Tour of VOLO Chocolate

VOLO is the award-winning handmade “Bean to Bar” deep chocolate founded in 2016 by Jeff and Susan Mall, Sonoma County farm-to-table chefs.

Join us for a tour of VOLO’s small factory and learn about the process of making chocolate from Jeff Mall.

Wednesday, March 26, 11 am – 12:15 pm

399 Business Park Court, Windsor

Tickets are $30 per person for Slow Food members. Because space is limited, this invitation is going first to current members only.

For those who would like to have lunch after the tour, one of Slow Food’s Snail of Approval restaurants is nearby. PizzaLeah is at 9240 Old Redwood Highway, Suite 116, Windsor (in the Oliver’s shopping center). 707.620.0551.

VOLO’s Process

Our chocolate making process begins with sourcing cacao (cocoa beans) from various parts of the world. We work with Uncommon Cacao to source ultra-premium grade organic beans. They operate their business with Transparent Trade, financial transparency, a step beyond Fair Trade guidelines.

We receive the fermented/dried cacao at our little factory here in Sonoma County. The first step is roasting, which is much like roasting coffee. Time and temperature are closely monitored and adjusted during the roasting process.

Once the beans have been roasted, there are several more processes before the chocolate bars are molded and packaged. The artwork on the labels are photographs of quilts made by Cathy Shanahan, a renowned textile artist, and Jeff’s aunt!