Quite a few customers ask if we have vegan chocolate. We do, and we have a large selection of vegan chocolate. This isn’t about following a trend or appealing to a specific audience. It is simply because we work with bean to bar chocolate. Bean to bar is the term used for specialty chocolate.
Why is specialty chocolate mostly vegan?
I say “mostly” because you can have specialty chocolate with milk. The point is that chocolate must contain cacao to be called chocolate. Cacao comes from a small flower that develops into a fruit. Inside the fruit are seeds, called cacao beans, which chocolate makers work with. Since cacao comes from a plant, chocolate is by definition plant-based.
Why isn’t every chocolate vegan?
Not all chocolate products on the market are vegan, or even plant-based. Many contain more sugar than cacao. Some have an ingredient list that resembles more a supermarket list. The general market has often put cacao in the background, and even when dark chocolate is used, it is sometimes handled in a very dubious way.
When is chocolate vegan and plant-based?
Bean to bar chocolate puts the focus on the beans. Most of the chocolate industry buys cacao mass to make chocolate. Bean to bar makers work with the beans, and the process is adapted to that specific bean.
Care begins at the farm. Transparency and direct trade ensure the beans are handled properly from cultivation to post-harvest processing. This preserves the unique flavor of each bean, producing a premium raw material known as fine cacao. The chocolate maker then works with those beans in a way they choose to express their work.
Because bean to bar chocolate put the focus on the beans as the main ingredient (sometimes the only one), it is naturally plant-based.
Is vegan chocolate only dark chocolate?
Besides dark chocolate, technically known as plain dark, other categories in specialty chocolate can also be vegan while keeping cacao as the main ingredient, such as chocolates with inclusions or infusions. Some chocolate makers have developed alternatives to milk, like oat milk, coconut milk, among other choices. One of our favorite vegan options that is not dark and still maintain cacao as main ingredient is definitely our hazelnut bar from Beaningful!
So, if you have any other questions you would like to make, do not hesitate to reach out!
