Primo Botanica, Troy

You’ve heard of craft beer but have you ever experienced craft chocolate? It’ll change the way you look at sweets at Primo Botanica in Troy.

Primo Botanica is the Capital Regions’ first craft chocolate company. The process of craft chocolate is similar to that of craft beer. Primo Botanica sources their cocoa directly from Latin American farmers, “visiting each cacao farmer’s cooperative as frequently as possible, ordering in small quantities for sorting and roasting.”

Their mission goes beyond just making a delicious chocolate bar. Their mission “is to make chocolate that provides reparation to the land we inhabit. We believe that empowering people to own their own land + means of production is integral to  the repair of other problems such as violence and climate change.” They also donate a percentage of profits to local social justice organizations and re-matriation projects in North and South America.

These chocolate bars are very different from those you’ll find with a Hershey’s label. The bars themselves have a higher percentage of cocoa and therefore are less sweet. The chocolate bon bons are sweeter and more like the candy you’re used to but still not overly sweet like those bigger corporations. Each of the bon bons we tasted was unique and delicious. We tried the Give 5 (pretzel, peanuts, roasted peanut butter, and primo caramel), drunken turtles, and others. There’s definitely something different and special about not only the chocolate but about Primo Botanica as a whole.