What’s Fancy Chocolate Made Of That Makes It So Expensive?

There are also bean-to-bar makers who don’t source directly from farmers, but who do rely on trusted brokers and companies ― like Uncommon Cacao, which connects small cacao growers to the larger market ― to get their beans.

Organizations like Uncommon Cacao say they aim to “build a more fair and sustainable specialty cacao supply chain.” Uncommon Cacao issues a yearly transparency report that details the realities of growing cacao in each region and supplies information including annual farmer revenue, flavor notes and prices at each point of sale.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fancy-chocolate-expensive_us_5b7d8c4de4b07295150f25c6