Our Philosophy
At Cru Cacao, we handcraft luxurious yet healthy chocolates. We believe that one cannot improve on what Mother Nature has to offer. Our goal is to create the most luscious and delectable Raw vegan chocolates ever to grace the palate, fusing our sensibilities of flavor and purity into each one of our chocolate explorations.

The planet needs a well earned break from pesticides, fertilizers, and unsustainable farming practices. Eating our chocolates is about reconnecting with the earth. We only use ingredients which have been organically grown and properly harvested in the appropriate season. We also believe each person that helps out along the way should be treated and compensated fairly for their efforts.

We use raw cacao which has been organically and sustainably grown in Ecuador. Our cacao is of the Fina de Aroma Arribe Nacional variety. We use only organically grown herbs, flowers, and spices, which are air, sundried, or low temperature dehydrated (at less than one hundred and eighteen degrees Farenheit). We zest, grind, mix, and powder all of our spices and fruits in-house. All of the seeds and nuts used in our production are soaked and sprouted to deactivate enzyme inhibitors, increasing digestibility and assimilation of nutrients. All of our nut butters are made in house, ensuring the utmost quality and freshness. We also use small amounts of Young Living essential oils. We feel Young Living truly respects and understands how to harness the life enhancing gifts of the plant kingdom.

Our artisan chocolates are made by hand with attention to each detail along the way. Each truffle is scooped, rolled, dipped, and adorned with its own unique topping by a skilled chocolatier. The chocolates are then packaged and shipped immediately, ensuring the freshest product available on the market today.

Raw organic vegan foods are the future of the culinary arts. We strive to share the gift of health through gourmet food and chocolates, allowing you to nourish your body while simultaneously helping to heal the planet.

Go Green
Cru Cacao strives to be a green company. We love the planet we live on and want future generations to experience it as we have. We support sustainable, responsible farming which employs crop rotation, proper water usage, and other techniques which can be kept up indefinitely without harming the ecosystem. The use of organic ingredients lessens the chemical burden on our planet as well as our bodies. By not using animal byproducts in our chocolates we avoid the over-consumption of water, the use of chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics, and the mistreatment of animals in factory farms.

We love and respect all animals. Making more raw and vegan choices will help to save the planet. By not heating any of our ingredients over one hundred and eighteen degrees Fahrenheit we are able to significantly reduce our gas and electrical consumption. Our packaging is made from one hundred percent recycled box board with eighty percent post consumer content. All of our business cards, stickers, and literature are printed on recycled paper. The local Chicago union-operated printing company we employ also uses recyclable vegetable inks and toners. The chemicals and solvents used for our printing needs are almost completely water soluble and biodegradable.

Cru Cacao has a strict policy of recycling all of our paper, glass, and metal byproducts. We compost all of our vegetable matter for future use in our organic vegetable and herb gardens. Cru Cacao uses only eco-friendly vegan cleaning products and detergents to sanitize and clean our production facility. Using high efficiency energy saving washers and dryers to clean our aprons, towels, and chef uniforms helps us reduce water and energy consumption.

Who We Are
Cru Cacao was founded in December 2007 by Dereme Church and Blazej Mikulicz, raw food vegans who are dedicated to spreading the word about living foods. Although we have received classical culinary training, our passion is raw vegan cuisine. Raw cuisine, especially raw chocolate, is sexy, fun, healthy, and delicious! Not only do we feel great from living the raw food lifestyle, but our mood, health, and outlook on life have all improved. We feel the raw food movement is not a fad, but part of our evolution in how we prepare food and take care of our bodies, and we want to help advance the raw food movement by making it more mainstream.

Cru Cacao’s mission is to enable our customers to experience the luxury of gourmet chocolate while simultaneously improving their health and the well being of our planet. Our goal is to create chocolates that are so delicious that even the most discerning foodies will be blown away by how wonderful raw chocolate can be. We also aim to be as ecologically friendly as possible, enabling full chocolate indulgence while preserving our precious planet for many generations of people, animals, and plants to come.

Cru Cacao’s chocolates are inspired by our travels to places such as Belize, Guatemala, Nepal, Thailand, Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica, The Cayman Islands, England, Ireland, Poland, Germany, France, Holland, Mexico, and more. On our travels we have studied with many native chefs, inspiring us to fuse indigenous flavors and techniques with our own beliefs, love, and passion to create an unforgettable chocolate experience.

Chocolate Etiquette
To ensure the longest possible shelf life, our chocolates should be stored in an air tight container, preferably around forty-five degrees Fahrenheit. For the most sensuous experience, truffles should be enjoyed between seventy to seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit before eating. Please take the time to read each truffle’s story before you bite into it. This will allow you to be transported to distant lands by the spices, aromas, and flowers of each chocolate. We recommend savoring each truffle in two bites, permitting the first bite to melt in your mouth and giving your palate time to experience the various flavors. When embarking on a tasting journey, it is best to begin with a subtly flavored chocolate, followed by chocolates having progressively stronger flavors, such as flowers, fruits, nuts, and finally spices. This will help you discern the various complex flavors and aromas. For accompanying beverages, we recommend water. However a full bodied, organic, sulfite free, bio-dynamic, red wine is also wonderful.