Phan keeps her chocolate recipe simple, using only cacao beans, cane sugar, and cocoa butter in their bars. They control the chocolate making process from start to finish, starting with dry cacao beans and wrapping the finished bars by hand.Р”В¬redit Zeina Nasr / KALW News 9th and Larkin's melanger, or mixing tank, slowly grinds up cacao beans and sugar. She runs 9th & Larkin entirely by herself during the week, and sheРІР‚в„ўs joined by her husband on the weekends. So she quit her job and started 9th & Larkin, a brand of small batch chocolate based in San Francisco. I wanted to be able to kind of hold something and know that, OK, I made this,РІР‚Сњ she explains. РІР‚СљI was working a regular day job, but then I felt like I wanted to make something tangible. Like the customers at Market Hall, Phan started as a chocolate lover, but a few years ago, things got serious. РІР‚СљMaybe you taste one thing but I taste something different, and that's totally fine because it's subjective. ItРІР‚в„ўs just not your cup of tea.РІР‚СњР”В¬hocolate maker Lan Phan would agree that thereРІР‚в„ўs no right of wrong way to taste chocolate.

And as chocolate expert Vanessa Chang explains to the crowd gathered around her eclectic display table, РІР‚СљIf you donРІР‚в„ўt like it, itРІР‚в„ўs not that the chocolateРІР‚в„ўs bad. Local chocolate makers and food experts are invited to display their products, and customers from all over the Bay Area stop by to get a taste of everything from innovative Italian chocolate to old school Oakland-made toffee. In Berkeley, thereРІР‚в„ўs a specialty foods store called Market Hall, and once a year, they hold a popular event called РІР‚СљFor the Love of Chocolate.РІР‚Сњ Over a century later, a new guard of chocolate makers is picking up where a previous generation of innovators left off, and theyРІР‚в„ўre leading a small but potent revolution in the chocolate industry. Of course I should also recommend a Swiss product РІР‚вЂњ the chocolatier Rehmann has a lovely bean-to-barР’В selection.Р’В They beganР’В as a start-up with a crowdfunding platform in Switzerland and are quicklyР’В making a name for themselves in the chocolate industry.ThereРІР‚в„ўs a long history of chocolate making in the Bay Area that goes all the way back to the Gold Rush. The producers won gold and silver at the InternationalР’В Chocolate Awards 2016.Р’В Their bars are tiny, delicate squares sized 8x8mm РІР‚вЂњ but they are fullР’В of so muchР’В love that theyР’В enrich allР’В myР’В senses once placed on my tongue. I love the chocolate by Minimal, which isР’В manufacturedР’В in Tokyo. You may not believe this, but my favourite bean-to-bar chocolate is a Japanese product. My personal preferred bean-to-bar chocolate But it'sР’В not always the only indicator, since some small batch chocolatiers whoР’В don't produce bean-to-bar chocolateР’В are also in a high price bracket.Р’В So perhaps at the end we shouldР’В just trust our belly and taste buds! They will lead us to the chocolateР’В we love. The size of the batch is oftenР’В the first indicator.Р’В Most small batch makersР’В disclose the country of origin of the cacao, and some even disclose the name of the region or the actual estate where the cacao originates.Р’В A higher price may be a indicator too.

How can weР’В recogniseР’В bean-to-bar chocolate? In addition, some chocolate makers produce chocolate from a product calledР’В cocoa mass orР’В cocoa liquor, which is what we call cocoa after it has been ground and melted.

The big questionР’В is: but isnРІР‚в„ўtР’В allР’В chocolate made from cacao beans?Р’В Technically, yes, but it's not always made by the company whose name appears on the bar. How can we differentiate bean-to-bar chocolate fromР’В otherР’В chocolate?Р”Р„ bean-to-bar chocolate barР’В listsР’В cacao,Р’В cocoa orР’В cocoa beans asР’В its main ingredient. The whole process takes days, but the result is an outstanding, delicate chocolate that is not comparable to any other chocolate on the market. My curiosity in food trends led me to know more about the choccy concept that everyone's talking about: bean to bar.Р”Р„ bean-to-bar chocolateР’В maker isР’В responsible for sourcing the beans before processing them and then undergoingР’В severalР’В steps:Р”Р„llР’В these steps take place in house as part of theР’В production chain. We soonР’В start to differentiate between industrial-made milk chocolate and handmade dark chocolate. There are so manyР’В greatР’В premium-quality chocolates available. Growing up in SwitzerlandР’В eating chocolateР’В becomes a challenge.

Bean to bar