Amano Artisan Chocolate facts for kids
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| Industry | Manufacturing |
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| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Orem, Utah |
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Key people
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Art Pollard |
| Products | Confectionery |
Amano Artisan Chocolate is a special company in Orem, Utah, that makes delicious chocolate bars. They are known as a "bean-to-bar" chocolate maker. This means they handle every step of making chocolate themselves. They start right from the cocoa beans!
Contents
What Does "Amano" Mean?
The name "Amano" comes from the Italian language. It means "by hand" and "love." This name shows how much care and passion goes into making their chocolate.
The Story of Amano Chocolate
Amano Artisan Chocolate was started by a person named Art Pollard in 2005. He began his company in Orem, Utah. For his first batch, Art Pollard used some very rare white cocoa beans. He got these special beans from Villahermosa, Mexico. Until 2015, Amano focused on making "single-origin" chocolates. This means each chocolate bar used beans from just one specific place.
A Unique Chocolate Factory
Amano was the first company to make chocolate in Utah. Their factory is in Orem, Utah, which is very high up! It's about 4,774 feet (1,455 meters) above sea level. The company believes this high altitude helps the chocolate taste even better. It affects how the flavors develop when they mix the chocolate. Amano was also the first company in the U.S. to use a rare type of cocoa bean. These special beans are called "Chuao beans" and come from Chuao, Venezuela.
How Amano Makes Chocolate
Amano makes their award-winning chocolate bars in small amounts. They use older machines, which helps them watch and control the flavors. This way, they can make sure each step of making the chocolate is just right. Their chocolate-making style comes from old Italian and French candy-making methods.
Amano uses a lot of cocoa in their chocolate, usually about 70%. They get their cocoa beans from places like South America, Central America, Africa, and Oceania. Amano chocolate is also certified "kosher-dairy." This means it follows special food rules. Besides chocolate bars, they also make big bags of chocolate coins for professional chefs.
Awards and Recognition
Amano is famous for being the first American company to win a Gold award. They won this award at the Academy of Chocolate Awards for their dark chocolate. This was a big deal for a bean-to-bar chocolate maker from the U.S. In 2009, a chocolate expert named Martin Christy listed Amano as one of the top eight bean-to-bar chocolate companies in the world. Amano was the only American company on his special list!
See also
