Our Story

Jaqi and Terry met in Rapid City, SD where both attended South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Terry pursued a Civil Engineering degree and Jaqi finished her Mining Engineering degree and a master's in Industrial Engineering and Management. They went on to Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, where Terry finished his Civil Engineering degree. It's one of the highest ranking civil engineering degree programs in the country. Jaqi finished her doctorate in Engineering Education (also, one of the highest ranking programs in the world). Terry has been in Civil Engineering and moved into management with an engineering firm. Jaqi was a professor teaching and doing research in engineering before they moved to Winter Park, CO.

They use their background in chemistry, education, engineering, and systems to make amazing chocolate.

Our Chocolate Story

We started making chocolate from cacao beans at home. It had been a dream of Jaqi’s to make chocolate from scratch for 15 years. She has been making confections with chocolate for at least a decade for holiday treats and presents.

The first batch of beans were called Wild Bolivian Tranquilidad. The chocolate was 70% cacao beans, 5% cocoa butter, and 25% organic sugar. It tasted nothing like what we buy from the grocery store. The chocolate tasted sweet, like dried fruits had been infused in the chocolate. We were delighted, tasting something new and different, but with limited ingredients. This was real chocolate. A transforming experience. From there, the idea of making chocolate in a shop was born.

We love single-origin small batch chocolate. “Single Origin” means each chocolate batch is made with a specific bean from a specific region. Our goal is to highlight how chocolate from different origins taste unique. Some are fudgey with a rich chocolate flavor, others have long fruit notes of red fruits (Dominican Republic) or bright notes of pineapple (Tanzania). Part of the experience of chocolate is tasting how similar or different single-origin chocolate tastes.

The chocolate is made in small batches from our tiny shop in Winter Park, Colorado. To achieve optimal flavor, we hand pick through each batch, 2 pounds at a time, looking for any beans that are shriveled, cut, have a broken shell, or are smashed. Then, we roast each origin bean to specific roasting profiles (a medium roast). Then, take the husk off the bean (winnowing). The cocoa nibs process for five to six days in a melanger to make chocolate. From there, the chocolate is tempered (this is what makes chocolate have the shine, and snap when breaking it apart), making every piece of chocolate a delightful experience.

We want you to have the best experience with chocolate. Chocolate is best kept at 55 degrees F to 70 degrees F.