Why our shell snaps — a physics lecture, sort of

Cocoa butter can crystallize six different ways, and five of them are wrong. Wrong looks like a dull, soft, crumbly bar. Right — the one crystal form worth having — looks glossy, snaps clean, and melts at exactly body temperature, which is why good chocolate feels like it disappears.

Getting there is called tempering: melt everything, cool it while it moves, warm it back a degree and a half, and hold it there like a note. Do it right and the crystals line up in tight, stable rows. Do it wrong and you get chocolate that bends. We do not sell chocolate that bends.

Every batch gets the snap test before it ships — by hand, next to an ear. If the room can't hear it, the batch doesn't leave the building.