bean to bar

before scharffen berger was bought by hershey, i went on a tour of their factory.

john scharffenberger walked the group i was with through the factory and explained each step of the chocolate making process.

there aren't many companies that are bean-to-bar in the united states -- most are chocolate melters. someone told me at one point a few years ago the number was under 15. i just looked on here, where there's a chart that lists 18. they're missing tcho and mast brothers though, so who knows if they're missing others. on the chocolate life, they list 15.

if you have any interest in how chocolate is made, check out the selby's photos of the mast brothers factory. there are photos of the entire chocolate-making process, starting with the cacao bean and ending with the final product. i love their packaging. and of course, their chocolate is delicious.

in addition to the mast brothers, another company i love is amano. their jembrana milk is my favorite milk chocolate; it's got amazing caramel flavor.