Spinnaker Chocolate was founded by brothers Chris and Kelly Van Arsdale. They began making chocolate as a hobby and over the course of several years turned their hobby into a full fledged obsession. When the pandemic struck, they decided to move out of their garage and turn their hobby into a real business, so in 2021 Spinnaker Chocolate officially opened its doors. Located in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood, Spinnaker Chocolate's team of three produces award-winning, small-batch chocolate. Their process starts with the cacao beans and they process them all the way through to a finished chocolate bar, so they're a true bean to bar maker. They've taken an intensely scientific approach to their production process. They've spent years researching, testing, and iterating on thousands of different variables to dial in their manufacturing. In short, they sort in three different ways, micronize, crack, winnow, roast, proof, sift, pre-grind, grind, conche, age, temper, mold, and package their bars - all in small batches. Their process is different from other chocolate makers in many ways but the biggest distinction is their roasting process. Their chocolate's rich flavor comes from roasting only the nibs (the inside of cacao beans) and roasting them gently – maximizing flavor and eliminating bitterness. It may take a little bit longer but the proof is in the pudding...or in this case the chocolate.



They chose the name Spinnaker Chocolate because they love the ocean and they are sailors, snorkelers, divers, paddle boarders and more. Their mission from day one has always been to raise awareness to the ocean pollution issue and to give back to the ocean, so for every item you purchase, Spinnaker makes a donation toward cleaning up the ocean so that future generations can enjoy better ingredients, too.