“Obsession,” say the chocolatiers at San Francisco’s TCHO, “makes the New American chocolate.” It’s more than their passion for subtly wonderful chocolate—it’s about partnering with growers through the TCHOSource program to help producers earn a fair wage, and to provide assistance with farming practices. To create the best chocolate, TCHO sets up flavor labs on-site so that the growers can actually produce the chocolate from their beans. That’s what happens when, as the company says, “a Silicon Valley start-up meets San Francisco food culture.”
Cacao is king at TCHO, where products for the professional (or just plain chocolate lover) range from Intense Dark 99% cacao bars to Pro SeriousMilk 53% cacao discs, TCHO’s deeper, darker take on traditional milk chocolate. They even have gift boxes designed by Dutch graphic artist Max Kisman, including one emblazoned with a trolley and “Greetings from San FrancisTCHO”.