‘Big chocolate’ vs. bean-to-bar craft chocolate
What's actually in your chocolate?
Most of the chocolate sold in supermarkets is made by a handful of enormous corporations, using a process designed to produce vast amounts of chocolate as cheaply as possible. The cacao in mass-produced chocolate is typically bought on commodity markets (bulk goods trade), where beans from many different origins are blended together and heavily processed to produce a consistent, predictable flavour. To compensate for low-quality beans and industrial processing, manufacturers often add large amounts of sugar, artificial vanilla, vegetable fats, and emulsifiers. The result is sweet, familiar, and far from exciting.
Bean-to-bar is different
Craft chocolate makers start from scratch, sourcing cacao beans from specific farms or cooperatives, often building long-term relationships with the growers. They buy small quantities of high-quality beans, chosen for the unique flavours of a particular region or harvest. From there, every intricate step of the process is carried out by the maker themselves, with care and attention at every stage.
The difference in flavour is extraordinary. Just as a good wine expresses the character of the vineyard it came from, great craft chocolate expresses the character of its cacao – whether it be fruity, floral, nutty, spiced or one of over 400 other potential flavour notes.
More chocolate, less diversity
There's nuance to this story that's worth understanding. Many of the artisan chocolate brands you'll find in boutique shops and food markets – beautifully packaged, carefully flavoured, genuinely delicious – are made by chocolatiers who buy ready-made couverture chocolate from a small number of large industrial suppliers, then melt it down and transform it into their own creations. Not all chocolatiers are supplied by ‘big chocolate’ companies and even those who are still perform a legitimate and awe-inspiring craft. But it does mean that beneath the surface, there is far less diversity in the chocolate world than it might appear. A huge proportion of what looks like independent chocolate is, at its core, the same base product.
Transparency at every step
Bean-to-bar makers are different because they control – and take responsibility for – every single step, from the beans to the finished chocolate. That means they can tell you exactly where their cacao came from, who grew it, and what was paid for it. In an industry with a long history of exploitation and opaque supply chains, that transparency matters enormously.
Common differences
Below you can read through some of the typical differences between 'big chocolate' and bean-to-bar craft chocolate. There are many different types of chocolate companies and every chocolate maker or chocolatier is different. These tiles give an overview of what you can expect from A Bar Apart makers, as compared to chocolate that’s made on a larger industrial scale.
