Tascala Artisan Chocolate

We make small-batch, single-origin craft chocolate and specialty desserts and confections made with our chocolate. Founded by the son and grandson of chocolatiers who bought fine chocolate to make their confections, Tascala makes its own chocolate directly from the cocoa beans ("bean-to-bar"). We buy high quality, organic, and fairly trade cocoa beans from around the world; hand sort and gently roast them to bring out each variety's unique flavor notes; and stone grind with organic cane sugar until the chocolate is silky smooth and its flavors are perfectly developed. Craft chocolate is a movement to produce, enjoy, and appreciate high-quality chocolate. Rather than wolfing down a mass-produced bar, chocolate should be artisanal food--like wine, cheese and coffee--whose enjoyment can be enhanced with greater education, connoisseurship, and sensory exploration. We seek to highlight the unique characteristics that result from the diversity of cocoa bean cultivars, terroir, processing methods, roasting techniques, and other variables in chocolate preparation. Craft chocolate disrupts the more commodity-focused trade of mass-produced chocolate, and prioritizes taste quality, unique flavor notes, and equitable relationships over low prices and standardized flavor. Craft chocolate is a relatively young industry. To put it into context, where craft chocolate is today, specialty coffee and craft beer were in the 1990s--at the cusp of widespread popularity and appreciation.