Our Dark Chocolate

What is Bean-to-Bar Chocolate?

Bean-to-bar chocolate means we make our chocolate from scratch, starting with raw cacao beans rather than pre-made chocolate or couverture. This approach gives us complete control over the entire process—from sourcing ethically grown cacao to roasting, grinding, and crafting each bar in our Toronto production kitchen. It ensures transparency, quality, and a deeper connection between chocolate makers, farmers, and chocolate lovers.

Our Roots: From Oaxaca to Toronto

ChocoSol’s story began in Oaxaca, Mexico, where our founder, Michael Sacco, was researching sustainable technologies under the guidance of Gustavo Esteva at Universidad de la Tierra. His journey into chocolate making started with a solar-powered roaster and the guidance of a Zapotec grandmother, who taught him traditional chocolate-making methods.

This deep connection to traditional chocolate making and sustainable practices remains at the heart of everything we do today. Our chocolate is still stone-ground, our cacao is still directly sourced, and our focus remains on creating a delicious, ethical, and ecological chocolate experience.

Stone-Ground for a Richer Experience

Unlike most chocolate makers, we grind our cacao using volcanic stone wheels instead of industrial steel. This traditional method creates a deeply textured, full-bodied chocolate—a more rustic and flavourful experience than commercial bars. It also helps retain more of cacao’s natural nutrients, including antioxidants, iron, and magnesium, making each piece as nourishing as it is delicious.

Good For Mind, Body, & Soil

At ChocoSol, our vision is to create chocolate that is not only joyful, but delicious, nutritious, and deeply rooted in sustainability. That’s why our dark chocolate bars range from 52% to 100% cacao and are made with low sugar and whole-food ingredients—never dairy, soy, gluten, nuts, preservatives, fillers, or artificial flavours. We craft our chocolate using pure vanilla pods, coconut butter, dried chilis, and other natural ingredients, carefully selecting local and seasonal ingredients whenever possible to support our broader food community.

We honour the traditions of forest garden agriculture, one of the most sustainable farming methods in the world, while also fostering learning, creativity, and dignity for everyone involved in the process.

Our approach is built on resilient, ecological, and effective chocolate-making tools that allow us to craft high-quality, artisanal dark chocolate. We blend traditional Indigenous cacao practices—where chocolate is revered as the “food of the gods”—with European artisanal techniques that elevate it to a refined culinary experience. This intercultural fusion has led us to rediscover and reimagine chocolate, making it more than just a treat—it’s a reflection of history, craftsmanship, and sustainability.

And of course, the best way to understand this vision is to taste it for yourself.