Aromatic Chocolate 

You already know and love Millcreek Coffee, one of Utah’s most beloved premium coffee roasters. Owners Dana Brewster and Mark DelVecchio are clearly passionate about coffee, and they bring that same level of passion to producing exquisite chocolate products, ranging from bars to chocolate-dipped confections under the name of Millcreek Cacao.

Millcreek Cacao has recently introduced an innovative line of chocolates that are infused with flavors but don’t contain the actual ingredients. We are living in the future, and it is delicious!

The magic begins in Ecuador. Devoted to sustainable and ethical practices, Millcreek Cacao proudly obtains its product directly from the farmer, who’s paid a premium, allowing the preservation of the rare, indigenous cacao. Millcreek Cacao claims its heirloom dark chocolate is “farm to bar,” and that’s serious.

Millcreek Cacao uses Ecuadorian Arriba Nacional 70 percent cacao because of its consistency and flavor. The first step in chocolate-making is obtaining the large cacao pods and splitting them in half. The seeds are then scooped out of the pods and into a bucket, fermented and, finally, dried on concrete patios.

Once the beans arrive at the factory in Salt Lake City, they are roasted and separated, leaving the shells and nibs. The nibs are then milled for several days with sugar and additional cocoa butter, making chocolate. After being molded into bars, the essence of flavors like mint and raspberry are cured with the chocolate, which is extremely receptive to the aromas and soaks them up like a sponge. The chocolate is infused with intense flavor, but is still just chocolate with no raspberry or mint ingredients. If this sounds spectacular, wait until you try it.

Unwrapping a Millcreek Cacao bar reminds me of that great scene in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory when Charlie carefully unwraps the chocolate bar, tearing it slowly with anticipation. There are two bars to unwrap: Luscious Raspberry and Cool Peppermint. The scent hits before the first bite, readying your tastebuds for something phenomenal. And with that first bite, you are hooked, and maybe a little skeptical. I checked the ingredient list to see if they snuck in a little flavor extract. There was nothing there except fine chocolate, cocoa butter, cane sugar and Tahitian vanilla. Remarkable!

A Kickstarter campaign has been started to expand Millcreek’s small chocolate factory. Their endless ideas (think dark chocolate infused with High West whiskey) need more space! Perks include chocolate bars, and if you donate enough, you can invent your own bar.

If you can’t wait any longer before you try these delicious and unique chocolate bars, you’ll find them in your favorite places to shop for high-quality chocolate, like Caputo’s Markets and Harmons grocery stores.