Bean to bar chocolate

Au Chocolat is proud to partner with the Mexican Arabica Bean Company, a Direct Trade Cacao Bean Exporter and Expert Cacao and Coffee Bean Analyzer.

Currently Au Chocolat carries Organic Beans and Cacao Butter from 8 origins in the making of bean to bar chocolate.

Columbia, Dominican Republic (Butter), Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Vietnam. 

Both Au Chocolat and MABCO share the same values around quality and ethics. 

All of our cacao beans are Organic. They are farmed, fermented and dried with expertise and strict quality practises.  

Cacao Beans grow 20° north and south of the equator. In each specific region, they can differ in colour, size, genetics and flavour (terrior). 

Terrior refers to identifiable flavour profiles impacted by regional soil composition, climate and geomorphology.  

For example Mexican chocolate is slightly earthy, Columbia / Nicaragua, Peru and Vietnam are quite fruity, and Honduras tends to be nutty.   

There are 4 main types of beans: Criollo Forastero, Trinitario, and Nacional.

The most common commercially cultivated bean is the Forastero, typically found in West Africa. These beans primarily make up mass-produced chocolate and lack specific flavour profiles.  

Our beans are purchased from MABCO and are predominantly Trinitario, with Mexico as Criollo.  These flavourful beans make up only 5-10% of the world bean production. They are prized for their mix of complex tasty profiles (flavours).