic press, an alternate method for removing fat from cacao beans developed in 1828. Less fat remains in the cocoa powder, which allows it to dissolve more smoothly into a liquid. In addition, the Broma method results in a more chocolaty taste than similar confectionery made using the Dutch process, which involves treating the cacao with an alkalizing agent to modify its taste and flavor.

When Ghirardelli released its Dark Squares in 2005, they became the first of their kind to display cocoa content on the labels. The percentage refers to three different components that are derived from cocoa beans, including cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate liquor. Since these three ingredients are used in different amounts, two chocolate brands with the same cocoa percentage may not taste the same. The other ingredients typically found in chocolate include sugar and various flavor fillings.

It's important to remember that a higher cocoa content isn't always desirable in chocolate, and many people don't like the intensity and bitterness. Per the company website, it even sells a 100% Cacao Unsweetened Baking Bar, which contains zero sugar and isn't meant to be eaten directly. Ghirardelli's other dark chocolate comes in three types: 60% Cacao Evening Dream, 72% Cacao Twilight Delight, and 86% Cacao Midnight Reverie.

In 2014, a class action lawsuit alleged that Ghirardelli's advertising misled its customers. In particular, the lawsuit claimed that the labeling on Ghirardelli's Premium Baking Chips – Classic White and Premium Baking Chips – Classic White Chips misled customers into believing that they contained white chocolate (when in fact they didn't). Ghirardelli eventually agreed to settle the case and make labeling changes to its products. A similar case against the company, which was tossed out by the appeals court in 2021, is currently being reviewed by the Ninth Circuit.

That's not all; in 2019, Ghirardelli was forced to change its chocolate squares packaging after the company was sued for misleading customers with its oversized containers. More specifically, the packaging was said to make customers believe that they were "purchasing more product than they are actually receiving." The case was settled with Ghirardelli agreeing to pay $750,000 in penalties and packaging its chocolate squares in transparent bags (via Seattlepi.com).