Uniquely Fresco

At Fresco, we like to do things a little differently…

Fresco Chocolate began with a simple idea: people who love chocolate might want to know more about it. What ingredients are used? How is it made? What variables affect the taste? Our goal is to answer these questions by crafting chocolate in unique ways, adjusting ingredients and processes to create new chocolate experiences. We then present these chocolates for your critique.

Each Fresco bar has a story waiting to be told. Here are a few elements common to each bar’s story:

Recipe Number: Every chocolate recipe is assigned a unique number. Cocoa bean, cocoa percentage, roasting levels, and chocolate conching levels combine to define a recipe. Also, terroir matters! Cacao is an agricultural crop subject to seasonal changes. When repeating a chocolate recipe with cocoa from different harvests, the chocolate naturally changes character.

Cocoa Origin: The country and region where cocoa is harvested reveal much about the finished chocolate's taste.

Cocoa Percentage: For all Fresco bars, this is the ratio of cocoa ingredients (cocoa beans and cocoa butter) to sugar.

Cocoa Roast: Roasting is essential to chocolate flavor development. Each cocoa variety has its unique range of flavors. Different roasting levels can coax these flavors from the cocoa. Our roast levels include:

  • Light: Just enough to soften raw cocoa’s acidic or green edge.
  • Medium: Cocoa flavors develop to be balanced and flavorful.
  • Dark: Full-bodied, bold, intense; new flavor notes can develop while others may be subdued.

Chocolate Conche: Heat, motion, aeration, and time develop each chocolate’s flavor—this is conching. Changes in time and temperature result in dramatically different chocolate flavors. Our conche range includes:

  • None: Primitive, natural, pungent; not appropriate for all cocoa, exquisite for some.
  • Subtle: Softens the primitive edge while retaining aggressive flavor notes.
  • Medium: A balance between aggressive and subdued, mellow.
  • Long: Flavor peaks and valleys softened to a melodic harmony.

We hope you enjoy the results.