Chocolate is one of the most universally loved foods. Growing up, the options in India were very limited. The most delicious chocolate I had ever tasted until I was 13 was a Swiss chocolate called Frigor, which my father would carry back every time he returned from abroad. Today, as we enter the age of craft and artisanal chocolate, we see and taste the world of chocolate transform before us. It is now possible to trace chocolate back to the cacao farm that produced it and to visit factories where berries are fermented and turned into the chocolate you and I relish.
The country’s craft chocolate market is expanding at an exponential rate, with homegrown brands raising the bar through their bean-to-bar approach. Bon Fiction, founded by Akhil and Prathina Grandhi in 2021, is one such brand that produces high-quality craft chocolate from beans grown on the fertile banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. We deep-dive into the couple’s journey with Bon Fiction, the chocolate-making process, and India’s craft chocolate boom.
Bon Fiction’s Journey
“In 2013, a few YouTube videos introduced me to craft chocolate, which was taking off in the West at the time. I had also tried chocolate from the Mast Brothers during one of my visits to New York. And that planted the idea of preparing chocolate with good beans, at a forgotten spot in my head,” said Akhil Grandhi in a conversation with Outlook Traveller Eats.
He mentioned that it was his wife who got him addicted to dark chocolate, but since there was no good-quality chocolate in India, you always had to rely on people coming from abroad to get your favourite chocolate. “But since we owned cacao plantations, Prathina often asked me, ‘Why don’t we start making our own chocolate?’ At first, they thought it was only them, but when, in 2018, they discovered that many family members and friends were starting to like dark chocolate, they decided to give it a shot. “We wanted to create chocolate that we would return for and buy. If we can’t convince ourselves to buy a product, how would we convince anyone else?” said Grandhi.
As they started, they discovered that to make good chocolate, they either needed a high-quality bean that did not require alkalisation, chemical processing, or extensive industrial intervention, or they had to buy any bean and treat it with chemicals. They chose the first approach and started fermenting and drying in-house. “We prepared multiple batches because when experimenting, you need a lot of sample variables to understand how the bean is behaving and the factors that affect it. Only when you understand that can you know what changes you need to make to improve the product,” said Grandhi.
The duo also attended a chocolate taster certification course held by IACCT in Chennai in 2019. During the course, they had one of the founders taste their chocolate. “I still remember his words. He told me, “I didn’t expect Indian chocolate to taste like this.” Coming from an expert, this was valuable and validating for the Grandhis. Traut’s response underscored the credibility of their chocolate-making approach.
Back in 2019, cacao from Andhra Pradesh was considered of inferior quality and more acidic and bitter than the kind that suits chocolate, so the Grandhis spent the next few years, before the brand was launched, understanding the different notes of cacao and developing the fermentation, drying, and overall chocolate-making process.
When Bon Fiction was launched in 2021-22, India had a niche craft chocolate market. That year, they submitted some of their variants to the Academy of Chocolate and won two bronze awards: one for Out In The Dark, their 73% dark chocolate, and another for Mango Menace, a mango-and-chilli bar,” said Gandhi. These awards not only helped scale the brand but also introduced Godavari as a distinct Indian cacao region to a wider global audience.
In 2023, Bon Fiction chocolate was exported to the US, and exhibitions were held in India and Russia. Over the years, they saw a shift in India’s response. “Earlier, people were questioning the price tag and found even 70% dark chocolate too bitter. Today, they understand our story and intent, and we also find more customers actively asking for darker chocolates and new flavours,” added Grandhi. Currently, Bon Fiction retails 21 chocolate flavours and variations, with more planned for the next few weeks.
How Is Chocolate Made?
For Grandhi, good chocolate begins long before the cacao reaches the factory. It starts at the plantation, where cacao is grown under coconut trees. In India’s tropical climate, this canopy helps protect the plants from excessive heat while allowing enough sunlight to reach them. The spacing between the coconut trees also allows cacao to grow without competing heavily for water and nutrients.
Once the pods reach the right stage of ripeness, they are harvested and taken to the farm’s fermentation unit. Akhil says the pods are opened only when the time is right, after which the wet beans are immediately transferred to wooden fermentation boxes. This immediate transfer prevents the sweet, sugary pulp surrounding the beans from attracting insects and contaminants.
No external agents are added during fermentation. Instead, the process relies on naturally occurring enzymes and microorganisms. “What we essentially do is guide the process,” Akhil explains. The team controls oxidation, exposure to air, temperature and moisture, moving the beans between boxes at carefully determined intervals.
Fermentation, he says, is the foundation of the chocolate’s flavour. Get it wrong, and the beans can develop undesirable flavours or “off-notes” that may taste like metal, dirt or rotten food. Once fermentation is complete, the beans are dried to reduce moisture, extend their shelf life and bring the process to an end. Rather than relying on conventional sun-drying, the Grandhis use a solar tunnel dryer to control temperature and humidity and minimise contamination and mould formation. Once sufficiently dried, the beans are stored before moving to the chocolate-making facility.
The next stage is roasting. “If you consider fermentation as a foundation builder, the roasting is what is like an architect,” Grandhi mentioned. Roasting shapes the final flavour profile, after which the shells are removed to obtain the cacao nibs. The nibs are then refined using equipment such as melangers, ball mills or roll refiners. The choice of technology and the way the cacao is processed can alter the final flavour. This is why the company uses different roasting and processing methods depending on whether the chocolate is destined for a craft bar, milk chocolate, or couverture for professional kitchens.
Finally, tempering occurs, where the cocoa butter crystals are carefully controlled to create a stable structure. Proper tempering gives chocolate its characteristic shine, clean break and satisfying snap, while helping it hold its shape at warmer temperatures. It also influences how the chocolate melts and releases its flavours in the mouth.
For flavoured bars, the ingredients are incorporated during the refining process. Grandhi emphasises the use of natural ingredients rather than flavouring oils in all Bon Fiction bars. In the end, every stage, from pod to tempering, shapes what finally reaches the chocolate bar.
Everything Behind India’s Craft Chocolate Boom
According to Grandhi, India’s craft chocolate movement has gained significant momentum over the past three years because perceptions of Indian cacao have finally caught up with its potential. Indian consumers had long associated imported chocolate with higher quality, while chocolate-making expertise and equipment were difficult to access domestically. When Grandhi began working in 2019, he recalls having to develop equipment himself because specialised roasting and winnowing machinery had to be imported and was very expensive.
The shift accelerated in 2024, when global cacao prices rose sharply. As international chocolate became more expensive, Indian craft chocolate makers gained a commercial advantage by sourcing ingredients closer to home and eliminating some logistics and intermediary costs. This encouraged businesses to experiment with Indian chocolate and introduced consumers to Indian cacao. As a result, the conversation has gradually shifted toward provenance: businesses began explaining their ingredients to customers, while consumers became more willing to ask where their chocolate came from and how it was made.
As Indian consumers become more curious about provenance, ingredients and production methods, these principles are increasingly shaping the country’s emerging craft chocolate industry.
Read more: These Are Our Favourite Artisanal Chocolates In India
Also read: If You’re A Sweet Lover, These 5 Chocolate Cultures Are Worth Knowing About
