TCHO

TCHO is a luxury chocolate maker based in Berkeley, California. TCHO works with cacao bean farmers and cooperatives to improve growing, fermentation, and drying methods.^[1] Its factory and headquarters were formerly located on Pier 17 along the Embarcadero, in the city’s historic downtown waterfront district, but are now located in the West Berkeley section of Berkeley, California. In February 2018, it was announced that TCHO will be bought by the Japanese confectionary company Ezaki Glico.^[2]

History

TCHO was co-founded in December 2005 by Timothy Childs, a technology and chocolate entrepreneur who once developed vision systems for NASA's Space Shuttle program, and Karl Bittong, a 40-plus year veteran of the chocolate industry. Karl Bittong specializes in the engineering aspect of chocolate production and has worked on factories around the world. Timothy Childs left TCHO in 2010 to create pioneering Food/Tech, business Treasure8. For a while, its CEO and President were Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe, respectively, co-founders of Wired magazine as well as the first magazine website, Wired.com.

Former headquarters on Pier 17

In 2006, the company moved to Pier 17, a historic pier built in 1912 and the third-oldest pier on the San Francisco waterfront. Steel truss and timber frame buildings were built on this and surrounding piers to accommodate the loading and unloading of ships. Historically, the pier has been used for transport, military logistics, and trade, including the trade of cacao beans to San Francisco. The TCHO chocolate factory was assembled by a team of engineers using vintage European machines from Wernigerode, Germany, and modern refiners, grinders, and Siemens computerized temperature gauges. In April 2014 TCHO left Pier 17 and moved their offices and factory to Berkeley, CA.

TCHO teamed with Erik Spiekermann of Edenspiekermann for design and branding. Its packaging design has won numerous awards and honors, including the Academy of Chocolate Gold Award in February 2009, the European Design Gold Award in May 2009, the iF communication design award in August 2009, as well as nominations for the 2009 Cannes Design Lions and 2011 German Federal Design Award.

Distinctive Approach

TCHO original focus was on the inherent flavors found in cacao, and in turn chocolate, separating flavors by profile. It positions its chocolate in terms of the flavor profile rather than by cacao percentage or the origin of the beans. Cacao’s flavors derive not only from its genetics and terroir, similar to wine and coffee, but also from the way the cacao beans are fermented and dried. Such flavors can be further developed or “fine-tuned” during roasting, grinding, and conching to make the final chocolate. The cacao beans for TCHO’s four PureNotes dark chocolates were sourced and formulated to correspond to their dark chocolate flavor wheel.

TCHO's Dark Chocolate Flavor Wheel.

• “Chocolatey” is a single origin chocolate made from Ghanaian cacao beans. 70% cacao.

Flavor notes: Intensely fudgey; hints of roasted malt and caramel.

• “Fruity” is a single origin chocolate (organic and fair trade) made from Peruvian cacao beans. 68% cacao. No fruits added.

Flavor notes: Bright berry notes, finishing with traces of cherry.

• “Nutty” is a single origin chocolate (organic and fair trade) made from Ecuadoran cacao beans. 65% cacao. No nuts added.

Flavor notes: Roasted nuts with hints of coffee and toasted biscuit.

• “Citrus” is a single origin chocolate (organic) made from Madagascar cacao beans. 67% cacao. No citrus added.

Flavor notes: Subtle citrus notes, ending with a smooth creamy finish.

TCHO’s SeriousMilk chocolates include two milk chocolates with primary flavors that correspond to the milk chocolate flavor wheel, as follows:

• “Classic” is a creamy rich milk chocolate (organic and fair trade). 39% cacao.

Flavor notes: Rich caramel notes, with hints of butterscotch, honey and vanilla.

• “Cacao” is a dark milk chocolate (organic and fair trade). 53% cacao.

Flavor notes: Fudgey flavor, with a smooth creamy finish.

The company's flavor wheels are a key brand differentiator for TCHO.^[3]

Products

In addition to is original four single origin dark chocolate bars, the company manufactures an array of flavored bars (Mokaccino, Mint Chip Gelato, Almond + Sea Salt, etc.), TCHO Bites snacking chocolate, drinking chocolate, roasted cacao nibs, baking chocolate, and a wide selection of gifts with packaging by award-winning graphic designers. TCHO sells its products through various channels. TCHO’s products are available at select Whole Foods, and many gourmet specialty stores, restaurants, and bakeries throughout the country.

TCHOSource

Through its TCHOSource Program, TCHO directly invests in partnerships with cacao farmers, providing them the technology and know-how in 'open source' fashion. TCHOSource has installed TCHO "Flavor Labs" at co-ops throughout the world for farmers.^[4]

See also

• List of bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers

References

External links

• Official website