SchMucks Chocolate
from bean to bar

The Process

Six steps, all by hand, in a New Jersey kitchen. Here's how a raw cacao bean turns into a SchMucks bar.

  1. step 1

    Roasting

    Raw cacao beans, roasted low and slow until the whole kitchen smells like a promise.

  2. step 2

    Winnowing

    Cracked and winnowed by hand — rolling pins, wooden spoons, and a hair-dryer's worth of patience — until only the nib is left.

  3. step 3

    Melanging

    Nibs and maple sugar turn in the melanger for days, from gritty rubble into something smooth enough to call chocolate.

  4. step 4

    Tempering

    Coaxing the cocoa butter into its best crystal so the bar snaps, shines, and won't melt in your pocket.

  5. step 5

    Molding

    Poured into molds, tapped free of bubbles, and left to set into the SchMucks shape.

  6. step 6

    Packaging

    Wrapped, labeled, and — for the collectible series — slipped a card inside before it heads out the door.

the good part

Now go eat one

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