Imagine paying $450 for a 1.76-ounce single bar of chocolate. First some background — craft chocolate is different than mass-produced chocolate. The ingredient list on the average Hershey’s chocolate bar is: milk chocolate (sugar; milk; chocolate; cocoa butter; lactose; milk fat; soy lecithin; PGPR emulsifier, vanillin, artificial flavor). The ingredient list on a craft chocolate bar is: cacao beans, cane sugar. Because craft chocolate doesn’t have additives, it’s inherently more expensive for two reasons: (1) there’s more chocolate in the final product and (2) the cacao beans need to be naturally flavorful, which means there’s less of a supply of them. The best craft chocolate you can buy comes from To’ak, an ultra-luxury Ecuadorian chocolate house renowned for treating chocolate like vintage wine or aged whiskey. To’ak exclusively utilizes DNA-verified Heirloom Nacional cacao, which is 100% pure. High-end signature bars are presented in handcrafted Spanish elm wood boxes and include a single roasted cacao bean placed in the center. They come packaged with custom wooden tongs so that oils from fingers don't alter the chocolate's delicate aroma. To’ak’s Art Series and Master Series bars typically cost between $450 and $500 per bar. So, if you’re ready to shell out some big bucks for a taste of the best chocolate on the planet, head over to the company’s website and indulge.
