Founder of Twenty-Four Blackbirds Chocolate, Mike Orlando, has combined his life long dedication to science and his passion for creative hobbies into becoming one of the only bean to bar chocolate makers in the United States. He first sources raw, un-roasted cocoa beans from single origin estates, growing co-ops, and plantations, from places such as Bolivia, Tanzania, Madagascar, and the Dominican Republic. He and his team then hand sort the beans to remove any that do not meet their strict standards of quality and then develop roast profiles to accentuate the subtle, and often delicate, flavor characteristics inherent in beans from each origin. The ingredients are then refined in a traditional stone melangeur, tempered, and molded by hand. Each piece, made in Santa Barbara, California, is always prepared in small batches with no emulsifiers or additives.