Exe Stoneground Chocolate Crafted by hand

Nicola Knight, founder of Exe Chocolatemicro batch chocolate bars crafted by hand in a one-woman tiny chocolate factory in Exeter.

My journey with chocolate began with a tourist visit to a cacao plantation in the Caribbean in 2011, and an idea that just wouldn’t go away. During the visit I was able to pluck a cocoa pod from the tree, taste the juicy white pulp that surrounded the cocoa beans and watch how chocolate is made from tree-to-bar. Since then my chocolate journey has taken me to becoming a certified chocolate taster, chocolate educator, and now a selftaught chocolate maker and one of very few bean-tobar makers in Devon.

Nicole Knight has been making chocolate from bean-to-bar since 2022 madeindevon.org.uk www.exechocolate.com

I make my chocolate in micro-batches of 2kg or less, in my little factory (in the Boatyard Bakery on Exeter’s quayside). The process begins with sourcing fabulous quality cacao. Every origin brings its own unique flavour profile, and great care is taken at every step to nurture and bring out this flavour. I use my experience with chocolate tasting and cacao evaluation to select the beans that offer an outstanding flavour profile.

By partnering with the local community of growers and makers, I am able to pair my chocolate with Devon grown or made inclusions for my ‘Made in Devon’ collaboration range. So far I have Two Drifters Rum, Exe Coffee and Ebb Tides Seaweed and I am looking forward to seeing what exciting pairings I can come up with next!

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