“At Sirene we start with a cocoa bean, and make chocolate out of it–but to tell the full story, it actually starts quite a while before that. The process really starts when we identify a farm we are interested in working with. We look at a variety of factors including whether we like the taste (ie quality) of the beans, whether we can pay the farmer directly, what working conditions are like at the farms and more. We consider our relationship with the farms as a working relationship between two small businesses: the small business that is Sirene, and the small business that is the farm. Equals working together trying to deliver the best chocolate possible to our customers.”

Taylor Kennedy founded Sirene in 2013 after 18 years at the National Geographic Society. Kennedy was looking for a change in his life and was fueled by a life-long obsession of wanting to know how life works. The long and persnickety process of making chocolate became a captivating obsession.

“The whole process from bean to finished bar takes us about three weeks to a month, depending on the bean used. It is a detail-oriented process that demands our full attention the whole way along, and is deliciously, gruelingly fun. We hope you enjoy the results.”