Belize equals Amazing Chocolate! If you are a chocolate lover you have heard about and likely tasted the wondrous confections produced in Switzerland and Belgium. Perhaps you have sampled your way through the dozens of new craft and artisanal chocolates springing up everyday across Canada and the USA. But as you savour these exquisite treats you should never forget that chocolate has tropical roots.

Cacao trees, the origin of the cacao beans used to make all chocolate, are rain forest trees that originated in the northern Amazon basin, spread into Central America and were turned into a luxury trade commodity by merchants in the Maya city states of the region. Belize has been home to some of the finest flavour cacao beans in the world for thousands of years. With European conquest of the region in the 1500s Maya trading routes were destroyed but the surviving Maya peoples continued to cultivate cacao trees and consume chocolate drinks at home.

After our independence from Great Britain in 1981, Hershey briefly purchased cacao beans from Belize in the 1980s, and the British company Green and Black’s Chocolate (now sadly owned by Kraft Corporation) put Belizean fine flavour cacao beans on the world map with their Maya Gold Bar in the 1990s. It was not until 2007 that pioneer chocolatiers like Goss Chocolate and Ixcacao Chocolate began making chocolate bars and confections in Belize! Today we have an increasing number of small chocolate makers located across the country from San Pedro, Ambergris Caye to Punta Gorda, Toledo District and points in between. Apart from the 5 chocolate companies highlighted in our chocolate bar list below, check out Moho Chocolate, Mahogany Chocolate, Junajpu’ Chocolate, Lamanai Chocolate, Dragon Chocolate and the brand new Sub Umbra Floreo Chocolate. If you want to learn more about the history of chocolate in Belize check out this great article by Belize.com and this one at Centralamerica.com

Below I list 6 of my personal favorite chocolate bars that you can find right here in Belize AND I tell you WHERE to find them! Don’t worry if your favorite Belizean bar isn’t listed-in order to keep this article from becoming a book, this is only a small selection of the delicious chocolate available in our country. Tell us your own favorites in the comments! Share our article and check back soon for more from Taste Belize Tours on more amazing Belizean chocolate, or explore the chocolate trails of southern Belize with us! Click Here to learn more about our award winning chocolate tours.

Dark Chocolate with Nibs On chocolate bar by Ixcacao Chocolate (San Felipe Village, Toledo District). Ixcacao Chocolate, a Kekchi Maya family business founded and run by the Cho family, is Belize’s oldest Belizean-owned chocolate company. Their top selling 80 percent dark chocolate bar topped with perfectly crunchy organically grown cacao nibs is vegan friendly and contains only two ingredients: fine flavour Belizean cacao and Belizean sugar. This is one of my all time favorite chocolate bars. You find no soy lecithin or any other stabilizers or additives in their range of small batch, hand crafted, beautifully flavoured dark chocolate bars. The chocolate-on-chocolate contrast of creamy chocolate and crunchy nibs delivers a fruit-forward (dried cranberry/pineapple and raisin notes are particularly common), followed by notes of toasted nuts and coffee and a burnt sugar finish. You may also get a notable honey flavour in Ixcacao chocolate bars when cacao beans harvested at the end of the dry season predominate the batch. Try this with your favorite red wine for a mind blowing sensory experience. Where to get it: Ixcacao Chocolate Bars are available at their factory in San Felipe Village, Toledo District. Placencia Peninsula: Belizean Flavours Shop, Main Street, Placencia; Healthy Addictions Shop, Main Street, Maya Beach. Cayo District: Farmers Trading Center in Spanish Lookout. Belize City: K’Chocolatier 65 Barrack Road, Belize City.

Dark Chocolate with Coconut chocolate bar by Ixcacao Chocolate (San Felipe Village, Toledo District). Layered in between rich and fruity 80% dark vegan chocolate are sweet shreds of hand grated fresh coconut that has been slightly caramelized. The fruity chocolate pairs perfectly with the sweet coconut for a beautiful bar that you can easily eat out of hand or serve as part of a very distinguished tasting board. Where to get it: At their factory in San Felipe Village, Toledo District. Placencia Peninsula: Belizean Flavours Shop, Main Street, Placencia; Healthy Addictions Shop, Main Street, Maya Beach. Cayo District: Farmers Trading Center in Spanish Lookout. Belize City: K’Chocolatier 65 Barrack Road, Belize City.

Dark Chocolate with Mint chocolate bar by Cheil Chocolate (Maya Centre Village, Stann Creek District) This rich dark mint bar melts quickly, but there is no better place to put it than right in your mouth! Earthy chocolate plus bright mint=dark chocolate bliss. Add a square to your cup of hot chocolate for a great morning wake up. Where to get it: All Cheil Chocolate bars as well as chocolate ice cream, cacao tea, nibs, powder and butter are available at their factory located in Maya Centre Village, Stann Creek District, right on the Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve Access road and visible from the Southern Highway. Xaibel Gas Station on the Southern Highway just north of the Dangriga Junction. Chacmol Art Gallery in San Jose Xocotz in Cayo District. Cakes by Karla at 118 North Front Street, Belize City.

Dark Chocolate with Black Pepper chocolate bar by Cotton Tree Chocolate (Punta Gorda Town, Toledo District) This unique bar combines smooth 70% dark chocolate with bursts of the fruity, spicy notes of Belizean grown black pepper! Outstanding flavour for someone who appreciates this spicy chocolate experience. Where to get it: At the factory itself on Front Street, Punta Gorda Town, Toledo District, at Brodies Grocery Stores (Belmopan and Belize City), and in gift shops at Belize International Airport!

White Chocolate Bar with Vanilla Bean by Goss Chocolate (Seine Bight Village, Stann Creek District) Real white chocolate (made with pure cacao butter, NOT hydrogenated palm oil) can be hard to find on the global market. Belize, of course, is an exception. Goss Chocolate Company, one of Belize’s oldest chocolate makers, has created a delicious bar with pure vanilla bean and Belizean cacao butter they freshly extract themselves from organically grown fine flavour beans. Their white chocolate bar won the highest rating by the World Chocolate Awards in 2013 and will fulfill all your cravings, with no guilt! Where to get it: Goss Chocolate is available in almost all grocery stores on Placencia Peninsula. Belize City: Brodies and Sav-U grocery stores. Corozal District: One Mall. Belize International Airport: Lauren Duty Free, Medina Maya Ruins gift shop, Tradewinds gift shop. Cayo District: Farmers Trading Center and Reimers Health Foods in Spanish Lookout. Chaa Creek Resort and San Ignacio Hotel gift shops. Stann Creek District: Xaibel Gas Station on the Southern Highway just north of the Dangriga Junction. Dangriga Town: Price is Right supermarket and Family City Liu Store. Nice Cream in Hopkins Village. Cocoplum Island Resort. Caye Caulker: Caribbean Colors Art Cafe, Little Blue Gift Shop, Romantic Travels.

45% Milk Chocolate bar by Belize Chocolate Company (San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, Belize District) This distinguished milk chocolate bar won a silver medal at the 2018 International Chocolate Awards. Creamy, sweet and rich with the fruity complex flavour we find in all Belizean chocolate, this bar will satisfy your sweet tooth and your chocolate craving all in one. Where to get it: You can get this bar and all their other incredible chocolate goodies at their flagship shop in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, located in downtown San Pedro, on Front Street next door to the Wild Mangos and opposite the Roman Catholic Primary School. Their second shop on Caye Caulker is located Hicaco street just north of the water taxi terminals, between Bambooze bar and The Happy Lobster, also offers their full selection of chocolate. Or go to the Belize Chocolate Company Website for online shopping, including international shipping!

Want MORE CHOCOLATE? Email tastebelize@gmail.com to learn about our farm to table chocolate tours, immersive experiences and delicious chocolate sold at our shop on Main Street, Placencia Village, Stann Creek District, Belize.