CART
TCHO is decidedly different. This San Francisco-based chocolate factory was founded by Tim Childs (left), a Space Shuttle technologist-turned-chocolate maker and Karl Bittong, a world-renowned, bean roasting and chocolate manufacturing expert. Add to the mix Louis Rossetto (right), the co-founder of Wired magazine, and you have a team that is committed to making “obsessively good dark chocolate" using Fair Trade cacao beans from around the world.
While other chocolate makers were slapping cacao percentages onto every package, TCHO bucked the trend and conjured up a nifty “flavor wheel” that uses simple descriptors that hint at what the chocolate will actually taste like. These are not added flavors, they’re the palate-pleasing notes that come naturally from various types of cacao beans during the roasting process. (Chocoholic that I am, I thought all of the flavors were amazing, but those used to Hershey’s Milk Chocolate might be in for a surprise—this stuff is much more complex.)
If you think it sounds a little like wine, you’re right. The folks at TCHO have even hosted tasting parties where people can learn to appreciate the differences between “chocolatey” and “nutty,” “citrus” and “fruity.” In fact, it’s the kind of party you could throw yourself. Just remember to share the chocolate!
—Emily