The Complete Guide to Craft Chocolate at The Ambrosian Pantry
The Ambrosian Pantry carries one of the most extensive selections of craft chocolate in the Rocky Mountain region, featuring bean-to-bar makers from over 15 countries. Whether you are a seasoned chocolate enthusiast or just beginning to explore beyond the grocery store aisle, this guide will help you navigate our collection and find your next favorite bar.
What Makes Craft Chocolate Different
Craft chocolate makers control the entire process from raw cacao bean to finished bar. They source cacao from specific farms and fermentaries, roast and grind it themselves, and make deliberate choices at every stage that shape the final flavor. The result is chocolate with genuine origin character, like wine from a specific vineyard rather than a generic blend.
Mass-market chocolate blends cacao from dozens of sources to achieve a consistent, neutral flavor, then adds vanilla, extra cocoa butter, and emulsifiers to smooth everything out. Craft chocolate does the opposite: it highlights what makes each origin unique. A bar made with Tanzanian cacao tastes different from one made with Ecuadorian cacao, and a skilled maker will bring out those differences rather than hiding them.
The other critical difference is freshness and ingredients. Many of our makers use just two or three ingredients (cacao, sugar, and sometimes one inclusion). No added cocoa butter, no soy lecithin, no artificial vanilla. When you eat craft chocolate, you taste the cacao itself. For a step-by-step look at how it is made, see our guide to what bean-to-bar chocolate is.
Our Craft Chocolate Makers
From Asia & the Middle East
Fossa (Singapore) is Singapore's first bean-to-bar maker, known for bars that draw on Asian flavor traditions like wok-fried Sichuan mala spices, yuzu, and Yuasa soy sauce. Over 50 international awards. Their Pistachio Meltaway Knafeh and Spicy Mala are unlike anything else in the chocolate world.
Mirzam (Dubai) crafts chocolate inspired by the ancient Spice Routes, using Emirati ingredients like honeycomb, date syrup, saffron, and cardamom. Named after a star that signals the arrival of summer in the Arabian sky.
Fu Wan (Taiwan) is one of the few chocolate makers in the world that grows its own cacao. True tree-to-bar from Ping Tung, Taiwan, featuring indigenous ingredients like Tie-Guan-Yin tea and magao wild pepper.
From Europe
Venchi (Italy) has been making chocolate in Turin, the capital of Italian chocolate, since 1878. Their Nougatine recipe has not changed since 1905. Over 180 boutiques worldwide. Venchi represents the Italian chocolate tradition at its finest.
Naive (Lithuania) is one of the most boundary-pushing makers in the world. Founded in 2010 by Domantas Uzpalis near Vilnius, their Forager Collection uses Lithuanian kefir, porcini mushrooms, and bee pollen. They have even made bars with dry-aged beef and carbonated cola. All ingredients are biodynamic and freeze-dried.
Omnom (Iceland) makes bean-to-bar chocolate in Reykjavik using Icelandic whole milk powder and sea salt, giving their milk chocolate a richness no other maker can replicate. Beautiful packaging and approachable flavors make Omnom the perfect introduction to craft chocolate.
Friis-Holm (Denmark) is obsessively focused on fermentation. Mikkel Friis-Holm works exclusively with Nicaraguan cacao, applying different fermentation protocols to demonstrate how post-harvest processing shapes flavor. His bars are benchmarks in the craft chocolate world.
Pralus (France) is a legendary French chocolatier in Roanne whose Barre Infernale (Inferno Bar) features layers of chocolate praline with a crunchy, melting texture that is genuinely addictive.
From the Americas
Dick Taylor (California) was founded by two former boat builders who brought their craftsman's attention to detail to chocolate. Their Black Fig bar, made with Tanzanian cacao and California Black Mission Figs, is one of the bestselling craft chocolate bars in the country.
Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco) uses just two ingredients per bar: cacao and sugar. Nothing else. Their Valencia Street factory is a pilgrimage site for chocolate lovers.
Mayana (Wisconsin) creates bold, multi-layered candy bars that are unapologetically fun and indulgent. Peanut Butter & Jelly, Mother Fluffer, Abu Dhabi. These are not subtle bars. They are events.
Taza Chocolate (Massachusetts) is the American pioneer of stone-ground chocolate, with a bold, gritty texture inspired by Oaxacan traditions. Organic, direct trade, and connected to chocolate's ancient Mesoamerican roots.
Amano (Utah) sources cacao from specific villages around the world, from Ocumare in Venezuela (famous since the 1600s) to the Sambirano Valley of Madagascar.
Goodnow Farms (Massachusetts) is known for adventurous limited releases like Green Sichuan Pepper and Putnam Rye Whiskey dark chocolate.
Qantu (Montreal) focuses on Peruvian cacao, with their Oh La Vache! winning the International Chocolate Awards World Gold. Their bars bridge Montreal and Peru through Maras salt from ancient Inca terraces and Quebec maple sugar.
Original Beans (Global) sources the rarest cacao varieties from the most biodiverse regions on Earth and plants a tree for every bar sold.
How to Start Exploring
If you are completely new to craft chocolate, start with a 70% dark bar from Dick Taylor or Dandelion Chocolate. Their straightforward approach (just cacao and sugar) lets you taste what single-origin chocolate means without distracting inclusions.
If you prefer milk chocolate, Omnom from Iceland is the place to start. Their Cookies + Cream and Caramel bars are approachable, creamy, and genuinely excellent.
If you want adventure, go straight to Fossa Spicy Mala or Naive Porcini Mushroom. These are bars that will change how you think about what chocolate can be.
For gifting, Venchi gift boxes are stunning, and a selection of three different single-origin bars from different makers is a gift that any food lover will remember.
Tasting Tips
Break off a piece and let it sit on your tongue for a few seconds before chewing. Craft chocolate reveals its flavors slowly, unlike mass-market chocolate which hits you with sugar immediately. You will notice fruit, nut, floral, and earthy notes that you never knew chocolate could have. The origin of the cacao, the fermentation, the roast, and the maker's technique all contribute to a unique flavor profile.
Try tasting two different single-origin bars side by side. The differences can be dramatic. A Tanzanian bar next to an Ecuadorian bar is like tasting two different wines from two different regions.
Visit Us
Our chocolate wall at The Ambrosian Pantry (263 Josephine St, Cherry Creek, Denver) is one of the things we are most proud of. We carry bars from over 15 countries and our team knows every single one. Come in, browse, ask questions, and taste. Or shop our full Chocolate collection online at theambrosianpantry.com.