HANDMADE CHOCOLATE

Ancient machines process cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, and milk following the times and methods of the past. And voilà: chocolate bars, filled chocolates, liqueur cherries, eggs, and Easter creations. For lovers of 19th-century chocolate, there's Santé chocolate, a non-conched variety of French origin made from equal parts cocoa and sugar, once known as a healthful food.

THE CHOCOLATE BOTTEGA

This shop makes use of the old machines which still operate today, to the rhythms of the past. These include a De Batiste granite mixer, a cylinder refiner from the fifties and a granite longitudinal conching machine from the forties.

Our craftsmen work slowly and meticulously, and the processes include a conching massage lasting three days and nights. This long operation gives the chocolate a velvety texture which makes it perfect for moulding, without the need for any emulsifiers or additives.

The chocolate bars and individual chocolates are wrapped one by one by our craftsmen, to guarantee that maximum care and attention is dedicated to every detail of the production process.

TRADITIONAL CHOCOLATE MAKING

We make a type of chocolate known as Santé, a nineteenth century specialty which has now been virtually forgotten, in which cocoa and sugar are used in identical percentages.

The intensity of our 64% dark chocolate blends effortlessly with the sweetness of our candied fruit, such as in the iconic clementine wedges dipped in chocolate, and the candied orange and lemon peel.

Our traditional chocolates, known as chocolates "in the antique style", combine perfectly with the delicacy of flowers. We hand process rose petals, violets and fresh mint leaves, without presses, to preserve the ancient art and unique flavour of a tradition which lives on today.