Acalli Chocolate

New Orleans, Louisiana

We are chocolate makers, meaning we work from bean to bar. While our home is in New Orleans, cacao is by nature a tropical plant, and we source the cacao we use through direct relationships with farmers at origin. We chose a canoe for our logo to represent those things about chocolate that we love most: its way of connecting people in distant places, its elegant simplicity, and the promise of adventure and discovery in every new bar.

The name Acalli (ah-CALL-ee) means “canoe” in Nahuatl, the same language that gave us the word “chocolate.”

Great chocolate is a collaborative effort between cacao growers and chocolate makers, and in that spirit our goal is to make bars that faithfully represent the work our partners do at origin. The flavors in our chocolate are not just the result of careful roasting and conching; they also represent careful attention during cultivation, harvest, and especially fermentation and drying. We hope that by highlighting the communities and cooperatives we work with and showcasing the flavors in their cacao, we can bring a little more recognition home to cacao growers themselves.

As chocolate makers, Acalli is the final steward on cacao's journey from tropical fruit to artisan bar. Cacao growers ferment and dry the fruit's seeds at origin, developing flavor and acidity. Acalli skillfully roasts, refines and crafts the cacao into chocolate bars, highlighting the array of flavors unique to each origin.