Meet the maker
Ethereal
About Ethereal
Handmade in Woodstock, Illinois – Ethereal pride themselves being different and wanting to include their customers on their chocolate journey with them.
With the name ‘Ethereal’, in other words; heavenly, delicate and refined, this is certainly represented in the chocolate they produce. By roasting, cracking, winnowing, grinding and tempering the beans in-house for hours, this helps them achieve the distinctive flavour present in all their chocolate.
How they became makers…
Mary, previously a graphics designer, and Sara, previously an interior designer, got sucked into the world of chocolate – the pair started off by making a few truffles, but soon found themselves making their own bars, buying equipment and roasting their own beans. Soon, all of Mary and Sara’s clothes had chocolate all over them, and people were starting to wonder why they smelt like a brownie all the time; and they’ve never looked back.
Ethereal’s Sourcing
Ethereal have spent time making authentic relationships with farmers based mainly in Central and South America, and so source the majority of their beans from these locations to make the good quality chocolate they make today.
An Interview with Ethereal
Producing a range of confections, such as truffles and chocolates which they sell in their shop in Woodstock, we are lucky enough to have the pleasure of adding a selection of their single origin chocolate bars to our collection here at Cocoa Runners. We had the chance to catch up with the makers themselves to ask some questions..
What’s your background? Why and how did you get into chocolate?
Chocolate sucks you in. You start off thinking you are just going to make a few truffles, but then suddenly you are making bars, buying equipment and then roasting your own beans, all of your clothes have chocolate on them and people start wondering why you smell like a brownie all the time. We loved chocolate from the beginning, but it grew into something that neither of us expected. Food and cooking is our background, but we took detours through careers in graphics design (Mary) and interior design (Sara) first!
What mission have you set for making craft chocolate?
We have a philosophy about the central place food should have in our lives and bringing people together through food. This philosophy drives us and we don’t cut corners. We do things because they are hard, because no one else wants to do them that way. Our methods aren’t also the fastest or the cheapest, but they make everything we do shine with taste and creativity. We take chocolate back to a period when people didn’t move quite so quickly and had the time to savor life, when food itself was an experience. It shows in our cafe when you watch your barista cut a fresh peach to muddle into your cocktail or when you watch your chocolatiers dip the truffle you’re about to taste. A lot of people have ideas. Few people act on them and make them reality. We live what we love and share that with as many people as will listen and taste. That’s a rare commodity in this fast paced, hyper connected, mass produced world.
Where do you want to go next? New bars? New beans? New markets?
Our primary focus is getting more exposure and getting our bars with the hands of more customers. We are still small and the word is still getting out! New bars/beans just come naturally. You can’t stop us!
How did you source your beans?
Bean sourcing is difficult and there are no guarantees; there are many, many co-ops, plantations and small producers. It takes a lot of work to build a relationship and a lot of quality control to assure that the beans are up to our standards. In addition, we put our money where our values are. We work with producers in whom we have confidence in terms of 100% organic ingredients and fair treatment / pay for all of their employees and farmers.
What is your favourite food and wine?
The best foods are ones that we can pull fresh from the garden and throw together in a warm summer night. Caprese salad is a special favorite. We love making our own food! Wine. Red Zinfandel. We don’t have a winery (yet).
Want to explore more makers of the world's best craft chocolate? Just start typing their name (or any letter) into the search box to discover them.
20° Nord 20° Sud
9th & Larkin
Åkesson’s
Amaro
Amedei
AMMA
Ara
Askinosie
Auro Chocolate
AWKI
Aztec Gold
Baianí
Bare Bones
Bean & Goose
BeanCraft
Belmont Estate
Belvie
BOHO Chocolate
Bonnat
Bullion
Butterfly
Cacaoken
Cacaosuyo
Carambole
Casa Cacao
Castronovo
Chapon
Chequessett Chocolate
Choco Del Sol
Chococard
Chocokoo
Chocolarder
Chocolat Madagascar
Chocolate Tree
Chocolatemakers
Chocolaterie A. Morin
Chocolaterie Robert
ChocoMe Atelier
Claudio Corallo
Cocama
Coco Caravan
Cocoa Retreat
Conexion
Contour Chocolate
Cuna de Piedra
Damson
Dandelion Chocolate
DesBarres
Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
Diogo Vaz
Doble & Bignall
Domori
Dormouse Chocolates
Duffy’s Chocolate
Encuentro
Endorfin
ENRICHD
Erithaj Chocolat
Feitoria do Cacao
Firetree
Fjåk
Forever Cacao
Fossa
Foundry Chocolate
Franceschi
French Broad Chocolates
Fresco Chocolate
Friis Holm
Fruition
Fu Wan Chocolate
Georgia Ramon
Goodnow Farms Chocolate
Grenada Chocolate Company
Hasnaâ La Feverie
Heinde & Verre
Herencia Esmeraldas
Herufek
Höganäs
Hogarth
Hoja Verde
Idilio Origins
Innato
Islands Chocolate
Ivee Promenade
JK Fine Chocolates
Jordi’s Chocolate
Junglegold Bali
Kankel
Karuna
Krak Chocolade
Krakakoa
La Naya
Land
Lapa-Lapa
Latitude
Levy
LIM
Lucocoa
Luisa Abram
Luisa’s Vegan Chocolates
Lumineux
Lyra
Madécasse
Malagos Chocolate
Manoa
Manufaktura Czekolady
Marana
Marou
Mast Brothers
Maüa
Mellow
Menakao
Mestico
Metiisto
MIA
Michel Cluizel
Mike & Becky
Milz Chocolat
Minka
Mirzam
Misina Cokolada
MOKA
Montecristi
Mucho
Nadalina
Naive
NearyNogs
ÓBOLO
Ocelot
Oialla
Omnom
Original Beans
Pacari
Pacha de Cacao
Palette de Bine
Parliament
Pitch Dark
Plaq
Pralus
PRIDI Cacaofevier
Puchero
Pump Street Chocolate
Pure Imagination
Qantu
Raaka
Radek’s Chocolate
Raphio Chocolate
Reine Astrid
Rio Nuevo
Ritual Chocolate
Rococo
Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé
Ruket
Seaforth Chocolate Co.
Shattell
Sirene
Sisters A. Chocolate
Soklet
Solkiki
Solomons Gold
Solstice
Soma
SPAGnVOLA
Standout Chocolate
Storm & Bille
Stranger
Svenska Kakaobolaget
Table
Taucherli
Taza Chocolate
TBROS
TCHO
The Careless Collection
The Smooth Chocolator
Theobroma Cacao
Tibito
Tobago Cocoa
Tosier
Undone Chocolate
Utopick
Vinte Vinte
Willie’s Cacao
Zotter
