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Zotter Chocolates

Zotter Chocolates

Fair Trade & Cocoa Sources

Josef Zotter: "Chocolate can leave a very bitter aftertaste if you consider that cocoa growers work under severe conditions while others profit from the fruits of their labor. That’s why we support fair trade – not because we want to use a showcase product to raise our profile, but because we are convinced that it’s the right choice for our entire product range." 

Global issues affect local production. Cocoa and cane sugar, two of the essential ingredients for making chocolate, cannot be grown in the fields outside the Zotter Chocolate Factory. That’s why Zotter sources fairly traded ingredients from certified organic production.

Since 2001 Zotter has paid regular visits to the cocoa-growing regions. For him, quality is paramount from bean to bar. He only buys high-quality cocoa from selected growing cooperatives in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize, Dominican Republic, Congo, Togo and Madagascar. 

Bean to Bar

With the bean-to-bar production line Josef Zotter, as one of the very few high-class chocolatiers in the world, carries out all of the production processes for the creation of chocolate in-house: from the roasting of the cocoa beans on rollers to the classic grinding in the conche, everything is made on-site with the greatest of finesse. Thus, Zotter produces chocolate from bean to bar using nothing but organic and fair trade quality! The creative centre for chocolate extends over 55972 square feet. This is because the transformation of the bean into chocolate is a very complex process. Zotter treats each type of cocoa individually by matching the process to the character of the cocoa. This is dependent upon the peculiarities of each cocoa type – the subtleties, the extravagances and the aromatic origins of chocolate.

Cocoa beans warehouse

Fair-trade cocoa beans

are processed directly in our facility.

First of all, they are cleaned

and then they are roasted to produce...

...finely and aromatic cocoa beans.

The next step is to debacterise them..

... and then they are finely crushed to produce..

... cocoa nibs.

The cocoa nibs are ground in the preliminary mill..

... where the cocoa butter melts.

Liquid raw cocoa mass runs out of the ball mill.

It already looks like chocolate,

but is extremely bitter in this stage.

Sugar and milk give a kick to the mixture

Onto the roller!

The mass is ground finely by pressure

and ultimately refined in the conche.

The Zotter chocolate is ready!