Bullion Chocolate | Ecuador, Santa Domingo Dark | 70% Drinking Chocolate

Name: Ecuador, Santa Domingo Dark | 70% Drinking Chocolate | 250g
Brand: Bullion Chocolate Makers
Price: 12.5 GBP
Availability: InStock

This hot chocolate is made with the same craft methods as our award-winning bars, simply ground down into a fine powder. Stir 3 heaped tablespoons of the good stuff into your mug of hot milk to enjoy a silky-smooth hot chocolate.

£12.50

Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.

Free UK shipping on orders over £85

In stock, ready to ship
Inventory on the way

Gorgeous drinking chocolate from Bullion Chocolate, A delicious single-origin drinking chocolate that is perfectly indulgent for a cold winter’s day. This hot chocolate is made with the same craft methods as Bullion's award-winning bars, simply ground down into a fine powder. Stir 3 heaped tablespoons of the good stuff into your mug of hot milk to enjoy a silky-smooth hot chocolate.

70% Dark Chocolate - a deep, rich drink, perfect for those who want a classic cup of cocoa.

Vegan
250g
70% dark chocolate
Single origin
Produced in the UK

Bullion Chocolate are one of only a handful of UK companies to craft bean-to-bar chocolate. Taking a hands-on approach, they set out to discover and unlock the ‘hidden gold’ in cacao: the distinct flavour nuances that beans from carefully selected farms can produce, depending on the terroir (a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat).

As a result, the single origin batches that they craft are strictly limited in number and represent a never-to-be-repeated opportunity to sample the unique notes and aromas produced by cacao from a particular time and place.

Bullion's Gold Standard -

Always made from bean to bar
Sourced with transparency and integrity
Ingredient led
Flavour driven
Free from palm oil and emulsifiers
Slavery free
Committed to sustainability

Cocoa beans, cocoa butter and cane sugar

We ship to all UK Mainland addresses.

Shipping choices and charges are calculated by weight and size and we offer the following shipping options:
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Small items + large letter size (parcels up to 250g) :

Royal Mail 24: (delivery aim next working day but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £6.00

Royal Mail 48: (delivery aim 2/3 working days but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £4.50
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Standard Parcels (up to 3kg) :

Royal Mail 24: (delivery aim next working day but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £8.00

Royal Mail 48: (delivery aim 2/3 working days but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £6.50

Royal Mail Special Delivery: (next day guaranteed service; fully tracked): £10.00
Note. this service has a 2kg limit (rather than 3kg)
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Large Parcels (3kg +) :

Royal Mail 24: (delivery aim next working day but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £12.00

Royal Mail 48: (delivery aim 2/3 working days but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £10.00

Royal Mail Special Delivery: (next day guaranteed service; fully tracked): £15.00
Note. this service is for 2kg+ (rather than 3kg+)
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General

Any order over £85 is free delivery and will be shipped using a Tracked 48 service unless another service is specified.

Delivery methods are auto-calculated at checkout and are dependent on size and weight.

Orders received by 1 pm will usually be dispatched same day. Orders received after 1pm will ship on the next available working day (Mon-Fri).

Note: We do not usually dispatch orders on Saturdays or Sundays.

Craft and Terroir

Bullion Chocolate are one of only a handful of UK companies, and the first in Yorkshire, to craft bean-to-bar chocolate. Taking a hands-on approach, they set out to discover and unlock the ‘hidden gold’ in cacao: the distinct flavour nuances that beans from carefully selected farms can produce, depending on the terroir (a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's characteristics, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat).

As a result, the single origin batches that they craft are strictly limited in number and represent a never-to-be-repeated opportunity to sample the unique notes and aromas produced by cacao from a particular time and place.

The Gold Standard

Bullion Chocolate believe chocolate should be better. It’s important to understand that not all chocolate is created equal. We’re so used to what chocolate has come to be, we have little understanding of what it could be.

Bullion exist to create chocolate without compromise – crafting bars that are built of the fundamentals that they believe create a better tasting chocolate for you and for the world.

Their Gold Standard means the chocolate is always made from bean to bar, their cacao sourced with transparency and integrity, the bars are ingredient-led and flavour driven and free from palm oil and emulsifiers. Their supply chain is slavery-free and they are committed to sustainability.

Rethinking Chocolate

The Bean-to-Bar Revolution

The term Bean-to-Bar chocolate was coined as a way for Craft chocolate makers, some of whom would be producing just a few hundred bars at a time, to distinguish their product from mass produced chocolate and that made by chocolatiers, who melt chocolate that they buy in to make chocolate confectionery.

Bean-to-Bar is a revolution in the chocolate industry and USTUDIO are glad to be on board, stocking a great range of chocolate from artisan, small-batch producers from around the world, with a particular focus on those based in the UK.

Shop Bullion +

Out With the Old

There are a lot of problems with the traditional chocolate industry. The environmental impact of manufacture, guaranteeing fair pay and fair working conditions for farmers, and variation in the quality of cacao are all problematic within the mainstream industry.

In With the New

In sharp contrast, Bean-to-Bar chocolate makers are involved at every stage of production. All the way from the cacao bean to the finished bar. This ensures the sustainability, ethics, and quality of the chocolate produced. And it also ensures that it tastes heavenly!

How it Works

What is Bean-to-Bar?

The Bean-to-Bar process is at the heart of all our suppliers’ chocolate making. The chocolate is handcrafted, from a raw cacao bean all the way through to a finished bar. The incredible flavour of the cacao is honoured, unlike in the mass-manufacturing process which focuses on keeping costs low and products consistent. Industrial chocolate is cheap because it is full of unnecessary and harmful fats, e-numbers and additives, and often has less than 20% cacao content.

Craft chocolate makers buy cacao in small amounts, working directly with the farmers, and then take on the whole process of creating their chocolate, including cleaning, roasting, cracking, winnowing, and grinding the cacao beans, conching and tempering the chocolate. It is a lengthy process, but the results speak for themselves

First Steps

The first job when the beans arrive from the farmer is to hand sort them, preparing them for the roast. This process involves removing spoiled beans and any foreign materials. If hand sorting through endless kilos of cocoa beans sounds time consuming, well that’s because it is!

Roasting the Beans

The next stage is roasting, to bring out the natural flavour and personality of the cocoa bean- every variety is distinctly different and will be roasted accordingly. Roasting drives off volatile acids from the beans and converts amino acids and sugars into tastier fully formed flavour compounds through the browning process.

A Lengthy Process

Care and Attention

Next step is to crack open the beans and discard the unwanted husks. Then the cocoa nibs are thrown into a grinder. These machines break down the nibs and sugar over a 72 hour period into liquid form. By the end of the grind particle size reduces to something between 15-20 microns, something that feels smooth on the tongue.

The chocolate is then moved onto the conching phase for some final flavour development. This involves agitating the chocolate to improve mouthfeel, drive off any left-over volatile acids and coax out the deeper, more nuanced flavour notes.

Finishing Off

The final step before wrapping is tempering, which gives chocolate structure and a nice shine. It involves heating and cooling down the chocolate and allowing the cocoa butter to crystallise. It’s this crystallisation which is crucial to giving chocolate its glossy finish

Single Origin | Chocolate

Vegan-Friendly Options

Naturally, all of our Craft Chocolate makers' dark chocolate is vegan, and we have many different sorts to choose from! In addition, some of our suppliers also make delicious oat milk and cashew nut milk chocolate, so vegans get a milk chocolate option!

Vegan Friendly | Chocolate

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.

7 Steps to Tasting Heaven | Blog

Bean to Bar Chocolate | FAQs

Bullion Chocolate are based in Kelham Island, Sheffield. They are one of a few craft bean-to-bar chocolate makers in the UK and the only one in Yorkshire.

Bullion chocolate was founded in 2016 by Max Scotford, a former chef.

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.