Meet the maker
BeanCraft
About BeanCraft
BeanCraft was founded in 2019 by Nicky and Tom Couch, just before the pandemic hit, after Nicky went on a chocolatier course with a good friend of hers as an experience when their children were little. Based in Bradford on Avon, England, the husband-and-wife duo are a team of just two, although their two teenage children help out with the chocolate tasting – Tom focusses on the website, packaging,
logistics and is chief winnower! BeanCraft’s mission is to make delicious chocolate using as few quality ingredients as possible, while doing justice to the extraordinary effort that goes into the growing the cocoa beans that they use.
Despite their chocolate only being on the market for a few years, BeanCraft have already stacked up a number of awards, including a Bronze ACA for Nicky’s first ever bar (their Sierra Nevada, Colombia, Dark 70%), and the only Great Taste 3 star award of 2023 for a chocolate bar (their Sierra Nevada, Colombia, Milk 55%).
How they became makers…
As the current Head of Business for a small childcare company in Bradford upon Avon, Nicky has always dreamt of having her own food business. After spending some years enjoying making food for people to share, Nicky went on a chocolatier course with a good friend, as an experience when their children were little – making chocolate for friends and family became a hobby, and Nicky began exploring the idea of starting her very own chocolate-making venture. After taking a second chocolatier course, she discovered the bean-to-bar movement and found herself amazed that it was possible to make her very own chocolate from cocoa beans with some equipment at home – so, for her next birthday Nicky got a Premier melanger (some cocoa beans from Solkiki), and she never looked back. Tom, a marine engineer, crafted some of the machinery they still use to this very day – including an adapted seed winnower design, which he worked on after winnowing their cocoa beans with a hairdryer which didn’t work that well.
BeanCraft’s Sourcing
Currently, BeanCraft source their beans through a number of suppliers including Silva Cacao, Uncommon Cacao and Belco, who are able to ensure that the beans they supply are ethically sourced and transparently traded. As BeanCraft grows, the pair want to work more closely with the cocoa farmers while still maintaining traceability and ensuring that the farmers receive a living wage for the beans that they use.
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