Where Does Santa Barbara Chocolate Process Cacao?

One question I get asked frequently is: "Where does Santa Barbara Chocolate Co. process cocoa beans." To answer this question adequately it takes a little explanation.

Santa Barbara Chocolate Co. is a small company when compared to the big manufacturer's that process raw cacao into chocolate couverture to be used for bakery, pastry or confectionery. Most companies that process raw cacao into chocolate couverture are giant international companies with sales in excess of $500,000,000 annually. There are a lot of companies that claim to make their own couverture but what they actually do is blend and melt a variety of chocolates to make their own finished custom flavored formula. Then there are others on a very small scale that are roasting and grinding cacao and actually making small batches of chocolate. One company that I have a lot of respect for that does this, and makes great chocolate, is Askinosie Chocolate in Springfield Missouri. The downside of this type of small operation is high cost and difficulty in sourcing the best raw ingredients.

Our approach is completely different yet but I feel our approach will deliver the very best chocolate consistently with a secure infrastructure that regularly audits our systems and procedures.

All of us here at Santa Barbara Chocolate Co. have developed relationships with a close knit group of cacao brokers and farmers that act as a co-op ensuring top quality ethically traded cacao of unique origin. Our cacao is graded, fermented and dried in the origin country it was grown. We ship our cacao to Europe where it is cleaned, roasted, ground and manufactured to our precise recipes which we developed through extensive trial and error. We have chosen this method because our chocolate facilities in Europe are state of the art with the cleanest most health conscious standards around. These state of the art facilities are not normally found in South America or Asia and are very hard to find here in the USA. Santa Barbara Chocolate Co. facilities are certified ISO 9001 operations that ensure the chocolate made is perfect and with the highest hygienic standards. There are independent microanalysis lab testes performed with each batch made. We do this because we want to always offer the best quality, flavor and safety. Our partners in operating these top notch chocolate facilities include many of the famous European chocolate brands in Belgium, France and Germany.

Our chocolate couverture is shipped to California from Europe where we then distribute it to happy chocolate lovers. Here in California we use our custom couverture formulas to handcraft finished chocolates like our best seller of assorted California favorites.