Soklet

Tree to bar chocolate from India

In Tamil Nadu, southeastern India, lies the Regal plantation, owned by two brothers-in-law Karthikeyan Palasisamy and Harish Manoj Kumar. The Kumar family has been growing cocoa beans on this site at the foot of the Anamalai hills, near the Indira Ghandi wild life reserve, since around 2005. The pesticide-free plantations are managed based on the principles of permaculture. Next to cocoa, they also grow coconut, nutmeg, pepper and banana. And all their own new cocoa trees are reproduced from the most successful and tasty fruits.

In 2015 the families started using their own beans to produce chocolate, naming it Soklet. Soklet is the first and only tree-to-bar chocolate of India. Now, to meet growing demand, they also buy organic cocoa from neighbouring farmers. Soklet control the full process and quality is top of mind, and they say that: ‘A skilled chocolate maker can get a simple bar of chocolate to taste as complex as a fine wine.’ Besides classic chocolates, Soklet also offer several special flavour combinations based on Indian ingredients. The packaging is also extremely stylish and represents heirloom woven fabrics from the Tamil Nadu region.

In 2017 Soklet received the Cocoa of Excellence Award, awarded by, among others, Biodiversity International. That is indeed something very special!