About us

What is ChocoVivo?

ChocoVivo makes chocolate from bean-to-bar. What makes the chocolate special is the way it is processed and the ingredients used. It’s stone ground which is how the Mayans and Aztecs made chocolate over 2000 years ago grinding chocolate with a tool similar to a mortar and pestle called a mano and metate. It’s not over processed, thus, the chocolate is not refined through rollers, conched or tempered. ChocoVivo only makes dark chocolate. There’s no milk powder, soy lecithin or additional cacao butter. From using only whole cacao nibs to whole spices, the ingredients are as natural as Mother Nature intended our food to be. We eat whole fruits and vegetables, why not whole bean chocolate? Once you taste the purity of ChocoVivo whole bean chocolate that’s been made the traditional way – stone ground – you’ll never go back to regular chocolate or those powder packets. Our mantra is Simple Is Better.

Patricia Tsai happily creating bean to bar chocolate in kitchen of Culver City Chocolate factory and cafe

The Chocolate Journey

My journey began 5+ years ago when I decided that my calling was not sitting behind the computer crunching numbers. After graduating from Wharton and getting my CPA, I went on this journey to figure out how to combine the two things I enjoyed, people and food. Initially I had no intention of being a chocolate maker, but I wanted to understand the social and commercial impact of chocolate in society. Looking through the windows of chocolate shops around the world, I began to wonder what was behind the artisan-made truffle encased in a custom box. How was it processed? Where did it come from? As my curiosity piqued, so did the start of my chocolate journey. What makes the journey special is that through the years of trying to figure out how to stone-grind, I developed a relationship with my grower. it was important for me to know where I get my cacao beans. Should I go through a distributor or a broker? There wasn’t enough transparency in the cacao industry. Through trials and tribulations, I met my grower in Tabasco, MX. It was truly the start of my business as he became a mentor and a father figure to me. My relationship continues with him today and as the business grows. I hope soon to invite you down there for a true Field to Table Dinner with chocolate. My journey has not been easy, but it’s through these experiences that I want to share with you to look at Chocolate
~ Patricia