Our chocolate begins in the Solomon Islands. Our team on the ground in Honiara works with our farming communities who grow premium single origin cacao from fertile naturally nutrient rich soils.

We're unique in the chocolate world because we purchase directly from our growers, ensuring more of the value returns to the people who grow our cacao. Most chocolate supply chains involve countless middlemen, but we've built long term relationships that allow us to manage the journey from the cacao tree to the finished chocolate.

Once the beans are harvested by hand, they are fermented, dried, carefully graded and then shipped to our chocolate factory in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, which makes only our Solomons Gold chocolate.

The journey to New Zealand

Once the beans are harvested by hand, they are fermented, dried, carefully graded and then shipped to our dedicated chocolate facility in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. This is where Glenn and our small team begin transforming exceptional cacao into handcrafted bean to bar chocolate. From here, every step happens under one roof.

01

CLEAN • SORT • ROAST • WINNOW

Every batch begins by carefully cleaning and sorting the beans.

We then roast them in small batches to develop their unique flavour profile while preserving the natural characteristics that make Solomon Islands cacao so distinctive. Each cacao bean has a fibrous outer husk.

After roasting, the beans are gently winnowed to separate the husk from the cacao nib inside.

02

GRIND • CONCH

The cacao nibs go through our milling machine and are slowly ground until they naturally become liquid chocolate.

The cacao mass is then placed in our conche machine where it is mixed with just the right amount of organic coconut sap sugar or organic cane sugar (depending on the range) for our bold flavour.

Our conche profile has taken many hours to get it perfect.This slow process develops the smooth texture and bold flavour that has become our signature.

03

TEMPER • MOLD

Our chocolate is aged for around one month, allowing the flavours to naturallymellow and develop.

It is then carefully tempered to create the glossy finish, satisfying snap and smooth texture that premium chocolate is known for.

Finally, every bar is moulded by hand before moving to wrapping and packing.

04

CRAFTED BY HAND

Every month, Glenn and our team handcraft more than 15,000 chocolate bars.

It's a labour of love, but by overseeing every step ourselves, we can guarantee exceptional quality from the cacao tree to the finished bar.

That's the beauty of true bean to bar chocolate.

    Every Solomons Gold chocolate bar represents more than 200 hours of care from the moment our cacao beans arrive at our Mount Maunganui facility.

    It carries the work of our growers in the Solomon Islands, our chocolate makers in New Zealand and two families who have spent more than twenty years crafting chocolate with care, from bean to bar.