Small-batch chocolatier in Massachusetts aims to show chocolate is more than sweet treat
SUDBURY - A Massachusetts chocolatier relies on simple ingredients and a year-long process to make their award-winning dark chocolate bars.
Simple ingredients
Inside a 225-year-old barn in Sudbury, Goodnow Farms creates several varieties of dark chocolate bars. For the Rogan family, the recipe is simple.
"Our bars are just made from the cacao beans and sugar, nothing else," said co-founder Tom Rogan.
Tom and Monica Rogan started their family business when they struggled to find healthy chocolate options at the supermarket.
"Basically, we couldn't find chocolate that we wanted to eat. So, we decided to make it ourselves," said Monica Rogan.
Year-long process
Using cacao beans sourced from only one farm or region, it takes a year to bring flavors like winter maple with spiced brown butter to life. The Rogans pay top dollars to small farmers across Latin America to help the farmers thrive.
"The cacao pods have to grow on the trees, the farmers have to harvest the pods, take out the beans, ferment them, dry them, all with super high quality," said Monica Rogan.
Every step of the chocolate-making process is done inside the Rogans' historic barn in Sudbury. From roasting to mixing, the team at Goodnow Farms even hand-wraps each bar. Their biggest mission is to teach people that dark chocolate is more than just a sweet treat. Made the right way, the Rogans said chocolate can be enjoyed like fine wine.
"We want people to understand that chocolate is a food, not just a candy," said Tom Rogan. "It's made from a fruit, has a lot of healthy stuff and a lot of amazing flavor."
