The Good Chocolate began with two friends, Ben and Miki, experimenting with minimizing sugar from their diets. After realizing that chocolate is equally as delicious and nourishing without sugar, they set off to create a company that would make this alternative treat more accessible. Today, The Good Chocolate is one of the top-rated vegan chocolate bars and is one of Thistle’s customer favorites!
In 2014, Ben and Miki experimented with eliminating coffee and sugar from their diets because it was causing them to gain cavities, gum pain, and undesired body weight. Once they went off sugar they started noticing the amazing impact it had on their bodies. Their dental health was restored, they had significantly more energy than before, and did not have to experience the highs and lows that result from eating sugar. They tried using different non-sucrose organic sweeteners and found that Erythritol was able to replace sugar. As the two friends learned more about how large packaged food companies often capitalize on sugar to hook customers into purchasing their products, Ben and Miki became more and more eager to create an alternative pick-me-up treat that would not let anyone down.
They soon discovered that chocolate is both healthy, healing, and very satisfying even without sugar. Moreover, chocolate is an easy, safe, and less time consuming way to nourish one’s body. Ben and Miki challenged themselves to come up with the best bean-to-bar chocolate recipe that would surpass their own high standards. After roasting loads of cacao and receiving feedback from family and friends, The Good Chocolate was born. The Good Chocolate is made up of 100% organic ingredients and is produced in their new production kitchen in San Francisco. Since October, 2017, this bean-to-bar company has lived up to the high expectations that the founders originally put in place.
Ben and Miki believe that supporting small, local businesses is more important now than ever before. This enables communities to survive and flourish: “I would much rather pay a little more for a meal at a local restaurant or food delivery, and buy at a local market, than go to a chain, because I know my money is going to recirculate in my community rather than go to some corporate shareholders.”
With the temperature of the earth rising, Ben and Miki are concerned about the effect this may have on cacao beans because the climate directly affects bean production. Cacao beans need a combination of temperature, moisture, and soil quality in order to thrive. The Good Chocolate prefers buying from farms that practice agroforestry (growing cacao trees around other kinds of trees and plants), which has proven to reduce carbon footprint compared to razing forests to plant trees.
If Ben and Miki had to choose their favorite Good Chocolate product, they would pick the Himalayan Salt Chocolate: “For some reason the salt and sweetness always go together morning, noon and night.” We look forward to continuing to supply The Good Chocolate’s organic, bean-to-bar, vegan Himalayan Salt Chocolate to our customers - it's a Thistle favorite. Ben and Miki are currently working towards their company level organic certification and developing new chocolate treats for all of us to enjoy. So stay tuned!
The Good Chocolate began with two friends, Ben and Miki, experimenting with minimizing sugar from their diets. After realizing that chocolate is equally as delicious and nourishing without sugar, they set off to create a company that would make this alternative treat more accessible. Today, The Good Chocolate is one of the top-rated vegan chocolate bars and is one of Thistle’s customer favorites!
In 2014, Ben and Miki experimented with eliminating coffee and sugar from their diets because it was causing them to gain cavities, gum pain, and undesired body weight. Once they went off sugar they started noticing the amazing impact it had on their bodies. Their dental health was restored, they had significantly more energy than before, and did not have to experience the highs and lows that result from eating sugar. They tried using different non-sucrose organic sweeteners and found that Erythritol was able to replace sugar. As the two friends learned more about how large packaged food companies often capitalize on sugar to hook customers into purchasing their products, Ben and Miki became more and more eager to create an alternative pick-me-up treat that would not let anyone down.
They soon discovered that chocolate is both healthy, healing, and very satisfying even without sugar. Moreover, chocolate is an easy, safe, and less time consuming way to nourish one’s body. Ben and Miki challenged themselves to come up with the best bean-to-bar chocolate recipe that would surpass their own high standards. After roasting loads of cacao and receiving feedback from family and friends, The Good Chocolate was born. The Good Chocolate is made up of 100% organic ingredients and is produced in their new production kitchen in San Francisco. Since October, 2017, this bean-to-bar company has lived up to the high expectations that the founders originally put in place.
Ben and Miki believe that supporting small, local businesses is more important now than ever before. This enables communities to survive and flourish: “I would much rather pay a little more for a meal at a local restaurant or food delivery, and buy at a local market, than go to a chain, because I know my money is going to recirculate in my community rather than go to some corporate shareholders.”
With the temperature of the earth rising, Ben and Miki are concerned about the effect this may have on cacao beans because the climate directly affects bean production. Cacao beans need a combination of temperature, moisture, and soil quality in order to thrive. The Good Chocolate prefers buying from farms that practice agroforestry (growing cacao trees around other kinds of trees and plants), which has proven to reduce carbon footprint compared to razing forests to plant trees.
If Ben and Miki had to choose their favorite Good Chocolate product, they would pick the Himalayan Salt Chocolate: “For some reason the salt and sweetness always go together morning, noon and night.” We look forward to continuing to supply The Good Chocolate’s organic, bean-to-bar, vegan Himalayan Salt Chocolate to our customers - it's a Thistle favorite. Ben and Miki are currently working towards their company level organic certification and developing new chocolate treats for all of us to enjoy. So stay tuned!
