When Covid hit, the Theo Chocolate Company in Seattle, WA, had to shut down their factory visits just like so many companies across the world. But soon, Theo took to Zoom and started offering virtual chocolate tasting classes. This is how I became acquainted with Theo. I had seen the bars in my local grocery store, but I hadn’t tasted them and didn’t know much about Theo.
Theo Chocolate Company was founded in 2005 in Seattle by Joe Whinney and Jeff Fairhall. The company was named after the Theobroma cacao tree, also known as the cocoa tree—Theo for short. It is a mission-based company with a dream to make high-quality chocolate all in one place, and make a positive impact across all aspects of the chocolate industry—making fair wages and fair trade a top priority. The bean-to-bar chocolate is made in flavors that are both traditional and unexpected, and the high-percentage cacao chocolate appeals to dark chocolate lovers like me. Even their milk chocolate is 45% cacao compared to standard milk chocolate which is 11-15% .
Little did Theo know that a quick pivot to Zoom would change their business and expand their reach. Now, you don’t have to be in Seattle to “visit” the Theo chocolate factory. In June 2020 they started the virtual classes and 16 months later, more than 30,000 people have been a part of the virtual tastings and classes.
The virtual classes are now a permanent part of their e-commerce offerings and an entertaining activity and/or gift for any chocolate lover. Most of the classes are private classes “for fun company events, weddings, family reunions, birthday parties and other occasions where groups connect with chocolate,” explained Aaron Lindstrom, the Education and Outreach Manager for Theo.
If you are interested in taking a class but don’t have a group, the tasting boxes are sold online for $39.00 and include the virtual class. You buy the chocolate, and schedule a time to join 39 other people—the classes max out at 40 people—for either a traditional chocolate tasting or a vegan chocolate tasting.
Aaron Lindstrom wrote a children’s book that tells the story of how chocolate is made from the cacao … [+]
Theo Chocolate Company
There is also a Kids Chocolate Story Time class. During the shutdown, Lindstrom wrote a children’s book about how chocolate is made and it has become the center of their kids’ class. The class includes an interactive show and tell, and a reading of the original story written by Lindstom and illustrated by Mandy Arroyo and Emily Raffensperger, “Danna and Gerald’s Big Bean to Bar Adventure.” They plan to publish a hard copy of the book this year.
Lindstrom conducted my tasting and he was knowledgeable, informative and casual in the best possible way. It was a “class” that schooled me on the bean-to-bar process but was fun and entertaining, and a great excuse to eat 8 types of chocolate in an hour—starting with fresh cacao nibs. The best part was the class introduced me to a new brand, and I got to try fresh roasted cacao nibs which as someone who already loved cacao nibs, was a revelation. It’s like the difference between fresh coffee and stale coffee. I now know that most of the nibs that I have nibbled on and cooked with were less than fresh.
If you are a chocolate consumer, you know that bean-to-bar is frequently used by chocolate companies as a selling point/product benefit. Theo was the first organic, fair-trade certified bean-to-bar chocolate maker in North America. Today there are 100 chocolate companies in the US (according to http://bean.bar/makers) that use the phrase “bean-to-bar.”
Basically, bean-to bar means that “the company works to source its own cacao beans, and independently does the roasting, grinding, and refining onsite,” explained Monique Heineman, Brand Manager. “The other common way of processing chocolate is pre-melted chocolate-to-bar—these types of chocolatiers are called Chocolate Melters—a chocolate company that buys their cocoa liquor (or pre-made chocolate) in bulk. From there, the company will melt the material, and add their own sugar and other ingredients to make the product their own,” said Heineman.
Theo makes all of it’s chocolate in Seattle. The assortment includes core bars—the traditional flavors and candy cups that you see in grocery stores, as well as ‘Inspired Chocolate’ smaller 1.9 ounce bars with flavors like ‘Root Beer Barrel’ and ‘Bread and Chocolate’ that are both included in the traditional tasting box. If you think root beer and chocolate sounds weird, think again. The nostalgic shards of root-beer candy balance the sweetness of the dark chocolate and lend a welcome refreshing crunch. But that’s not all, there are seasonal and hand-crafted confections such as Nutcracker Brittle and Peppermint Polly, ganache, caramels and more available online. The new Cookie Bites take favorite cookie flavors and coat them in chocolate for sweet snacking and are available both online and in select stores nationwide.