GLAD makes chocolate in Porto from the raw bean. That distinction matters to them and they state it plainly: they are a chocolate maker, not a chocolatier. Selection, roasting, cracking, winnowing, melanging and tempering all happen in their own workshop in the Boavista area of the city. There are no artificial flavours, no emulsifiers and no additives in the bars.
Where the cocoa comes from is treated with the same precision. Most brands stop at the country. GLAD names the plantation, farm or cooperative: Hacienda Limón in Ecuador, Öko Caribe in the Dominican Republic, the Akesson Bejofo estate in Madagascar, NUGU in Nicaragua, APACH in Honduras, Kokoa Kamili in Tanzania, and Ransiki in West Papua, Indonesia. Every bean, they say, can be traced back to its origin.
The range covers single origin bars at 70 per cent, a line with inclusions, drinking chocolate, cacao husk infusions, nibs, granola and a spread. The sea salt bar uses flor de sal from the Algarve.
The shop is on Rua de Rodrigues Sampaio in Porto, and the workshop on Rua António Bessa Leite, where customers can watch the chocolate being made and collect orders. They also run tastings.
https://beglad.pt