We only roast the heart of the cacao bean – called the nib – rather than the whole bean. By going straight to the pure heart of the bean, we're able to produce a more consistent chocolate flavor.

In 1849, Ghirardelli received news of the gold strike at Sutter's Mill and sailed to California. After doing some prospecting, Ghirardelli opened a general store in Stockton, California, offering supplies and confections to fellow miners.

The three cocoa components are: chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa powder. For example, in our 60% Cacao Dark Chocolate SQUARES Chocolate, the 60% cacao content is made up of cocoa butter and chocolate liquor with the remaining 40% made up of sugar, vanilla, and other ingredients.

Ingredients & Allergens: Sugar, whole milk powder, corn syrup, cocoa butter, sweetened condensed milk (milk, sugar), unsweetened chocolate, palm oil, butter (cream, salt), sodium citrate, soy lecithin, natural flavor, extracts of oregano, flaxseed, plum, and green tea (to preserve freshness), salt, vanilla extract.

Ghirardelli chocolate is known for its rich, deep flavor and smooth, velvety texture.

High quality cacao beans are the starting point of every Ghirardelli creation. From there, we process the chocolate using the methods we have worked to refine since our founding in 1852. The result is smooth, rich, slow-melting dark chocolate that continues to surprise and delight.

Ghirardelli Square is a world-famous adaptation of an old brick factory into a modern shopping mall. It happened in a particular context that took shape in the 1950s and early 1960s when San Francisco was undergoing a massive makeover, driven by a combination of public initiative and private investment.

Ghirardelli Square, considered the first successful adaptive reuse project in the country, has a history that spans more than a century and covers three continents. This specialty retail and dining complex, housing shops and restaurants, was originally a chocolate factory established by Domenico “Domingo” Ghirardelli.

Although lead and cadmium were found in all of the dark chocolates tested, five had safe levels of the heavy metals. Ghirardelli, Mast, Valrhona and Taza Chocolate had bars with cadmium and lead levels under California's maximum allowable dose level (MADL).

10 Best Chocolatiers

• Teuscher (Zurich, Switzerland)
• Vosges Haut-Chocolat (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
• Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Inc. (
• Jacques Torres Chocolate (New York, New York, USA)
• Norman Love Confections (Ft.
• Valrhona (France)
• Godiva Chocolatier (Brussels, Belgium and worldwide)

Ghirardelli Square is a full city block of 19th century brick buildings, formerly factories of various kinds, repurposed in the 1960's into a charming collection of restaurants and shops. The buildings are arranged around a "square", with a mermaid fountain and places to sit.

Is Chocolate Safe To Consume? Although lead and cadmium were found in all of the dark chocolates tested, five had safe levels of the heavy metals. Ghirardelli, Mast, Valrhona and Taza Chocolate had bars with cadmium and lead levels under California's maximum allowable dose level (MADL).