Each of the three locations of Cacao Atlanta looks like a Paris confectionary shop: marble counters, brass fixtures, frilly signage, and glossy displays of truffles, pâtés de fruit, macaroons, and caramels. But little does this design sensibility show how much work owner Kristen Hard puts into her bean-to-bar chocolate. Working directly with small, family-owned organic farms throughout Latin America as well as co-op partners, Hard hand selects the cacao beans, which she processes at a small factory in Atlanta. To best appreciate her work, try the single-estate, single-varietal “Love Bars.” The 75% cacao Patanemo Love Bar, from a Venezuelan estate, has spice and a caramel mellowness that gives the chocolate incredible length on the palate; you want it to melt forever. Hard uses biodegradable packaging and encourages regular customers to reuse boxes when they return for their fix.
