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Carobeans

@caro_beans

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Small batch bean-to-bar chocolate
Made with love in St. Paul, Minnesota
Always nut free!
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They say not to mix politics with business, but craft chocolate has always been political. It’s always been about ethics and making sure that all human beings are treated with respect, dignity and given a fair shot at life. It’s always been about disrupting the corrupt systems we currently have in place that take advantage of the vulnerable. Ask anyone who makes craft bean-to-bar chocolate why they got into it, and most of them will tell you it was because they realized how corrupt and dehumanizing the supply chain of commodity cacao was, and wanted to do better. If you don’t know me- I’m Caroline. I started Carobeans because I wasn’t thrilled with the options available for chocolate for pastry work, the lack of traceability and transparency, and decided to start making my own chocolate with beans that I could trace back to the origin and know what the farmers were being paid. I grew up here in Minnesota, on the border of Minneapolis. This is the only home I’ve ever known, and I chose and continue to choose to raise my kids here. I’ve never felt that my kids or family weren’t safe here until the last few weeks, when 2,000 ICE agents arrived, and started wreaking havoc in my community. I never thought I’d have to worry about my half Mexican kids making it home from school safely, or being racially profiled and asked for proof of citizenship by masked men in unmarked vehicles in my own neighborhood. I’m not out protesting in the streets because I have to keep my family safe, but I will continue to speak up and put in the work behind the scenes to make sure that the beautiful immigrant community that brings so much value to Minnesota knows that they are welcome here. And, I will continue making chocolate, because craft chocolate IS protesting by @caro_beans
23
9 months ago
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I am so excited to finally share my new bar design with you all! This whole process took over a year but was worth the wait. The design is my own, and takes inspiration from magical realism, a style of writing that infuses reality with magical or fantastical elements. I want this bar design to evoke the feeling of sitting in a magical cacao forest, leaning up against the trunk of a tree, the leaves rustling in a warm wind and looking up through the branches to see hundreds of twinkling stars. It's a reminder to slow down and remember that the mundane can become magic if you let it The logistics: My previous bars were THICK and weighed 55g, making them both hard to temper and difficult to snap a piece off. These new bars are about 35g, which in my opinion, will make a much better eating experience as they will melt quicker in your mouth and are easy to break. I can also make **100** bars at a time as opposed to about 45 before, which is amazing for production! With that being said, and for full transparency, they will stay the same price at $10/bar retail. This is not a stealthy attempt at "shrinkflation," and even at $10 for 35g, my bars are still competitively priced for the craft chocolate market. With rising costs everywhere, and the continued high price of speciality cacao compared to what it was 2-3 years ago, it's the only way small makers like me can stay in business. As always, Carobeans will deliver a superior product with high quality and minimal ingredients, fun and creative flavor inclusions and most importantly, ethically sourced and traceable cacao 💖 by @caro_beans
36
a month ago
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All new, filled with sweets and joy: The Advent Calendar. This year it will be filled with bonbons from yours truly, Cocoa Flake; the sweetest @burntsugarmn and the most amazing chocolate from @caro_beans ! Discover what’s behind every door of this all new Advent Calendar! Available to pre order online only at CocoaFlake.com #chocolate #adventcalendar #handmade #smallbusiness #christmas by @caro_beans
5
a month ago
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From 100% dark (sweetened with freeze-dried cacao pulp!) to a show-stopping Pineapple Upside-down cake (it just won an award last week!) join us to taste the imaginative creations of pastry-chef turned chocolate-maker Caroline Houghton of Carobeans Chocolate. Based in Minnesota, Caroline will be dropping into our gathering via zoom to share a bit of her inspiration. We promise a full line-up of bars that might surprise you, plus her house-brand cocoa tea. For tickets, link in bio Thursday, May 14, 7:00 pm #craftchocolatchallenge2026 #Toastedbuttermilkwhitechocolate #innovationaward #pogchocolate taken in Washington D. C. by @caro_beans
15
6 months ago
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Baking has always been a creative outlet for me and this Yule log cake is no exception. Sometimes it’s fun to just play and create for no one other than yourself. Making this cake always brings me back to my childhood and reading the Narnia Chronicles and imagining being in a frozen forest filled with magic, danger, friendship and family Chocolate sponge with peppermint buttercream, chocolate ganache, chocolate “bark”, meringue mushrooms and sugared cranberries and rosemary. Not for sale, just a reminder to stay creative and filled with wonder by @caro_beans
11
10 months ago
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This is going to be the last bar I release for 2025! Despite the current trend towards sweeter and inclusion bars, I don’t do too many of them because I feel that if the inclusion doesn’t go with the flavor profile of the cacao, that the bar is a miss. All of my inclusion bars I do release are carefully thought out in regard to pairing the flavor of the cacao to the extra ingredients and making sure that when you take a bite, it flows harmoniously This bar is made with Marañón cacao from Peru, which, if you’ve ever had Marañón cacao, you know it can have really buttery and biscuity notes that beg to be paired with tea. This chocolate is infused with whole Sencha green tea, orange blossoms and house made candied yuzu peel. I only made about 80 bars of this so get them while you can! by @caro_beans
12
10 months ago
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Packing up holiday gift boxes! If you have clients, employees, teachers etc that you need a gift for, let me take it off your plate! Don’t forget that I can ship as well. I don’t haven’t these listed on my website so just shoot me a dm to discuss ordering 💕 by @caro_beans
1
10 months ago
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A little bit of alchemy but zero hocus pocus! Closing the lid on a batch and waiting 48 hours for the harsh flavors to mellow and develop, and the particle size to refine to silky smoothness by @caro_beans
2
a year ago
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The Great Northern Roaster Showcase Featuring: @caro_beans from St. Paul, Minnesota “At Carobeans, we make single-origin bean to bar chocolate bars as well as artisan Truffles and more.” “we never stop learning, experimenting, making mistakes and trying again, because modernized chocolate is still very much a mix of alchemy, art and hard work.” October 25th 2025 9a - 12p 550 Vandalia St taken in Vandalia Tower by @caro_beans
0
a year ago
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If you’ve followed me for awhile, you already know that I’m pretty outspoken about domestic violence awareness. If you’re new here, my name is Caroline and I am a domestic violence survivor. I’ve made a commitment to not be silent about it if it could help even one more person survive. I’m lucky to be here, and if it weren’t for local organizations like Tubman and my local law enforcement (not all law enforcement is good with handling domestic violence, I got lucky with the few officers that helped me) I probably wouldn’t be here today. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and I’ve been planning this bar for quite awhile. Purple symbolizes peace, courage and solidarity with survivors. $4 of every bar sold will be donated directly to Tubman.org. I will post receipt of donation either once all the bars are sold out or at the end of October. If you would like to donate more, you can do so directly on their website, or I am happy to direct you to other organizations that help survivors. Tubman helped me with a pro-bono lawyer when I escaped my abuser 10 years ago and I am forever grateful. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m familiar with lots of resources and having been through it myself, and know how terrifying it can be to seek help. You are not alone 💜 by @caro_beans
6
a year ago
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Here’s some H&R marketplace magic for this month: ✨ new pottery @jansartisan 🍫 chocolate bars from @caro_beans 🧀 housemade pimento cheese Come shop, sip, & taste—your favorites (and new finds) are waiting. #HoneyandRye #BakedwithButterandLove #MplsFoodie #TwinCitiesEats #ShopLocal #MarketFinds taken in Minneapolis, Minnesota by @caro_beans
6
a year ago
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🕯️🕯️🕯️ We are so delighted to share that we are now carrying some local products made by Twin Cities Makers in the Wellness Studio! Each week we will highlight some of the makers in our space. All products are carefully curated by Kassandra & it’s a dream to share other’s work in this space. 🕯️🕯️🕯️ ✨ Feel free to browse before or after your sessions, at events, classes or pop ups OR dm me if you’d like to purchase anything you see from the Witch Shop for pick up. ✨ Our first maker to highlight is: 🍫 CAROBEANS CHOCOLATE, Caroline Houghton 🍫 @caro_beans 🫘 Carobeans, makes single-origin bean-to-bar chocolate bars as well as artisan truffles and more! Carobeans makes sure that their cacao beans are fairly traded, ethically sourced & farmers are paid fair wages! Bean-to-bar means that a brand controls all of the various steps of chocolate making, from selecting and grinding the cacao bean, to the final product. 🫘 🤎 This week’s highlight is the Finca Frida Chocolate Bar 🤎 ✨ Finca Frida is an heirloom cacao from Mexico made with the rare, pure criollo variety called ‘almendra blanca’ or ‘Carmelo’ to locals, this interesting single-estate chocolate has delightfully juicy notes of lychee and tamarind with a toasted peanut finish. Finca Frida partners with local programs to employ migrants seeking asylum from Central and South America and Africa. ✨ Other delicious Carobeans chocolate bars you can get at Melipona Massage: ✨ Tres Almas- 50% milk chocolate from Peru & Ecuador w/ Bolivian popped quinoa ✨ Thé Des Moines- 70% cacao from Belize with flowers and tea ✨ Toasted goat milk - 63% cacao from uganda dark milk chocolate w/ toasted goat milk taken in St. Anthony Main by @caro_beans
3
a year ago
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