Arcelia Gallardo

Mission Chocolate, Brazil

Name: Mission Chocolate, Brazil
Brand: Arcelia Gallardo
Availability: InStock

Brazil

SHOP SITE

Business Ownership

Owner-Operated

Women-Owned

ABOUT

Born in Los Angeles, CA to Mexican immigrants, Arcelia Gallardo has spent most of her time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the rest in California. Proudly a farmer's daughter, she has been working with chocolate for 20 years as a chocolatier, chocolate maker, and chocolate consultant/teacher.

She has studied chocolate and cacao in 23 countries; from boutique chocolatiers in Paris to isolated communities in the jungles of the Amazon Rainforest. She has worked with Zapotec women in Oaxaca, Maya women in Guatemala and Belize, Ngäbe women in Panama, and Inca women in Peru.

Her goal is to make delicious chocolate recipes that have never been done before while respecting the farms, farmers and the environment. In addition to chocolate making, she travels through Latin America to work with cacao growers, chocolate makers, chocolatiers, and to teach indigenous women to make chocolate. A leader in the craft chocolate industry, she is a co-founder and past president of the Associação Bean to Bar Brasil, Advisor with the James Beard Foundation, past Co-Chair of the Good Food Awards (Chocolate) in San Francisco, California, and past judge for the Northwest Chocolate Festival Awards in Seattle, Washington.

Awards

Academy of Chocolate
Gold - Dark Milk Chocolate 57% (2020)
Silver - Bold Dark Chocolate 70% (2018)
Bronze - Caipirinha 65% (2023), Passion Fruit Crunch 65% (2023), Double Caramel White (2023), Dark Chocolate 88% (2020), Mild Dark Chocolate 70% (2019), Orange Zest 70% (2018)

International Chocolate Awards
Silver (Americas) - Brazilian Coffee 70% (2021)
Bronze (Americas) - Caipirinha 65% (2022), Bold Dark Chocolate 70% (2019)

Northwest Chocolate Awards
Silver - Dark Milk Chocolate 57% (2019)
Bold Dark Chocolate 70% (2018)

Bean to Bar Brasil
Bronze - Bold Dark Chocolate 70% (2020), Dark Milk Chocolate 57% (2019), Dark Milk Chocolate 57% (2019)

Steps Between Farm and You

Mission Chocolate sources directly from Brazilian farmers. Their chocolate is handcrafted in their Factory in Sao Paulo. It is then exported to Casa de Chocolates in Berkeley, CA for delivery to your door.

Why We Love Mission Chocolate, Brazil

BREAKTHROUGH FLAVORS

With bars like Three Theos, Romeu & Julieta (Guava & Cream Cheese), or Two Rivers, Mission Chocolate pushes creativity in chocolate making to a beautiful and delicious limit.

BRAZIL'S MOST AWARDED

Brazil's most award-winning chocolate; its ingredients are local, sometimes wild/foraged, and represent Brazilian culture, geography, gastronomy and native flavors.

100% TRACEABLE CACAO

Mission visits farmers directly to find its cacao, ensuring it is grown using regenerative, organic and sustainable practices within an agroforestry system.