The Best Bean-To-Bar Chocolate Brands You Can Buy

Bean-to-bar chocolate has had a resurgence in America in recent years, with big and small chocolate companies popping up all over the country making delicious chocolate treats. While once upon a time bean-to-bar chocolate companies may have been hard to find, with just about five total in the United States, according to The New York Times, there are now over 250 companies to choose from. 

But how exactly is a bean-to-bar chocolate different from the chocolate you find at your local grocery store? For one, most bean-to-bar companies are small operations, producing much less per year than big names like Hershey's and Nestle. Instead of buying beans for quantity, they typically prioritize the quality and flavor of the bean, as well the ethics of the product. After the beans are acquired in their raw state, the producers work the beans through the chocolate-making process to produce the best, most chocolaty flavor possible. Often only adding one or two ingredients, such as sugar or cacao butter, and rarely adding fillers that large scale producers use. Bean-to-bar procedures are not to be confused with dedicated chocolatiers. Chocolatiers make chocolate confections using pre-made high-quality chocolate, not working directly from the bean. 

Now that the industry is taking off, it can be hard to decide which chocolate companies to try first. Luckily, we have compiled this list of the best bean-to-bar chocolate brands you can buy.

Raaka Chocolates is changing the way chocolate is produced. While most producers roast their cacao beans before turning them into chocolate, Raaka would rather let the natural flavor of the cacao beans shine through by using unroasted beans. Now, that's not to say the beans are used as is. Using the traditional fermentation process, Raaka's method develops the flavor pallet of the chocolate and raises the beans' temperature to about 120º Fahrenheit. Not exactly roasting temperature, but still very hot.

Once they have their beans, they make sure the best beans are used for each bar. Unlike large commercial producers, who blend all beans, Raaka picks which beans are fruitier and earthier and uses them for bars that best highlight that flavor. As Chocolate University Online wrote in their glowing review of the Bourbon Cask Aged bar, "This isn't your run-of-the-mill chocolate bar. ... It's other worldly!" Raaka offers a full range of bars available on their website.

Dandelion Chocolates has made small-batch quality chocolates since 2010. Simple is what they aim for. But don't be fooled; simplicity does not equal low quality. Quite the opposite, as the people at Dandelion Chocolates take great care to ensure their chocolates go above and beyond. They focus on single origin bars, and those chocolate bars contain just two ingredients: cacao beans and sugar. To ensure quality, the people at Dandelion visit their producers regularly to ensure the beans and the fermentation is up to their standards. They then use those beans in conjunction with organic cane sugar to produce their whole line of bars, hot chocolates, and baking chocolates. It is a minimalistic approach, but one that allows the authentic rich flavor of the chocolates to show. As Serious Eats wrote, "This is how chocolate should be—complex and alive but balanced, not unhinged."

Dandelion Chocolates can be purchased through the online store or one of several storefronts, including locations in Japan.

Business partners Dan Rattigan and Jael Skeffington are no strangers to the chocolate-making business, with French Broad Chocolate being the second chocolate venture for the pair. Located in Asheville, North Carolina, French Broad started as a chocolate lounge where people could come and indulge in delicious treats. However, they soon outgrew the ability to keep up with the demand for their chocolate, and in 2012 Rattigan and Skeffington opened the French Broad Chocolate Factory and Tasting Room, where they created bean-to-bar treats for the world. Like Solstice Chocolate, French Broad Chocolate made Forbes' 2018 list of can't miss bean-to-bar chocolates.

Their product line has expanded dramatically. In addition to bars of chocolate, French Broad offers exquisite bonbons made with their bean-to-bar chocolate and an assortment of delectable fillings. They also offer baking chocolate and cacao nibs. They even have a line of chocolate candles and soaps, the latter of which features Peruvian Cocoa butter. Their chocolate creations can be purchased on their website or at any of their three Asheville locations.

LetterPress Chocolate sprouted from a genuine passion. Husband and wife team David Menkes and Corey Menkes did not initially set out to create a chocolate company. But after visiting cocoa farms while on a trip to St. Lucia, they discovered that they were very into learning about the process of making chocolate. 

They started a blog reviewing bean-to-bar chocolates, David went to Hawaii to study all things cocoa, and the two began making chocolate at home. One thing led to another, and by 2017, they'd moved into their first commercial space. Their bars, which are available on their website, are each packaged in beautiful wrappers. In addition, many of their bars are molded into the company's logo, adding a layer of elegance. 

LetterPress offers standard options such as single origin bars and flavored bars, white chocolate bars, and sugar-free chocolate bars that are 100% Dark Chocolate for the brave at heart. Of the award-winning Ucayali Private Reserve 70% Dark Chocolate bar, Dark Matters Chocolate Reviews wrote, "A delicate bar with subtle flavor notes that change throughout the tasting experience."

Taza Chocolates embraces tradition by producing and packaging stone ground Mexican-style chocolates. When founder Alex Whitemore went on a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, he instantly fell in love with the traditional stone ground chocolate he found there. Upon returning to Somerville, Massachusetts, Whitemore decided to try his hand at crafting chocolate inspired by his excursion. And with that, Taza was born. 

The chocolate produced through stone mills is less smooth and offers a bit more grit than its highly processed counterpart, which the company says allows the bean's flavor to show better. Regarding Taza's process, The Full Helping gushed, "The chocolate that results does not have the texture of conventional chocolate: instead, it has a granular mouthfeel. This sounds weird, I know, but it's really delicious."

Taza notes on their website that they source all of their cacao beans Direct Trade Certified, which ensures that the cacao producers are compensated fairly for their products. Their chocolates can be purchased at the Factory Store or at their online store, where they sell chocolate bars, discs, and snacks. If you are able to make it to the factory for a tour, you are in luck, but for those who can't, Taza also sells virtual chocolate tasting kits to experience all the chocolaty goodness from the comfort of your own home.

In 2010, friends Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor had become enamored of the bean-to-bar scene in the United States and wanted to be a part of it. So they launched a factory in Eureka, California, and got to it. Dick Taylor Chocolate has since grown to a place of prominence in the very chocolate world they both loved. 

Per the company site, Dick Taylor Chocolate searches for the top 1% of cacao grown so that it can produce the best chocolate possible. The company sources from Direct Trade farmers. When the cacao beans make it to the factory, they are roasted and processed before being turned into their chocolate creations. Finally, each bar's wrapper is hand letterpressed using presses restored by the owners. With the love and care provided to each bar, it is no wonder they have won a slew of accolades over the years and fans far and wide. In their enthusiastic review, Mostly About Chocolate concluded, "Whatever reason you may have for wanting to buy a bar of chocolate, make it one of the Dick Taylor range." The bars can be purchased at retail locations around the country or on their website.

Escazú Chocolates is a chocolate company located in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have been operating since 2008, when bean-to-bar companies were few and far between in the United States, and as ABC11 noted, even rarer was to find one entirely led by women. Named after Escazú, Costa Rica, Danielle Centeno and Tiana Young run the outfit together. Chatting with local PBS series "North Carolina Weekend," Centeno and Young noted that they have the quality of their ingredients plus the quality of their work environment to thank for their terrific product. 

Their storefront in Raleigh offers chocolate bars, bonbons, drinking chocolate, and ice cream. Prior to the pandemic, they didn't have much of an online business, but now many of their products are available for order pick-up and shipping. We are grateful that now we can buy the full range of chocolate goodies to consume wherever we are.

Lillie Belle Farms is the psychedelic wrapped chocolates any free spirit wants in their life. Founder Jeff Shepherd started Lillie Belle Farms as a small operation selling at his local farmer's market. The name is derived from his wife and daughter, who have stood by him as the company has grown. Now having been in existence for over 20 years, Lillie Belle Farms is one of the oldest chocolate companies on this list.

Shepherd approaches his chocolate making as an artist. He wants to make chocolate that evokes feeling and connection, and it seems he succeeds. In their review of the shop, Oregon.com stated, "Don't be afraid to experience different combinations that might not sound good on paper, but once they hit your tongue you end up going home with a box or two of the tiny delights." 

Many of the ingredients used to flavor their confections are from the farm itself, bringing even more small scale goodness to each treat. To purchase Lillie Belle Farms chocolates, you can order from their website's wide selection of bars, bonbons, and other chocolate goodies.

After being introduced to fine chocolate by his brother and sister-in-law, there was no going back for Potomac Chocolate's Ben Rasmussen. As he shared on the company website, he no longer craved what he'd once considered to be his go-to candy, Three Musketeers. He also decided to get into fine chocolate in a big way, launching his chocolate company in the DC area in 2010. 

He starts with two basic ingredients: cacao and sugar. While one might think his processing might follow that of other chocolate makers, you would be wrong. While the basic process is the same, Rasmussen has custom-built the equipment in his factory to fit his needs. And this seems to be working, as the bean-to-bar company has received many awards and accolades. "There are a million variables in chocolate-making, and every one of them is going to affect the final chocolate, so how I twiddle those bits—that's what produces my chocolate," he told Northern Virginia magazine.

Potomac Chocolate bars, which come in resealable packaging, are available on the company's website and at the brick and mortar location in Occoquan, Virginia.

While he was still working toward earning his sustainable development degree, Dylan Butterbaugh decided to start a sustainable business of his very own in his home state of Hawaii. When he launched Manoa Chocolate, a bean-to-bar enterprise, much of the equipment was makeshift. As he recounted on the company site, "Some of our original pieces of equipment involved a barbecue to roast and a tricycle-powered winnower to separate the cacao shells from the nibs!"

While their equipment has changed over the years, it seems like Moana Chocolate's priorities haven't shifted. In their recap of the factory tour, Roaming Hawaii noted, "You can tell with each of the employees that the company is very serious about their 'bean-to-bar' philosophy and wanting to advance the craft chocolate industry." If you are unable to make it to their factory to try the chocolate, Manoa Chocolates are available for purchase on their website.