Meet CHOCOLATE
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MAKER
​
​
Mike Renfree
Photo: Intrinsic images
Mike's interest in Chocolate Making evolved after a lifetime working as
a Chef and Food Technologist.
The science brain met the
creative brain with great gusto
and the secrets of
Cacao
were slowly revealed.
What followed was
an inspired move to one of those rare communities where
anything is possible...
the west coast beach town of
Raglan, New Zealand....
​
Raglan Chocolate was born in 2017.
Making Chocolate
Good Chocolate is a tricky thing to make;
part science,
part art.
​
It starts with
good ingredients..... traceable and ethically sourced.
Quality Cacao beans direct from the Grower.
If every step is done well, the end result can be
incredible.
This is what we call
Bean-to-Bar
Chocolate.
Photo: Raglan Chocolate
Photos: Intrinsic Images
Bean-to-Bar Chocolate
The Bean-to-Bar concept (the way of bringing the beans, their Grower and the Maker into a loop), showcases whole beans used for their particular flavour profile distinguishing one variety from another, very much like vineyard growers and their grapes.
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Hand Made : Ethical
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Chocolate made from the whole bean, by the Chocolate Maker.
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Beans are ethically sourced. (This means the Cacao Growers are paid fairly for their beans, there is no child slavery on the farms and we can trace the cacao sacks along the supply chain).
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Uses minimal processing and ingredients.
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Made on a small scale so each batch can be optimised by the Chocolate Maker and slight flavour changes from different seasons and crops are encouraged and worked with.
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Celebrates the natural differences in bean varieties, flavours and aromas.
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Uses as little sugar as possible.
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Avoids emulsifiers and other ingredients that are added only to make the chocolate cheaper.
Our bean varieties each have a known history. It's important to us that the land and the people involved in growing them are well treated.
Photo: Trade Aid
