Friis-Holm Chocolate
Friis-Holm Chocolate
Award Winning Danish Chocolate
Friis-Holm is a Danish bean-to-bar chocolate maker founded by Mikkel Friis-Holm, known for a highly detailed approach to sourcing, fermentation and cacao varietals. Working closely with farmers in Nicaragua, the range focuses on showing how genetics, post-harvest processing and roast profiles shape flavour.
Quality over Quantity
Mikkel Friis-Holm is a trained chef and in connection with his chef work in San Francisco, California in the late 90s, he met the newly started Scharffenberger Chocolate.
At that time, the chocolate world consisted solely of large multinational manufacturers, more concerned about getting volume than quality. The few quality minded small family-owned factories who held up the quality tab could be counted on two hands – in the World!
Through his collaboration with Scharffenberger chocolate, Mikkel Friis-Holm came into contact with a major cocoa project in Nicaragua in 2007. Danida, a Danish government sponsored development organization, worked with the idea that farmers should grow high-quality cocoa in order to improve the farmers' income. Growing this superior product - the growing small scale “Bean to Bar” chocolate industry would be willing to pay a much higher price.
Award Winning
Mikkel Friis-Holm started a close cooperation with the local farmers involved in the Danida project, and today Friis-Holm Chocolate receives the world's best cocoa through Nicaraguan farmers and partners.
This has helped to secure one Chocolate World Championship after another. For the last 7 consecutive years, Friis-Holm chocolate has won one or more Chocolate World Championships each year. A tribute to the raw material, combined with old-fashioned crafts and process here in Denmark.
In 2014 Friis-Holm Chocolate A / S was founded, with the help of small investors, The first Danish produced chocolate ran through his machines in 2015 and since then everything has been made in Denmark. The first new chocolate factory in Denmark in over 50 years. They are proud to be Denmark's largest (almost the only) chocolate factory today.
Friis Holm
Award Winning Danish Chocolate
Rather than blending for consistency, Friis-Holm isolates variables wherever possible, separating harvests, fermentation styles and bean genetics to understand how each element affects the final chocolate. The result is a range that feels unusually transparent, where small shifts in process become part of the flavour itself.
The bars are refined and restrained, with an emphasis on texture, balance and clarity over intensity. Even at higher percentages, the chocolate often feels soft and composed rather than aggressively bitter.
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Bean to Bar Chocolate | FAQs
Friis-Holm shares a philosophy of quality, fairness, and the importance of being present in the local community. At the same time, they have a transparent open production.
Friis-Holm Chokolade is the most awarded with 16 prizes, including 7 silvers and 9 bronzes.
*The International Chocolate Awards is the only fully independent international competition. At the same time, the Chocolate Awards explicitly aim to promote and support the production of high-quality fine chocolate worldwide.
Bean-to-Bar is a phrase coined to describe craft chocolate makers who oversee the whole process of making chocolate-from selecting the beans all the way to wrapping the finished, high-quality chocolate bar.
Ethically, bean-to-bar chocolate is a positive choice as the farmers are paid fairly and the producers focus on sustainability. Taste-wise, so much care goes into making the bar and getting the best from the cacao that it tastes amazing!
Yes! All of our suppliers' dark chocolate is vegan, and we also stock some oat milk chocolate options.
This process is similar for most chocolate makers, starting with the fermentation of the cacao beans then drying, winnowing and finally conching. then the chocolate has to be moulded and wrapped. This whole process takes around 7-10 days. Letting the chocolate rest for a few weeks after making enhances its flavour too.
'Cocoa' is essentially an English corruption of the Spanish 'cacao' which came in turn from the Mayan 'kakaw'. Nowadays 'cocoa' can also refer to a ready-mixed powder for a hot chocolate drink in the USA, but in general the terms 'cacao' and 'cocoa' are interchangeable.
Chocolate does contain caffeine, but much less than a cup of coffee! Dark chocolate has more caffeine than milk (but not much) and white chocolate doesn't contain any.
how to eat craft chocolate
The 7 Steps to Heavenly Taste
When a craft chocolate maker has put in the time and effort to make bean-to-bar chocolate, you really want to get the most out of eating it. A mindful approach is the way forward, engaging all of your senses and taking your time over each stage.
