Spotlight on The Proper Chocolate Co.
Chocolate and sea salt is one of the perfect combinations, so we were only delighted to partner with the Proper Chocolate Company. Have a read below to learn about the company's story and the craft of chocolate making.
The Proper Chocolate Company
The Proper Chocolate Company was founded in May 2016 by Kelli and Patrick Marjolet. After being gifted a bag of cocoa beans, Patrick set about making his own chocolate, and from there, The Proper Chocolate Company was born! Since then, they’ve moved into a facility in Dublin, gained a huge customer base and estimated to have hand sorted more than 3 million cocoa beans!
The pair now work full time in the business along with a few seasonal and part-time workers that help out in busy periods. When they are not producing chocolate and fulfilling orders, they are at their local farmers markets on Saturdays chatting with their customers and sharing their story. This dedication and passion has helped them build up a loyal customer base, who they say are indispensable to their business. According to Kelli, they feel like they have won the customer lottery “it’s especially touching when we hear about how much bean-to-bar chocolate evangelism is taking place when we’re not around: customers who buy bars for friends and family while taking care to explain why the chocolate is special. That kind of involvement means the world to us”.
Chocolate making is actually quite a niche industry in Ireland and there are currently only six companies, including The Proper Chocolate Company that actually make chocolate. The vast majority are chocolatiers, who buy chocolate and then add different ingredients and flavours before making it into bars and truffles etc. Chocolate makers on the other hand, as described by Kelli begins with sourcing quality cocoa beans from the specialty cocoa bean market. The company have a 21-point check list for assessing the coca beans, which is an integral part of their business. This check list is based on quality, social responsibility, and organic practices. In their facility in Dublin they hand sort the raw beans to ensure that only the highest quality beans go into their chocolate. They are then roasted, cracked and winnowed before being refined, conched, aged, tempered and molded to create the finished chocolate product.
There is generally a lack of knowledge behind the craft of chocolate making and is often the main challenge for The Proper Chocolate Company. A lot of what they do entails explaining how chocolate is made, how craft bean-to-bar chocolate is different from the mass-produced chocolate and how subtle and nuanced fine specialty chocolate can be. But, sharing this knowledge with their customers at farmer’s markets is one of Kelli’s favourite things about the job!
The Proper Chocolate Company stick to a core line of bars that they believe they absolutely must offer to their customers. They do however love experimenting with new flavours and trialling them at markets to see if they’ll make it into their core range. One of their core bars is the, 70% Tanzania Kokoa Kamili with cocoa nibs and Achill Island Sea Salt. Kelli tells us that Achill Island Sea Salt has a lovely minerality, giving you more depth of flavour than your typical salt, marrying so well with their chocolate, “the two take turns dancing in your mouth as they both melt at their own pace.”
For more info on The Proper Chocolate Company, head over to their website.
And if you'd like some Proper Chocolate inspiration, check out our best ever chocolate chip recipe in our recipe section!
