Craft chocolate in Germany, Austria and Switzerland: makers and prices

Craft chocolate is made by small producers who make their chocolate themselves from the cocoa bean. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland a bar usually costs €4 to €14.Well-known makers with awards, prices per bar, where to buy and tips for buying.

Supermarket shelves hold almost nothing but bars from large manufacturers. Alongside them, the German-speaking countries have a small scene of businesses that roast and grind cocoa beans themselves and turn them into bars. You are more likely to find their chocolate in the maker’s online shop, at a factory outlet or at specialist retailers.

The scene is small. In 2021 a Salzburg news portal wrote that only a handful of producers in Austria actually make bean-to-bar chocolate. Even so, some of them regularly win international medals.

What makes craft chocolate: own beans, small batches, open about origin

Craft chocolate is not a protected term. It usually refers to makers who work bean-to-bar, meaning they carry out every step themselves, from the fermented bean to the finished bar. How this works, from roasting to tempering, is explained in bean-to-bar: how chocolate is made.

Three things are typical of the scene. The makers name the country and region of the beans, often the cooperative or farm too. They work in small batches and adjust their roast to each origin. Many dark bars contain only cocoa and sugar.

Chocolatiers are a separate group. They buy ready-made chocolate or cocoa mass and turn it into pralines and bars. That is a craft of its own, but a different one. A couple from the Tennengau area near Salzburg originally wanted to produce directly from the bean. According to the report, the effort and cost were too high and the supply sources poor, so they switched to bought-in cocoa mass.

Craft does not automatically mean small either. Zotter in Styria has worked bean-to-bar since 2007 and, by its own account, makes around 1,000 tonnes of chocolate a year. The company has around 230 employees and sources cocoa from 15 countries. Makers like the one in the Altmühltal valley, by contrast, work with beans from a single farm.

The scene in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

The table shows an editorial selection of bean-to-bar makers. The information comes from the makers themselves, from trade media and from the winners’ lists of the International Chocolate Awards. Where a founding year is missing, we found no evidence for one.

The winners’ lists of the European bean-to-bar round include more German names. In 2019 and 2022, Kilian & Close, Edelmond, Pott au Chocolat, LOMI Schokolade and Schell Schokoladen were among the medal winners. For some bars, the list explicitly names a different maker as the producer, for example with own brands.

Many makers work with fine flavour cocoa from Latin America. What lies behind names such as Criollo, Chuncho or Nacional is explained in cocoa varieties: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario.

Makers you should know

We have not tasted the bars ourselves. Our selection is based on documented awards and expert judgements. These are above all medals from the International Chocolate Awards and the Academy of Chocolate in London, plus published blind tastings. There are no paid placements.

The prices come from the makers’ shops or from specialist retailers, as of October 2026. We converted Swiss francs at the ECB rate of 22 October 2026 (€1 = CHF 0.9211).

Four makers in profile

Two well-known names are deliberately missing. Meybol Cacao from Hamburg has won several awards but has its bars made in Peru. Georgia Ramon only mentions its awards in general terms, without year or medal.

Reading medals properly: what awards tell you

The International Chocolate Awards have existed since 2012. Their founders include the chef and author Maricel Presilla and Martin Christy, who is named as head of judging. According to the organisers, Christy has around 30 years of experience tasting fine chocolate and cocoa.

The judges taste blind and score independently. First they note whether they like a bar, and only then do they rate complexity, balance and originality. The individual scores are combined statistically into an overall score. Regional rounds, such as those for Europe or for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, lead to a world final.

There is criticism too. In July 2026 the US author Clay Gordon wrote that there are no generally recognised standards for training and judging at competitions. He also criticises the fact that the awards and the associated tasting school are run privately by a small group.

For you, this means that a medal always applies to a specific bar in a specific category and year. It does not reward the whole range. Gold for a bar with chilli says little about the same maker’s plain single-origin bar.

A tasting by the German magazine Der Feinschmecker in autumn 2025 was broader. Seven judges tasted 45 dark bars with around 70 per cent cocoa and rated appearance, snap, aroma, melt and flavour. The first two places went to a young maker from Thailand, and Zotter was the only Austrian maker in the top ten.

Prices: what a bar of craft chocolate costs

Bars come in different sizes, and many weigh 50 to 70 g. The best way to compare them is therefore the price per 100 g. The table shows examples from the makers’ shops and from specialist retailers. Austrian shops charge 10 per cent VAT.

We took the prices per 100 g from the shops’ unit prices or calculated them ourselves. They show a range from under €7 to over €26. In this selection, rare origins and bars with 90 per cent cocoa are the most expensive.

Part of the price lies in the supply chain. Many makers buy their beans directly or through specialist traders and promise the farmers fair prices. What direct trade and labels achieve here is explained in Fairtrade, organic, Direct Trade: what labels guarantee.

Where to buy craft chocolate and what to look for

Almost all the makers in our selection sell through their own online shop. There are also factory outlets and tours. Zotter runs a chocolate theatre in Riegersburg, while AHERZ, Dos Estaciones and Garçoa offer tours, tastings or workshops. AHERZ also sells at the farm and at markets.

In bricks-and-mortar shops, you will mainly find craft chocolate in delicatessens and at specialist fine chocolate retailers, who often ship too. Dos Estaciones and Orfève list their stockists on their websites.

How to recognise bean-to-bar on the shelf and what the mandatory cocoa content statement means is explained in the article on how chocolate is made. Two more points apply. Check whether the maker explicitly roasts and grinds itself or only processes ready-made cocoa mass. With medals, check the year, the competition and the bar that won.

A small selection is enough to start with. Take one bar from a maker with many medals and one from a larger company’s standard range. Taste both slowly and compare what the origin information told you about the flavour.

Last updated: 24 October 2026.