Bulgarian Craft Chocolate: Five Makers Shaping a Quiet Revolution

Somewhere between the rose fields of Kazanlak and the cobblestones of Plovdiv, a small but determined craft chocolate scene has taken root. Bulgaria, a country better known for yogurt and rakiya, now counts among its exports internationally awarded bean-to-bar chocolate, bonbons that win gold in London, and drinking chocolate that specialty coffee shops across Europe stock alongside their single-origin espresso.

The numbers remain modest. Fewer than ten serious craft chocolate producers operate in the country. But what they lack in scale, they make up for in ambition, international recognition, and a willingness to fold Bulgarian ingredients into their work.

The Chocolatier Who Came Home

Pavel Pavlov spent over a decade cooking in Norway's top restaurants before pivoting to chocolate. According to the America for Bulgaria Foundation, he was the first foreigner to join the Norwegian National Culinary team. In 2018, he launched La Fève in Oslo. Three years later, he moved the entire operation to Sofia.

Today, La Fève operates from the Ovcha Kupel neighbourhood, producing bonbons and chocolate bars that have collected multiple Academy of Chocolate Gold medals alongside Bronze from the International Chocolate Awards. The flavour combinations lean playful: rose geranium, juniper, hazelnut and coffee. An 80g bar runs about €11. The bonbon boxes, with names like "First Kiss" and "Honeymoon," range from €15 for six pieces to €41 for twenty-four.

What sets Pavlov's work apart is the tension between Norwegian precision and Bulgarian ingredients. The rose chocolate uses Bulgarian Damascena. The juniper bar is entirely vegan. The salted caramel bonbon has become something of a signature.

Bean-to-Bar in Plovdiv

Casa Kakau started in 2016 because a young couple's son was severely allergic to dairy. They needed chocolate they could trust, so they made their own. The family operation, based near Plovdiv in the village of Kalekovets, now produces bean-to-bar chocolate from Ecuadorian Trinitario cacao, ground on granite stones rather than steel ball mills.

Their Bulgarian Rose Water and Cardamom bar, a 66% dark chocolate, won Bronze at the 2019 Academy of Chocolate Awards and Silver at the European Bean-to-Bar Competition in Copenhagen the same year. The combination works because the floral notes of the cacao amplify rather than compete with the rose water. A bar costs around €7.

Casa Kakau remains one of the few Bulgarian makers to work directly from bean to bar, importing cacao from selected farms in South America and processing everything in-house.

Organic, Vegan, and Award-Winning

Bio Benjamin, the company behind the Benjamissimo brand, operates from Sofia with a different philosophy: organic certification, vegan formulations, and no refined sugar. Their cacao comes from small farms in Nicaragua, Peru, and Congo. The range spans from 100% dark bars to white chocolate with matcha and lemon.

The 2024 Academy of Chocolate Awards brought them Silver, while the International Chocolate Awards gave them Silver the same year. Their Curcuma Ginger Lemon bar, part of what they call the "Happy Edition," earned Bronze at the Academy in 2022.

For anyone avoiding dairy, gluten, or refined sugar, Benjamissimo offers one of the more accessible entry points into Bulgarian craft chocolate. The bars are widely available in organic shops across Sofia and through European distributors.

Drinking Chocolate for Coffee People

Flow Cacao Roasters approaches chocolate from a different angle entirely. This family-owned roastery focuses on drinking chocolate and cacao snacks, sourcing fine flavour cacao beans from Honduras and Nicaragua. Their 2024 Academy of Chocolate Bronze came for a drinking chocolate, not a bar.

The connection to specialty coffee culture is deliberate. Flow Cacao supplies cafés and restaurants across Europe, positioning their drinking chocolate as the natural companion to a well-pulled espresso. Their ceremonial cacao, 100% pure, appeals to those interested in cacao's mood-boosting properties. The roasted cacao beans with habanero chilli and lime make for an unexpected snack.

For visitors to Sofia, Flow Cacao products appear at the Roman Wall farmers' market and through specialty retailers like Zoya.

Where to Find Them

Most Bulgarian craft chocolate remains easier to order online than to stumble upon in shops. La Fève ships throughout Europe from their website. Casa Kakau sells through their own site and select German retailers. Benjamissimo appears in organic stores across Sofia, including Zoya and various health food shops.

For those who prefer to taste before buying, the Saturday farmers' markets in Sofia occasionally feature craft chocolate stalls. The Roman Wall market, held near the ancient ruins in the city centre, has become a gathering point for small producers.

The prices reflect the reality of small-batch production. A craft chocolate bar in Bulgaria costs between €6 and €11, roughly comparable to what you would pay for bean-to-bar chocolate in Berlin or London. The difference is that here, the maker might be the one handing you the bar.