Bold, But Not Bitter

Why did you start Marsatta Chocolate?

Oddly enough, Marsatta Chocolate may have started on rollerblades.

Years ago, I was rollerblading on the Strand in Newport Beach, California, when I struck up a conversation with a woman skating in front of me.

The year was 2000.

She had recently moved from Minnesota, and I had moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In my mind, I figured she had to be good people because Minnesota always felt a little like part of Canada anyway. The people were similar. Long-johns. Toques. Hockey. Cold winters. Fresh air. Mosquitoes during the warm summer months. And usually everybody owned at least one pair of skates. During our first introduction, I shared where I was from and what I did. I mentioned that I had previously officiated professional hockey and that I was a chocolatier.

The moment I said the word chocolate, she reacted.

Something about that moment stayed with me.

That woman is now my wife, my partner in life, and my partner in chocolate.

Not long after that fateful rollerblading venture along the Newport Beach coastline, Marsatta Chocolate was born.

But the deeper story goes further back.

From 1994 to 2006, I sharpened my craft as a chocolatier. It was during that time that I became increasingly curious about chocolate itself, the ingredients, the process, and why certain chocolates tasted balanced while others tasted harsh or bitter.

While attending a chocolate school, I asked a prominent chef a question that would unexpectedly change the course of my life:

“Why can’t I make my own chocolate?”

He simply said no, it wasn’t possible, and left it at that without explaining further.

For many people, hearing “no” is the end of the conversation.

But sometimes curiosity takes over.

You start asking:
“Why not?”
“What makes it impossible?”
“Is there another way?”

And although I received a strict no from that chef, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It stayed with me.

On the flight back to Los Angeles, I made a decision. I was going to study bean-to-bar chocolate making seriously and understand every part of the craft for myself.

Roasting. Winnowing. Refining. Conching. Tempering.

Also flavor development.
Texture.
Acidity.
Volatile compounds.

I wanted to understand not just how chocolate was made, but why so much of it tasted harsh, bitter, or unfinished.

That curiosity became an obsession.

And eventually, that pursuit became Marsatta Chocolate, the first bean-to-bar chocolate company in Los Angeles.

I wanted to create chocolate that was bold, memorable, and deeply flavorful without punishing the person eating it.

Why does bitterness bother you so much?

I believe bitterness often begins with mistakes made long before the chocolate ever reaches the chocolate maker.

It can start at the farm or plantation level:
how the cacao is grown,
how it is harvested,
how it is fermented,
and how it is dried.

When cacao beans are treated carefully and respectfully from the very beginning, you already have a far greater chance of creating extraordinary chocolate.

Then, once those beans arrive in the hands of the chocolate maker, they must continue to be treated with that same respect.

Now don’t get me wrong, cacao naturally has intensity. Chocolate should absolutely have character. There are naturally occurring acids and volatile compounds present in most cacao, and that is part of chocolate itself. But harsh bitterness can often be minimized through careful roasting, proper refinement, patient conching, and constant attention to flavor.

I also believe sugar can hide a lot of mistakes.

But when too much sugar is used to cover flaws, the true flavor of the cacao never really gets the opportunity to shine through.

At Marsatta Chocolate, we are about flavor first.

We are in no rush to push chocolate onto the market before it is ready. Texture matters. Aroma matters. Finish matters. Balance matters.

Most importantly, taste matters.

For years, people were taught that “serious dark chocolate” had to hurt a little.

I never believed that.

In fact, I often joke that we make the first 100% chocolate bar in the world that is not bitter.

We call it:

Bold, but not bitter.

And interestingly enough, that bar outsells almost everything we make by nearly three to one, which really says something about both the craft and philosophy behind Marsatta Chocolate.

Our customers and even some of our investors travel the world in their respective fields and purposely bring back 100% chocolate bars for us to taste and study. And no, they cannot cheat by adding extra cocoa butter. I’m talking about true one-ingredient chocolate made directly from cacao beans.

That same philosophy guides everything we make.

From 100% chocolate all the way down to 32% Ube milk chocolate, and even our white chocolate, every percentage deserves respect. Every batch deserves patience. Every flavor deserves balance.

I wanted to create chocolate that still respected the cacao while removing unnecessary aggression from the experience. Chocolate should invite you back for another bite, not exhaust your palate after one square.

At Marsatta Chocolate, flavor always comes first.

Why does process matter so much to you?

Because chocolate remembers everything.

Every decision changes the final result:
Roasting.
Winnowing.
Refining.
Conching.
Tempering.

Tiny adjustments can completely change flavor, texture, aroma, and finish.

A lot of modern food production is about speed.
We are interested in flavor.

Some of our chocolate spends days refining because texture matters. Smoothness matters. Balance matters. The process is not there for show. The process is the flavor.

Why do you refuse shortcuts?

Because shortcuts usually taste like shortcuts.

There are easier ways to make chocolate. Faster ways too.

But if you care deeply about flavor, you learn very quickly that patience changes everything. We are not interested in creating the fastest chocolate possible. We are interested in creating something unforgettable.

That means standing over machines late at night.
Testing batches repeatedly.
Adjusting recipes by grams instead of pounds.
Paying attention when most people would move on.

Real craftsmanship is rarely convenient.

Why does Pacific Ocean salt matter?

Because place matters.

We harvest ocean water from the California coast and process the salt ourselves for select creations. To us, it is not just an ingredient. It is part of the identity of the chocolate.

The Pacific Ocean is powerful, unpredictable, beautiful, and deeply tied to California life. Incorporating that into chocolate creates something more personal and more grounded.

People often call it “sea salt.”

We call it “Pacific Ocean salt” because that specificity matters.

It tells the truth about where this chocolate comes from.

One of my favorite examples of this philosophy is our 89% Maple Pacifica bar. It is almost like a yin and yang experience, sweet and savory working together in balance.

You have maple zest from real maple trees paired against Pacific Ocean salt harvested right outside our door from the mighty Pacific itself.

To me, that contrast is fascinating.

The sweetness of maple.
The mineral character of the ocean.
Warmth and intensity balanced together.

And honestly, why simply say “sea salt” when Pacific Ocean salt has such a distinct identity, story, and flavor of its own?

That combination creates something deeply connected to both flavor and place, which is exactly what Marsatta Chocolate is all about.

Notes from the Kitchen: if you’re a fan of the Marsatta 100% Crystal bar… be sure to try our 100% Genius bar with Pacific Ocean Salt. 

Why does California matter?

Because Marsatta Chocolate could only exist here.

California has always been a place for reinvention, creativity, agriculture, craftsmanship, and independent thinking. That spirit shaped this company from the beginning.

From harvesting Pacific Ocean salt to creating one of the first truly approachable 100% chocolate bars, we’ve always wanted to challenge assumptions about what chocolate could be.

Bean to bar in Los Angeles is part of our identity.

This is not factory chocolate disconnected from place.

This is California craftsmanship written in cacao.

What’s next?

Well, right now I’m deeply focused on coffee.

Not just any coffee, but incredible world-class coffee. The goal is to create a coffee chocolate bar that truly feels out of this world. That means carefully balancing the cacao percentage with the coffee itself so neither one overwhelms the other. Just like with chocolate, balance matters.

And in many ways, this project comes full circle for us:
California coffee paired with California chocolate.

That combination feels incredibly special to me.

The coffee itself is truly world class. It was recently featured at an international coffee auction in Dubai, and coffees from the same California-grown movement are now being served in Tokyo, Japan.

To now pair that extraordinary California-grown coffee with Marsatta Chocolate feels like a natural evolution of everything we believe in:
craftsmanship,
place,
flavor,
and curiosity.

Because at the end of the day, making chocolate and coffee is really about balancing notes, notes of incredible flavor.

No single ingredient should overpower the other. The goal is harmony, balance, texture, aroma, and an experience that lingers with you long after the last bite.

At the same time, I’m constantly working on new flavors, flavors that hopefully make people stop in their tracks while tasting them.

That’s always the goal:
curiosity,
emotion,
and unforgettable flavor.

I’m also incredibly excited about a new direction we are exploring at Marsatta Chocolate, what I like to call lifestyle chocolate.

These are thoughtfully crafted chocolate bars that include vitamins, nutrients, and functional ingredients designed around wellness and everyday living. Instead of people automatically reaching for another bottle of pills in the medicine cabinet, I love the idea that someone could break open a beautifully crafted chocolate bar and enjoy something that is both deeply flavorful and intentionally nourishing.

The next three bars we are developing focus on:

Strength.
Balance.
Clarity.

I’m genuinely excited about these bars.

As somebody raising a very sick child, you begin to think differently about health, nutrition, ingredients, and the small ways people can help one another. My hope is simply to do my part through healthy chocolate and thoughtful craftsmanship.

As a chocolate maker, I also understand that all of us eventually have an expiration date. That reality makes me want to keep creating, experimenting, refining, and pushing forward while I still can.

One of my biggest dreams is to eventually recreate our chocolate factory with glass walls so school children, adults, chocolate lovers, and people who are simply children at heart could actually stand there and marvel at the work happening inside Marsatta Chocolate.

To see the roasting.
The winnowing.                                                  The refining.
The tempering.
The movement.
The craftsmanship.

Because most people never get to witness how chocolate is truly made.

That is one of my wishes.

In the meantime, I sincerely hope people have the opportunity to order online and experience what we’re creating here, not to “experiment” with chocolate, but to truly taste deeply flavorful chocolate crafted with patience, curiosity, and respect for the process.

Chef Jeffray

Marsatta Chocolate