The chocolates you give to your loved ones
is connected to the happiness of someone you don't know.
SATURDAYS
Belize , Toledo District
OUR CHOCOLATE
WHAT IS SATURDAYS
SATURDAYS was born in Sapporo in 2015. It specializes in Bean To Bar Chocolate, where chocolate is made from raw cacao beans. Each chocolate is made using a different recipe to enhance the uniqueness of each cacao bean. Since most of the process is done by hand, the number of chocolates that can be produced is limited, but we are challenging ourselves to create various types of chocolates.
We visit the local market to select cacao beans as much as possible. We check not only the quality of the beans, but also that they are not traded at more than a fair price, and that they are not linked to child labor or poverty. We purchase cacao beans from reliable partners who contribute to the local community.
The café attached to the store offers baked goods and sweets made with original chocolate, chocolate drinks, cacao tea with hask, soft-serve ice cream, chocolate shakes, etc. so that customers can enjoy chocolate all year round.
As a Hokkaido brand, we focus on local production for local consumption, making chocolates using not only milk and sugar from Hokkaido, but also soybeans from Tokachi (Otogi) and mint from Kitami, wholesaling chocolates for sweets in patisseries and hotel cafes in Sapporo, and collaborating with farmers and companies in Hokkaido. We also focus on collaborations with farmers and companies in Hokkaido.
What is OUR Bean to bar chocolate ?
SMALL BATCH
Bean-to-bar chocolate is made by taking advantage of the characteristics of the cacao bean, and there are as many types of chocolate as there are cacao beans, which can be made in different ways. Each type of chocolate is made in a different way, which makes it "small batch" (small scale, handmade). For example, defective beans and impurities are carefully picked by hand. The temperature, time, and steam input/output for roasting are adjusted according to the characteristics of the cacao beans, the time for crushing and smoothing the cacao is changed, and the type of sugar and other ingredients used are varied.
（We do not use any additives (emulsifiers, flavorings, etc.) that are generally added to other products.)
SINGLE ORIGIN
The basic principle of bean-to-bar is to use "single origin" beans (beans from the same region) without blending them to take advantage of the original flavor and taste of the cacao bean. Cacao beans come in three main varieties, each with different characteristics, and each has its own taste and flavor depending on the temperature, climate, and fermentation method of the harvesting region. Discovering these different characteristics and pairing them with drinks, similar to the way wine is matched, is one of the ways to enjoy single-origin chocolates.
HAPPY CHOCOLATE
Chocolate has a glamorous and noble impression as it has been loved and developed by European royalty and aristocrats. Unfortunately, however, many countries where cacao is produced still suffer from poverty, such as those that were colonies in the past and those that are still in the process of development.
When selecting cacao beans, we try to visit the source as much as possible to check the quality of the beans. By visiting cacao-producing regions and learning about the history of chocolate, we have come to think not only about the chocolate we make, but also about the farmers, their families, and the environment around them.
Our goal is to make chocolate that makes everyone HAPPY.
This is another motivation for us to make bean-to-bar chocolates.
OUR PARTNER
We visit the production areas as much as possible to select the best cacao. We do not just consume one cacao as if it were a fashion item and change to the next cacao from the next region. We do not just consume one cacao like a fashion item and switch to the next, nor do we select cacao based on quality alone.
We will purchase cacao beans from social companies that contribute to society at the source as much as possible, and continue to use them to grow together with them and support their activities.
UGANDA / Farm of Africa
Farm Of Africa was established in Uganda in 2016 as the first Japanese company to grow and process cacao and vanilla. We buy cacao beans from farmers at a fair price in exchange for providing high-quality cacao beans that are harvested without the use of pesticides and ripened, and we carefully control fermentation and drying to ensure that the beans are of high quality. This is a win-win situation for both parties.
Farm of Africa - https://farm-of-africa.com/
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INDONESIA / Dari K
DARIKEI is a pioneer brand of bean-to-bar chocolate in Kyoto, Japan. The company has established a local subsidiary in Sulawesi, Indonesia, and has created a system in which it teaches contract cacao farmers how to produce high-quality beans and buys them back when they are ready to produce them. The company aims for "fair trade that the producers themselves win through their own efforts.
Dari K - https://www.dari-k.com/
GHANA / NPO ACE , Tachibana Shoten Co.
Since February 2009, ACE, an authorized NPO, has been conducting the Smile Ghana Project to protect children exposed to labor and support their education in cocoa-producing areas in Ghana. The project aims to prevent child labor by ensuring that children attend school well, improve the management of cacao farms so that cacao farmers can continue to invest in their children's education, and increase farmers' income.
ACE - https://acejapan.org/
HOKKAIDO ＆ SATURDAYS
Like cacao farmers in developing countries, those engaged in the primary industry in Hokkaido are also struggling.
In cacao producing areas, which are mostly in developing countries, the disparity between rich and poor, child labor, as well as environmental degradation are problems,
Japan's agriculture and livestock industries are suffering from an aging population, lack of bearers, rising production costs, and increasing imports.
We are committed to using the wonderful ingredients of Hokkaido, our birthplace, in our chocolates and other products.
We will carry on the will of the producers and convey their excellence to as many people as possible.
Hokkaido ingredients we use
Sugar from sugar beet (Hokkaido)
Milk powder (skimmed milk powder, whole milk powder: Horobetsu-cho, Betsukai-cho, Ikubunai-cho)
Kabocha (Ebisu, Kuriyutaka, Yukikake, etc.) (freeze-dried in Saroma Town)
Kinako (soybeans: Iiwaikuro, Yukihomare) (Tokachi Honbetsu Town)
Japanese peppermint (Takigami Town) *Only available seasonally
Salt (Yakumo Town, Kumaishi Town)
Apples (Hack Nine, Naganuma Town)
SUSTAINABILITY /
To continue our activities.
The world of sweets is easily influenced by buzz and trends. However, we have a responsibility not to let Bean To Bar become a passing fad.
In order for BTB to grow sustainably, we believe that the relationship between "producers (cacao farmers and other producers)", "chocolate production and sales (SATURDAYS)", and "consumers" is important.
Producers (cacao and ingredients)
Cacao: Providing high-quality cacao by improving cultivation and fermentation techniques.
Hokkaido food ingredients: Providing the best ingredients in a rich environment.
Chocolate producer (SATURDAYS)
When selecting cacao, select cacao that is not only high quality but also contributes to the local community.
We will use Hokkaido ingredients to create products that further enhance the added value of the ingredients.
Consumers."
In addition to taste, quality and price, spare no effort to learn the meaning and story of the product.
Cacao farmers and primary industrialists in Hokkaido ⇔ BTB production and sales (SATURDAYS) ⇔ Consumers
People always seek new stimuli to grow by absorbing new things. However, this can easily lead to the dismissal of facts that have been accumulated over a long period of time. In order to maintain this relationship at its best and continue to use cacao beans from the same source, we, as chocolate makers, must test our ability to use the same cacao and ingredients in different recipes, and to use them in other genres such as baked goods and chocolate drinks. To exceed expectations and continue to create, we need to be creative.
［The following are some of the ways in which Saturdays continues to use the same cacao and ingredients from the same regions.]
1) To keep making fresh and delicious chocolates in order to increase the number of fans and repeat customers.
(2) Utilize the strength of Small Batch to develop several types of chocolates using a single cacao and ingredient.
(iii) Develop products beyond chocolate, such as drinks and ice cream, so that cacao and ingredients can be used throughout the year.
(4) Constantly evolve the added value of products, which declines as they continue to be produced, by redesigning them again.
We challenge ourselves to make everyone happy, not just the producers, manufacturers, and customers involved with SATURDAYS chocolates.
Bean to bar chocolate
makes everyone happy !
Bean to bar chocolate makes everyone happy !
Aiming to create chocolate that makes everyone happy!
