From Farm to Kitchen: Our Chocolate Sourcing
By Bakers District
Chocolate is the single most important ingredient in our kitchen. It appears in over half our products. The quality of the chocolate determines the quality of everything we make.
We source our chocolate from three partner farms:
Ecuador (70-72% cacao): Bright, fruity notes with hints of red berry and citrus. We use this in our Classic Chocolate Chunk cookie and our dark chocolate ganache. The higher cacao content gives a clean, intense flavor that balances well with brown butter.
Madagascar (64% cacao): Distinctly tangy and aromatic, with notes of tropical fruit. This chocolate has a unique flavor profile that we use in our seasonal creations and our chocolate tasting boxes.
Ghana (60% cacao): Deep, earthy, and slightly bitter. This is the chocolate we use in our brownies and our hot chocolate. The lower cacao percentage makes it more approachable while still having real depth.
We work with Valrhona, a French chocolate maker that has relationships with these farms spanning decades. Every batch of chocolate we receive comes with a traceability report telling us exactly which farm it came from.
Why does this matter? Because cacao, like coffee or wine, tastes different depending on where it is grown. The soil, climate, fermentation process, and roasting all affect the final flavor. By choosing specific origins for specific products, we can create flavor combinations that would be impossible with generic commercial chocolate.
The next time you bite into one of our cookies, pay attention to the chocolate. It is not just chocolate. It is a specific chocolate, from a specific place, chosen for a specific reason.