| company name | Ritual Chocolate | |
| website | http://www.ritualchocolate.com | |
| ritualchocolate@gmail.com | ||
| chocolate makers |  | |
| factory location | Denver, CO, USA | |
| factory tours | no | |
| direct online purchase | Ritual | |
| direct stores | N/A | |
| retail store purchase | where Ritual is sold | |
| selling bars since | 2011 | |
| plantation bars | Balao Costa Rica Madagascar | |
| single origin bars | Belize | |
| blend bars | none | |
| production cycle | bean to bar | |
| added fat | none | |
| sweetener | cane sugar | |
| flavoring | none | |
| emulsifier | none | |
| organic | yes (not certified) | |
| sustainable | yes (not certified) | |
| economics | direct trade (not certified) | |
| last updated | January 28, 2012 | |
In 2008, Robbie Stout and Anna Davies met, soon fell in love, and began making chocolate together. On a 2010 trip to Costa Rica, they took a course with renown chocolate maker Steve DeVries, learned about his factory in Denver, Colorado, and arranged to use it. Although they now share the same equipment and some of the same cacao, Robbie and Anna use different techniques to craft their own unique chocolate. In July 2011, they released their first chocolate bar: Ritual Costa Rica.
They source their Trinitario cacao beans from the same farm as Steve DeVries in Costa Rica. Ritual makes their chocolate in small 80 pound batches in the factory in Denver, but does not quite follow the standard formula for making chocolate. They roast at lower than typical temperatures, use a roll mill for more consistent particle size, and age their chocolate about one month before remelting it to temper and form into bars.
Ritual uses only cacao beans and cane sugar in making their chocolate. No additional cocoa butter, emulsifier, or flavoring is added. The cane sugar is certified organic and fair trade. The farm where their cacao is grown is organic and certified sustainable by Rainforest Alliance. However, their chocolate bar does not yet have any certifications.
Robbie and Anna are also considerate of the environment in their chocolate making. The only waste product at present is cacao bean shells, and they are investigating having their wrappers made from the shells. Their current wrappers are made from foil and recycled paper. Even the local delivery of chocolate bars in Boulder, Colorado, is done by bicycle.
You can purchase Ritual chocolate online directly from them, or in person at retail locations in nine cities in the western United States and in New York.
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