Tree to Bar

Hotel Chocolat was founded in 2004 to make people happy. Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris built it on three unwavering pillars: authenticity, originality and ethics. One of the few chocolate makers to directly grow some of their own cacao, on their eco-conscious cacao farm in the grounds of their Saint Lucia hotel (yes, you can stay there too), they connect the world of sustainable cacao agriculture with the hedonism of top-quality chocolate. This makes them unique in the UK, and gives them an unrivalled understanding of what impacts the taste of their chocolate, right from the growing tree.In 2006 they bought the 275-year-old Rabot Estate cacao farm in Saint Lucia, now home to the boutique Rabot Hotel. For over a decade they've been directly growing some of their own cacao on their organic estate, humbly learning the intricacies of every stage of the bean's growth and the development of its flavours – from tree to bar – so that they can create chocolate with the best possible taste.

Originality

Hotel Chocolat have never played by the rules of what people said chocolate should be. They've made their Easter eggs ridiculously thick but snappable. They've created the world's first single-côte chocolate, developed their own chocolate genre, Supermilk, and innovated even further with their drinking chocolate system, the Velvetiser. As well as Nutmilk, their unbelievably vegan chocolate, made without milk and with finely milled hazelnuts. Smooth and mellow, at 45% cacao, Nutmilk was five years in the making and worth every obsessive second.

Authenticity

Chocolate starts at the roots of the cacao tree. We're one of the world's few chocolate makers to actually grow cacao, on our beautiful Rabot Estate in Saint Lucia. Connecting cacao-growing with luxury chocolate making and retailing makes us unique in the UK, and gives us an in-depth understanding of the factors that impact the final flavour of our chocolate.

Ethics

Hotel Chocolat have a deep sense of fairness. They work directly with cacao farmers all over the globe, all of whom deserve respect and a fair deal, and their Engaged Ethics programme continues to transform the lives of many in Ghana and Saint Lucia.

For future generations, they're reducing waste. They use every part of the cacao bean, down to the malty shells in their Salted Caramel Vodka Liqueur. But more than that, they have committed to their Planet Pledge: 100% ethical cacao now, almost there with 100% recyclable packaging and striving for net carbon zero by 2030.