How Goodnow Farms Chocolate Has Become a Sweet Spot in Massachusetts

Tom and Monica Rogan of Goodnow Farms Chocolate carefully source cacao beans for their single origin chocolate which they make at their 225-year-old farm in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Their operations include wrapping each bar by hand and making freshly-pressed cocoa butter that is used in the entire chocolate line. What began as a hobby has turned into a company that was awarded more international chocolate awards than any other in North America in 2021-22. We spoke with the Rogans about their love for chocolate and their very hands-on approach.

How did you learn about making chocolate? 

Tom: We started selling Goodnow Farms chocolate bars in 2016, but it was a long journey to get there. We first came across craft chocolate in about 2005. We were living in Los Angeles and came across a store that sold chocolate bars that they made. It opened our eyes to the idea that chocolate was more than just the mass market candy product that we were used to and from there we started our journey. We started making chocolate at home, we were getting our own beans and learned that different beans have their own flavors. They come from different countries. It also opened our eyes to the fact that there were issues with sourcing and how farmers were compensated. Many factors came together and really inspired us to make our our own bars.

Monica: We liked the craft chocolate bars we were tasting, and we would go out of our way to buy them, but the traffic in LA was so horrible it took us forever to get there and sometimes the store would be closed. It was really frustrating. That's when we decided to try making it ourselves. On the weekends, we were making chocolate in our kitchen and it was a lot of fun and exciting. We’d get one bean one week a different type of bean the next week, and we would try the same roast profile with each and wonder why the chocolate tasted so different. We were really excited about understanding more about different origins, what beans taste like, and how that influences making chocolate. It was a big journey and we’re still going through it.

How do you source beans and build relationships with farmers? 

Monica: There's no one size fits all for sourcing beans. We source beans directly from farmers and have direct relationships with them. It was really important for us to be able to see where the beans were coming from, to meet the farmers to make sure they were aligned with our vision for what’s important for the environment and for how the workers were treated. There are so many steps in growing and harvesting cacao that can impact flavor along the way. It's really important that we have that direct line of communication with the farmers and producers so that we can work together to have the greatest quality cacao possible. We've been to all of the farms and get a chance to see where the beans come from. We go to the post harvest facility, we look at the fermentation processes. We taste the beans and we talk to farmers about the certain notes that we like and they make custom fermentation profiles for us, for a lot of our beans. It’s really important for us to be able to develop the flavors that we want to create in our bars.

Tom: We realized early on that in order to control the flavor you need to visit the source, because there are so many factors that go into growing and processing cacao. It's not only starting with the genetics of the pods, but also how they're harvested, how they're fermented, how they're dried that has a direct impact on flavor. To be able to go and customize the process allows us to get the best beans and to get consistent quality.

Is that a different process than what your competitors are doing?

Tom: It’s important to note that we don’t view other craft chocolate makers as competitors. Craft chocolate is still a tiny fraction of the overall chocolate market, so we work very closely with other small makers to help raise awareness of how craft chocolate is different than the vast majority of chocolate on the market today. One thing we do, which not all small makers are able to do, is visit the farms and the farmers from whom we source.  We source beans from very specific geographic regions, which allows for better flavor control and consistency.  It also allows us to create our own custom fermentation and drying protocols. For example, with our Guatemalan “Asochivite” beans the farmers do a custom harvest for us, from a small number of handpicked farms, and then ferment and dry those beans differently than all the others so we get flavors unique to us

Monica: That actually happened because we started working with them so long ago. They are the original farmer association we sought out, and they created a custom fermentation profile for us. Other farmers in different areas have different genetics and different profiles. When we were down there, we saw that their fermentation and drying facility wasn't the best, it was really old and so we funded the construction of a new facility that allowed them to not only be more consistent, but also to produce a lot more cacao which of course was really helpful for the village because they can add more farmers and sell to a lot more people and make more revenue.

How and why do you make your own cocoa butter? 

Goodnow Farms Chocolate Has Become a Sweet Spot in Massachusetts

Tom: It’s incredibly important. If you're making single origin chocolate and you're adding in cocoa butter from other sources, it really isn't true single origin chocolate. But more than just a definition, it’s about the flavor. We add a significant amount of cocoa butter into our bars because we love the smooth mouthfeel and it gives better intensity of flavor. It's a fat so it translates the flavor to your tongue better. We learned very early on that if we add in deodorized cocoa butter, which is most often used in chocolate, you're adding this waxy substance to your chocolate so it's diluting the flavor. We knew to get a pure flavor, we had to get cocoa butter from the same sources as the beans. It's a time consuming and expensive process which a lot of people don't do. 

Monica: But for us it's worth it. We're using that single origin cocoa butter and it’s delicious.

What are some of the products you're most proud of?

Tom: For all of our Signature Line bars (which are individual beans from individual origins) we’ve spent a lot of time developing those relationships and dialing in those flavors. But more than that, we also enjoy the process of working with local companies that also prioritize flavor and ethical sourcing. We love pairing flavors together. For example, for our Putnam Rye Whiskey bar we worked with Boston Harbor Distillery, a small craft distiller. We just love the flavor of their rye whiskey and spent a long time pairing and developing a process that drew out those flavors to make an incredibly flavorful bar. It is very time consuming, but we’re really proud of those kinds of products where we're matching complex flavors for not only the cacao, but also a lot of different makers that make incredible products.

Monica: There's different types of chocolate. Different people want different things and enjoy different things at different times. Sometimes I want a single origin bar where it's the essence of the beans that I'm tasting, and sometimes I want a little something different that's a surprise. We have a lot of fun crafting these flavored bars and we really enjoy the relationships with our farmers as well as the relationships that we have with the other crafters in the area.

Are there any exciting plans for the future that you can share with us?

Tom: For years people have asked us if they can come and take a tour of our chocolate factory. It's something we really want to do because the process is fascinating. It's so different than what the large chocolate manufacturers do. We're now able to do tours to show the whole process starting on Thursdays at noon.

Monica: The tours will take place one day per week. because we have a lot going on at our farm. But we’re really excited and we're happy to share the experience with people. We're looking forward to that connection with our customers and visitors.

Tom: We also have a line of Limited Release bars which allows us to find really interesting origins or flavor combinations. We're doing a spiced apple cider bar that is a great New England flavor. It’s also highlighting producers in different origins like in India, who are doing great work not only with flavor, but also with the way that they treat the workers and the environment overall. There's a lot of great collaborations there.

Monica: Another thing that we're working on are chocolate pairings with other foods like cheese. We partnered with Jasper Hill Farm to do cheese and chocolate pairing at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, and also an online class for their cheese club.  Both events were a huge success. They sent us their cheeses and we paired our chocolates with them. We want to continue showing people chocolate is not just a candy but a food.