Tabal is the Mayan word for relationships, so chocolate maker Dan Bieser found the word fitting when he formed Tabal Chocolate five years ago. “I build relationships with cocoa bean growers and with the community,” he says. Since April 2017, Bieser has been building relationships within Wauwatosa, where he opened a brick-and-mortar store in the historic Village. Prior to that, he made chocolate in rented workspace upstairs from Amaranth Bakery & Café on 33rd and Lisbon, but he eventually outgrew that space.
As the only chocolate maker in Milwaukee making chocolate from bean to bar, Bieser’s chocolate-making interest began with a quest to find good hot chocolate. After trying amazing sipping chocolates and hot chocolate while traveling abroad, he took a break from his job as a high school administrator and went to Toronto to learn how to make chocolate. “I came back inspired and thought I could start a chocolate company and make my own hot chocolate from scratch, from the cacao beans.”
Bieser works directly with farmers of organic-certified or organically grown cacao beans in Costa Rica, Peru, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Bolivia to provide living wages for those farmers. Once Bieser receives the cacao beans, they get hand-sorted and then slow roasted at 250 degrees. Afterward, they’re cracked and winnowed. Bieser worked with Milwaukee School of Engineering to create a machine that cracks the beans and separates the skins from the inside of the bean, called the nib. The nibs are ground in a stone grinder, which takes three to four days.
After grinding, the chocolate gets tempered, or melted. Then the cooling process develops sugar and fat crystals, which Bieser said gives chocolate its shine and snap. After tempering, the chocolate is molded and wrapped for sale. Bieser does not use additives like soy lecithin, which is used as an emulsifier in most factory-made chocolates and gives those bars a waxy taste and texture. Tabal’s Ka chocolate bar—ka being the Mayan word for “two”—contains just two ingredients, nibs and sugar.
With the intense chocolate flavor, a little Tabal goes a long way. The Costa Rica bar is 70% cacao with a hint of sea salt. Bolivian varieties range from 58-100% cacao, with flavors such as almonds or coffee. Fans of the chocolate-cherry combination will like the Peru + Cherries bar. In addition, Tabal partners with Rishi Tea to make masala chai, peppermint rooibos and teahouse matcha chocolate.
“When you taste our chocolate side by side, you’ll see that chocolate from Peru tastes different than chocolate from Bolivia, and Bolivia tastes different from Honduras,” Bieser noted. “It’s like coffee, you’d never say it all tastes the same.”
Chocolate is not just a treat. Artisan-made chocolate like Tabal’s is high in antioxidants, polyphenols, magnesium and zinc, and it’s lower in sugar than factory-made chocolate.
In addition to bar chocolate, the retail location sells cacao butter, single-origin cocoa powders, packaged cocoa nibs, as well as mocha, hot chocolate and sipping chocolate: a thicker drink served in an espresso cup. “It’s like drinking half of a bar of chocolate. You don’t want too much—or you do want too much,” he laughed.
There’s also gelato and sorbet, made by Golosi Gelato. Tabal hosts chocolate-making classes, and people can rent the 800-foot retail space for parties, meetings and bridal showers. Tabal likewise does custom orders and wedding chocolate assortments.
For more information, visit tabalchocolate.com.
