Discovering Eigen Chocolate A Rising Star in the World of Craft Chocolate

In today’s increasingly crowded craft chocolate landscape, it takes something special for a new maker to stand out. Eigen Chocolate immediately caught my attention for the quality of their selection.

After tasting their current lineup, what impressed me most was their ability to express vivid and layered flavor profiles while maintaining balance and great texture. Even at an early stage, they already demonstrate the kind of technical confidence and sourcing awareness usually associated with far more established bean-to-bar chocolate makers.

Founded by Kevin and Stephen Drummey and built around a deep respect for cacao producers and transparent sourcing, Eigen Chocolate represents a new generation of craft chocolate makers focused as much on flavor as on ethics and long-term sustainability.

I spoke with Kevin about how their project began, their approach to cacao sourcing and roasting, and where they see the future of craft chocolate heading.

Kevin Drummey of Eigen Chocolate Interview

Q: What inspired you to start Eigen Chocolate, and what was the turning point that made you take the leap?

Kevin: Growing up, both of us have always been drawn to the idea of creating a food business of our own. We love all kinds of foods and enjoy experiencing new flavors, but we were not sure where to start. In 2020, we found Manoa Chocolate’s YouTube channel, where they showed how their business started from the ground up, explained the issues surrounding commodity chocolate, and demonstrated that small, ethical cacao farmers need more small-craft chocolate makers to support them. This call to action was just what we needed to make our first batch of chocolate. We ordered the smallest tabletop melanger we could find and pre-roasted cacao nibs, and started grinding away. While this first batch wasn’t perfect, we were still blown away by the difference in flavor over commodity chocolate. The response from friends around us crystallized our path toward craft chocolate and led us to where our passion lies now.

Q: How would you describe your philosophy as a chocolate maker and your bean-to-bar process?

Kevin: It goes without saying that the people who grow the cacao are the most important step in the bean-to-bar process. We strive to honor the work they put into cultivating such an amazing product that we get to use. Above all, we aim to highlight sustainable and ethical farming practices of the origins we work with. While we are still a small company, we hope to broaden our impact as we grow. When it comes to our chocolate, we love the complex and unique fruit flavors that come from fine cacao. To highlight our preferred cacao aromas, we find that lighter to medium roasting profiles are our favorites across many cacao origins. All our chocolate is made in small batches, so we are constantly producing it. We also choose to shorten the best-by dates on our chocolate bars to ensure our customers get the freshest chocolate possible. While chocolate takes a long time to go bad and taste off, its flavor and texture complexity change over time. We want our customers to experience the chocolate as true to its intended flavor as possible.

Q: How do you select your cacao? What do you personally look for in a bean before deciding to work with it?

Kevin: At our small size, our sourcing strategies are limited by our limited space and production capacity. We also tend to carry many (maybe too many!) cacao origins at once because we really enjoy having a wide variety of flavors at our disposal.  When it comes to choosing cacao beans, the first thing we identify is the aroma of the raw cacao bean. It needs to smell good raw, with few off-flavors, for us to want to work with it. Some of our favorite origins exhibit bright acidity in the raw cacao bean or already have a nuanced dried-fruit flavor. We also look for uniform cacao beans to ensure consistency in flavor.

Q: Could you walk us through your production process—from bean selection and sourcing to the finished bar?

Kevin: Even though we already select high-quality cacao, we remove flattened, deformed, or stuck-together beans before roasting to ensure an even roast and a consistent profile. After the beans cool, we crack and classify them using mesh sifters into large, medium, and fine-sized pieces to improve yields after winnowing away the hulls. We also try to use the whole bean, using the hulls for cacao tea, which we sell in retail tins and in bulk to a local tea shop.  When making our batches of dark chocolates, we prefer the texture of a three-ingredient dark chocolate with a small amount of added cocoa butter. The added cocoa butter not only enhances mouthfeel but also improves the chocolate's overall viscosity for our hand-tempering process.

Q: Is there a bar in your current lineup that best represents your brand identity? Why?

Kevin: Definitely our Ben Tre, Vietnam, 70%. In addition to its unique fruit-forward flavor profile, Marou Chocolate has some of the most comprehensive data available on what it pays its farmers and on its growing and harvesting practices.

Q: How do you see the future of craft chocolate evolving, and where does Eigen Chocolate fit within that landscape?

Kevin: In the next few years, I think we are going to start seeing more and more unique cacao microlots and cofermentation methods, which are currently used in craft coffee, bleed into the craft cacao sphere. We have seen a few single-farm cacao microlots from Osito Coffee and Cacao, one of which is used in our chocolate bar, Amparo Lebaza Microlot, San Jose do Isnos, Huila, Colombia. Cofermentation methods, which may add fruits, spices, or other ingredients to the bulk cacao ferment, seem like an interesting way to intentionally impart specific flavors to the fine cacao itself. In the future, as we grow, we would love to work directly with producers to develop unique fermentation lots and explore new possibilities.

Q: If you could change one thing about how consumers perceive chocolate, what would it be?

Kevin: More and more, we experience customers asking questions about the sourcing and overall impact of our chocolate, which are great first steps for those who actually know about craft chocolate! But so many people are still unaware of the differences between commodity and craft chocolate and their disparate impacts on the environment and local communities. One thing we would change is to make consumers aware of these differences and to realize that where they spend their money has a bigger ripple effect than they think. The commodity chocolate they find in the store is collectively extracted from cacao farming communities and their lands, while ethically and transparently sourced craft chocolate rejuvenates communities and regenerates the land.  

Q: The cocoa industry is currently facing significant challenges, including rising cocoa prices and international trade tariffs. How are you navigating these changes as a growing chocolate maker?

Kevin: While the cost of cacao, and especially cocoa butter, has definitely increased, we have done our best to offset some of these costs by adjusting other components we control, such as our packaging. This past year, we started buying larger quantities of packaging to reduce the cost per bar, which partially offsets higher cacao prices without raising our bar prices. Ultimately, higher cacao prices reflect the challenges growers face as volatile weather patterns interrupt growing seasons. We think it is something we will have to navigate continuously, year by year.

I had the opportunity to taste four of their single-origin dark chocolate bars, and what stood out most was the overall consistency across the range: excellent tempering, smooth texture, and well-balanced mouthfeel.

Despite using a three-ingredient formula that includes added cocoa butter, Eigen Chocolate preserves expressive, clearly identifiable flavor characteristics without flattening the individuality of each cacao origin-variety.

Another aspect I particularly appreciated was the accuracy of the tasting notes presented on the packaging. Rather than functioning as vague suggestions, the primary descriptors consistently emerged during tasting with notable precision, while still leaving room for additional complexity and evolution on the palate.

The following bars were among the most interesting examples I tasted from Eigen Chocolate so far:

Cusco Peru 70%

A sweet aromatic profile with a soft snap, creamy texture, and rounded mouthfeel. Initial notes of mild cacao unfold into figs, dates, raisins, dark caramel, and toasted hazelnut and walnut. The texture feels full and comforting, supported by a moderate aromatic bitterness and a refreshing acidity reminiscent of slightly unripe pineapple (juicy, bright, yet gently dry on the palate). Subtle cinnamon and clove nuances emerge in the finish and linger delicately in the aftertaste.

Vietnam Ben Tre 70%

One of the most expressive bars of the lineup. Sweet, tangy, and deeply aromatic, with flavors of chewy tamarind, muscovado sugar, sticky molasses, tart apricot, and dried black prunes. A soft thread of licorice runs throughout the tasting experience, evolving into licorice toffee in the lingering finish. Beneath the fruit-forward intensity lies a faint, refreshing bitterness reminiscent of honeysuckle tea, while the creamy back palate recalls honeysuckle-blossom milk oolong. Succulent, layered, and bursting with flavor in every bite.

Tanzania 70%

Bright and lively, driven by grapefruit, orange zest, and panela sugar. The acidity feels energetic yet controlled, balanced by a soft berry sweetness and delicate floral-herbal undertones. The overall impression is that of a berry-infused herbal fruit tea: refreshing, elegant, and highly drinkable.

Dominican Republic 70%

The most cacao-forward bar of the range, characterized by a dense, fudgy texture and a warm, concentrated mouthfeel. Compared to the other origins, this was the least aligned with my personal preferences, though still well-made. Notes of citrus peel, dried cherry, and toffee emerge gradually, accompanied by an aromatic bitterness reminiscent of sour cherry blossoms. The finish is drier, leaving a lasting earthy-cacao impression.

In many ways, Eigen Chocolate represents an excellent entry point for those beginning to explore the world of single-origin chocolate. Their selection remains approachable and enjoyable, yet offers enough aromatic precision and complexity to help consumers understand what we mean when discussing cacao origins, tasting notes, fermentation, and flavor development — much like in the world of specialty coffee.

With further refinement in presentation and packaging, I genuinely believe they have the potential to gain wider international recognition within the specialty chocolate community.

A sincere thank you to Kevin and Stephen for sharing their work and passion. If you have already tasted their bars, I would also be curious to hear your own impressions.