More than chocolate...
At a glance, all chocolate-making looks the same: beans are cultivated and fermented, roasted and ground, sweetened and sold. Large-scale chocolate manufacturers have optimized this process for mass production. The unfortunate result: flat, uninspired, expressionless chocolate - the taste has been engineered out of the bar!
We salute the few, craft chocolate makers that are taking time and care with each part of the chocolate making process, releasing the full potential of the bean; those who are supporting careful farming and fermentation, the ones who ensure farmers are paid a fair wage through an ethical and sustainable supply chain, and those who skillfully grind, roast, and sweeten without diluting the bean's essence.
We at Castronovo Chocolate are in relentless pursuit of discovering the absolute depths of the chocolate experience knowing full well we may never get there. But along the way, we can all enjoy a bar of the most flavorful chocolate you can find.
We salute the few, craft chocolate makers that are taking time and care with each part of the chocolate making process, releasing the full potential of the bean; those who are supporting careful farming and fermentation, the ones who ensure farmers are paid a fair wage through an ethical and sustainable supply chain, and those who skillfully grind, roast, and sweeten without diluting the bean's essence.
We at Castronovo Chocolate are in relentless pursuit of discovering the absolute depths of the chocolate experience knowing full well we may never get there. But along the way, we can all enjoy a bar of the most flavorful chocolate you can find.
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Accolades in the News
You May Be Surprised That Florida Makes Some of the World's Best Chocolate
May, 2017
Denise Castronovo, creator of Castronovo Chocolate, set up shop in Stuart, Florida in 2013 to make her chocolate, and her journey has been filled with praise and accolades. She is in fact the only U.S. female chocolate maker to have ever been honored at the International Chocolate Awards, taking home awards in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Read Full Article
May, 2017
Denise Castronovo, creator of Castronovo Chocolate, set up shop in Stuart, Florida in 2013 to make her chocolate, and her journey has been filled with praise and accolades. She is in fact the only U.S. female chocolate maker to have ever been honored at the International Chocolate Awards, taking home awards in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Read Full Article
A Taste Test of Chocolate Bars Made from Scratch
December, 2015
Castronovo's Sierra Nevada 72% bar ranked #3 in Peter Wells's blind tasting of 14 bean-to-bar chocolates made in the United States. "A first impression of burned sugar and dark bread crust gives way to baked fruit - wild blueberry pie?" Read Full Article
December, 2015
Castronovo's Sierra Nevada 72% bar ranked #3 in Peter Wells's blind tasting of 14 bean-to-bar chocolates made in the United States. "A first impression of burned sugar and dark bread crust gives way to baked fruit - wild blueberry pie?" Read Full Article
The Best Chocolates of the Americas
August, 2015
"Castronovo's award-winning chocolate bars have a magical caramel flavor that comes naturally from the beans. The Sierra Nevada 63%, made from Colombian beans, has that rich, silky-smooth caramel flavor, plus a slight tartness that invites you to keep eating. It's addictively delicious..." Read Full Article
August, 2015
"Castronovo's award-winning chocolate bars have a magical caramel flavor that comes naturally from the beans. The Sierra Nevada 63%, made from Colombian beans, has that rich, silky-smooth caramel flavor, plus a slight tartness that invites you to keep eating. It's addictively delicious..." Read Full Article
Local Chocolate Shop Wins Top Honor
July, 2015
"Our chocolate is really just full of flavor,” she said. “It's all made bean to bar and we use processes that really predate mass production. It's all stone ground, and that just brings out a lot of the flavor notes.” See Video Broadcast
July, 2015
"Our chocolate is really just full of flavor,” she said. “It's all made bean to bar and we use processes that really predate mass production. It's all stone ground, and that just brings out a lot of the flavor notes.” See Video Broadcast
4 Brilliant Chefs Who Are Changing the World with Food
June, 2015
"Castronovo is one out of just a small handful of female chocolate makers in America. Her passion for ecology began with professor Eugene Odum (“the father of modern ecology”) and a trip to Costa Rica. There, she realized that saving the rainforest depended on creating a sustainable economy..." Read Full Article
June, 2015
"Castronovo is one out of just a small handful of female chocolate makers in America. Her passion for ecology began with professor Eugene Odum (“the father of modern ecology”) and a trip to Costa Rica. There, she realized that saving the rainforest depended on creating a sustainable economy..." Read Full Article
Treasure Coast chocolate shop gaining worldwide renown
October, 2014
"I knew we had something special with this chocolate,” she said. “This bean is an extremely rare cacao bean from the Sierra Nevada mountains of Colombia." See Video Broadcast
October, 2014
"I knew we had something special with this chocolate,” she said. “This bean is an extremely rare cacao bean from the Sierra Nevada mountains of Colombia." See Video Broadcast