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Mast Brothers was founded in 2007 in Brooklyn, New York, by brothers Rick and Michael Mast. The brand is simultaneously the most influential and the most controversial in American craft chocolate. The Masts are credited with popularising the bean-to-bar movement in the United States through their distinctive packaging — brown paper wrappers tied with twine — and their aggressive retail strategy. Mast Brothers chocolate was stocked at 1,200 US retailers by 2014, including Whole Foods, Dean & Deluca, and high-end coffee shops. The brand’s pricing — $10 for a 2 oz (57 g) bar — established the pricing template that most American craft chocolate makers follow today.

The controversy erupted in 2015 when blogger Scott Craig published evidence that Mast Brothers was buying bulk commercial chocolate, re-melting it, moulding it, and selling it as “bean-to-bar” — a practice that the craft chocolate community considers fraudulent. Rick Mast later acknowledged the practice in a 2016 interview with Dallas Observer, explaining that the company initially bought commercial chocolate while building its roasting capacity but continued the practice into 2013 — six years after founding, which critics found indefensible. The brand’s reputation never fully recovered. As of 2026, Mast Brothers still produces actual bean-to-bar chocolate from its Brooklyn factory, a 2024 single-origin bar from Belize ($10 for 57 g) and a Madagascar 70% bar ($11) are genuine bean-to-bar products. The controversy is part of craft chocolate history now, but newer buyers should know that Mast Brothers’ early story includes a gap between marketing and reality that no major European brand would survive.

Askinosie Chocolate: Direct Trade Pioneer

Askinosie Chocolate was founded in 2006 in Springfield, Missouri, by Shawn Askinosie, a former criminal defence lawyer who quit law to make chocolate. Askinosie is the most transparent chocolate maker in the United States, publishing the exact price paid per pound of cacao beans on every product label. In 2025, Askinosie paid $4.50 per pound for beans from the San José de Bocay cooperative in Nicaragua — roughly double the London cocoa futures price of $2.10 per pound at the time.

Askinosie’s signature bar is the “Davao Dark Milk 60%” ($9.50 for 70 g), made from beans grown by a women’s farming cooperative in the Davao region of the Philippines. The “San José del Tambo 75%” bar ($9.50) uses beans from Ecuador and features notes of red fruit and brown sugar. The “Tanzania 72%” bar ($10) uses beans from the Kyela district, where Askinosie has worked with the same 500-farmer cooperative since 2008. Askinosie also produces a “White Chocolate” bar ($10 for 60 g) made from single-origin cocoa butter — unusual because most white chocolate uses standard commodity cocoa butter.

Askinosie operates a “Chocolate University” program that sends high school students from Springfield to cacao-growing communities to work on sustainability projects. A 2024 documentary, Askinosie: The Lawyer Who Quit, covered the company’s approach and is available on Amazon Prime. Askinosie ships from its Missouri factory with US shipping of $8 for orders under $50 and free over $50. The brand is also stocked at Whole Foods in the Midwest and at specialty food retailers nationwide. For buyers who care about ethics and transparency above all, Askinosie is the American brand that sets the standard.

Dandelion Chocolate: San Francisco’s Single-Origin Standard

Dandelion Chocolate was founded in 2010 in San Francisco’s Mission District by Todd Masonis and Cameron Ring, two former Google engineers. Dandelion makes chocolate from only two ingredients: cacao beans and organic cane sugar. No cocoa butter added, no lecithin, no vanilla. This minimalism is the company’s defining philosophy, and it means that Dandelion’s chocolate tastes more of the specific cacao origin than most competitors’ chocolate, which often adds extra cocoa butter for smoothness.

Dandelion’s signature product line is its rotating series of single-origin bars, each from a specific farm or cooperative. A 70 g bar costs $10, consistent across all origins. Current offerings (May 2026) include a Belize Maya Mountain 70% bar ($10), a Guatemala Antigua 75% bar ($10), a Madagascar Sambirano Valley 70% bar ($10), and a Peru Huayabamba 65% bar ($10). Each bar lists the farm name, the cacao variety, and the tasting notes on the front of the wrapper. Dandelion also produces factory-exclusive bars available only at its San Francisco and Tokyo factories, including a 95% dark bar ($12) that is among the most intense single-origin bars available in the US.

Dandelion operates a 15,000-square-foot factory at 2600 18th Street in San Francisco that offers public tours ($15, includes tasting of six origins). The company’s Tokyo Nakameguro factory, opened in 2019, was the first American craft chocolate maker to establish a production facility in Japan. Dandelion is available nationwide on its website with free shipping over $50, and at Whole Foods nationally. Dandelion’s approach is the purest expression of the American bean-to-bar philosophy: no additives, no shortcuts, and every bar tells you exactly where the beans came from. For buyers new to craft chocolate, Dandelion’s $10 price point and consistent quality make it the safest starting point.

Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate: California’s Small-Batch Specialist

Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate was founded in 2010 in Eureka, California, by brothers Adam and Dustin Taylor. The brothers come from a furniture-making background, and that translates into obsessive attention to production detail. Dick Taylor roasts each origin in a 25-pound-capacity drum roaster — small enough that the Taylors can adjust the roast profile for each specific bean. Most craft chocolate makers roast 50–300 pounds per batch. Dick Taylor’s 25-pound batches are unusually small, and the result is a chocolate with a clean, even roast that larger batch sizes cannot achieve.

Dick Taylor’s signature bar is the “Belize 72%” ($10 for 57 g), made from beans grown by the Toledo Cacao Growers Association. The “Hawaii 72%” ($12 for 57 g) uses beans from the Big Island’s original cacao-growing region — Hawaiian cacao is rare and expensive, with prices roughly 3x Central American cacao. The company’s “Dark Milk 54%” bar ($10) is one of the best American dark milk chocolates on the market, with a creaminess that comes from whole-milk powder rather than added cocoa butter.

Dick Taylor produces roughly 12,000 bars per month — tiny compared to Dandelion’s estimated 50,000 — and each bar is hand-wrapped in the Eureka factory. The company operates a tasting room in downtown Eureka (514 F Street) and a satellite shop in Portland, Oregon (Alberta Street). US shipping costs $10 for orders under $80, free over $80. Dick Taylor is also available at 200 retail accounts nationwide, including Dean & Deluca and Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco. For buyers who value small-batch craft over consistent year-round availability, Dick Taylor delivers the most carefully produced American chocolate bar at its price point.

Taza Chocolate: Stone-Ground Mexican Tradition

Taza Chocolate was founded in 2005 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Alex Whitmore and Kathleen Fulton. Taza uses a stone-grinding process inspired by traditional Mexican chocolate-making, using 100% organic cacao beans ground on century-style stone mills (molinos) that produce a characteristically gritty texture. The company calls this “stone-ground chocolate,” and it is fundamentally different from the smooth, conched European-style chocolate that most American brands produce.

Taza’s signature product is the “Stone Ground Guajillo Chili Chocolate” ($7 for 70 g), a dark chocolate disc infused with guajillo chili from New Mexico. The “Taza Salted Almond Chocolate” ($8 for 100 g) is the brand’s best-selling product and uses whole almonds sourced from California. The “Taza Marcona Almond 70% Dark Bar” ($9 for 90 g) uses Spanish Marcona almonds and is the brand’s premium offering. Taza also produces a “Coffee Crunch” chocolate ($8 for 100 g) using cold-brew coffee concentrate made from Counter Culture blend beans.

Taza operates a factory at 1000 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge that offers tours ($10, includes tasting) and a factory store. The company was an early adopter of direct-trade sourcing, and its Direct Trade certification — which the company developed itself — requires minimum payments of $500 per tonne above Fairtrade prices. In 2025, Taza paid an average of $3.80 per pound for its cacao, compared to the London futures price of $2.10 per pound at the same period. Taza is widely available at Whole Foods, Target, and online at Taza.com with free shipping over $50. The stone-ground texture is polarising: some buyers love the gritty, rustic mouthfeel, while others find it abrasive rather than pleasurable. Try a single bar before committing to a larger purchase.

Potomac Chocolate: Virginia’s Craft Dark Horse

Potomac Chocolate was founded in 2010 in Woodbridge, Virginia, by Ben Rasmussen, who started making chocolate in his home kitchen after a trip to Grenada. Potomac is a micro-batch maker in the truest sense: Rasmussen produces roughly 2,000 bars per month solo, making Potomac one of the smallest bean-to-bar operations in the United States. The company does not have a factory store or tasting room. It sells exclusively online and through 50 retail accounts concentrated on the East Coast.

Potomac’s signature bar is the “Grenada 70%” ($10 for 60 g), made from beans sourced from the Grenada Chocolate Company — a farmer-owned cooperative on the island where the chocolate movement first inspired Rasmussen in 2009. The “Haiti 68%” bar ($10) uses beans from the Fèvre cooperative in southern Haiti and features notes of dried cherry and tobacco. The “Tanzania 73%” bar ($11) uses beans from the Kokoa Kamili cooperative, widely regarded as producing some of the best cocoa in Africa. Potomac also makes a limited “Holiday Blend” each November ($12 for 60 g) using beans from three different origins.

Potomac’s production constraints mean bars sell out regularly, especially limited single-origin releases. The company maintains a mailing list that notifies subscribers when new batches are available — a throwback model that works because demand consistently exceeds supply at the 2,000-bar-per-month production level. For buyers who want the closest thing to a single person’s chocolate vision, Potomac delivers. For reliable year-round availability, choose Dandelion or Taza. For related reading, see our luxury chocolate brands comparison to understand how craft pricing relates to ultra-premium chocolate, or our best chocolate brands for gifting guide for craft brands worth sending. Visit the buy chocolate homepage for our full catalogue.

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