Blanxart Chocolate -The Details Make The Difference

photo courtesy of Julie Anderson

By Sue Ann Colvin

Chocolate. Just writing the word causes me to salivate. It lifts your spirits, makes almost any offense forgivable and mimics the feeling of being in love. Blanxart chocolate is the Queen of Chocolates in my book, and not just because I work here (although that doesn't hurt). Blanxart is not just about the taste and the richness of their bars; it is as I have learned about the artistry of chocolate making. The perfect selection of beans, the timing of the roasting and the historic machinery that Blanxart has used for decades all contribute to the experience of indulging in Blanxart.

Blanxart sources much of their beans from Domaine Monts de la Lune (Mountains of the Moon) Plantation (DML) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
DML is certified by Fair For Life.

Fair for Life ensures fair and positive relations between producers and their cooperatives or contracting companies, between workers and their employer, between seller and buyers on the world market while at the same time ensuring performance of standards.This attention to detail and strong business ethic permeates the atmosphere of Blanxart.

The first step in the making of chocolate is cleaning and toasting the cocoa beans. The degree of toast bestows the characteristic aroma and flavor of Blanxart chocolate. Toasting eliminates the humidity and the acidity, and also facilitates the chipping process of the cocoa beans.


Once the cacao is toasted, one of Blanxart’s traditional machines crushes the beans to obtain small pieces called commonly nibs.

The nibs become liquor of cacao. This liquor is a fine paste that is mixed with sugar and cacao butter. The mixer machine is set to the exact proportions based on the kind of chocolate that will be created.

The mix is further processed in the refiner through a process known as conching. The refiner is a machine composed of cylinders that uses pressure to turn the mass in the mixer into a fine powder.

This resulting powder goes into the shells, which are temperature controlled, large containers adapted with whirling arms that move the chocolate for hours until a homogeneous liquid texture is obtained.

When the conching process has finished the chocolate is stored at the right temperature until its use for chocolate bars. The intricate process and the distance this bar of chocolate has traveled from bean to my hand, humbles me and causes me to savor every bite all the more.