Business Spotlight
By Thomas Mullen
From humble beginnings, Livingston-based chocolate makers Greg Colquitt and Teresa ("T") Ramirez built Front Porch Chocolate by following their curiosity, passion and creativity, constructing a business based on the same reason we eat chocolate—because it feels good. It all started during the COVID-19 pandemic from the front porch of their Bozeman home just off the Montana State campus.
"Greg had been making chocolate at-home as a hobby for a few years before we actually got started as a business. He mostly gave it as gifts for friends and family. People were always telling him how much they loved receiving it and eating it, so we started getting curious if it could turn into something more than just tinkering in our kitchen at home," Teresa explained.
"We were literally just sitting on our porch, eating some of Greg’s homemade chocolate and reflecting on how it made us slow down and think about all the flavors and textures we were experiencing. We got the name Front Porch Chocolate because we like the feeling of sitting down, taking a load off, and being present with that moment. We think good flavorful chocolate allows for those moments."
I had the opportunity to meet with Greg and T and attend a Front Porch Bean to Bar Chocolate Making class held at their Livingston headquarters in the Del Mar Business Park. The class offers students an opportunity to get their hands dirty through the immersive experience of making their own chocolate bar. Through this educational Tour de Chocolat, Greg and T share their story, passion and insights into the world they’ve been living in the past five years.
While many of us used our newly found time in quarantine to learn a musical instrument or paint by number, fledgling chocolate makers Greg and T dove headfirst into the world of bean to bar chocolate production. Early on, they took to task at-home production, learning surprising lessons working with cacao beans and the process of getting them to the chocolate mold. In their factory, they still employ the same chocolate refiner (or melanger), labeled “M2”, alongside higher capacity refiners named “Sledge” and “The MEG”—each running around the clock to heat, mix, and grind the liquid chocolate over a granite stone to reduce the cacao particles to a silky-smooth consistency and develop its complex flavors.
The dark chocolate recipe Front Porch prides itself on is made from two ingredients: cocoa beans and cane sugar. The flavor profiles found in their chocolate are representative of their native homes—the Dominican Republic, Ghana, and the Philippines, countries known for their cacao farms. Starting from burlap sacks of raw, fermented cacao beans, Front Porch hand-cleans the beans, a painstakingly mundane process of clearing any abnormalities not suitable for production. Greg keeps an impressive rock and debris collection from around the world on display in the roasting room.
The beans are then roasted and prepared for winnowing, a process in which they are de-shelled and separated into nibs—the usable part needed to turn the cacao into chocolate. The business specializes in small-batch chocolate bars and encourages their customer to relish a host of deep, complex flavors and aromas. During class, as we winnowed beans by hand, attendees were given unnamed samples to taste with consideration for diverse flavor notes, often rich with tropical fruits, berries, and citrus, balanced by nutty, floral, and spicy hints, with earthy undertones, hints of caramel, honey, and sometimes savory or unique additions like plum or licorice.
Society’s relationship with chocolate is a direct reflection of the cathartic, sensory experience we have with the profound fruit (Yes, chocolate is a fruit). Its ability to provide an emotional release, triggering feel-good chemicals like endorphins, have given chocolate a distinction with nearly everyone who consumes it, consistently holding its spot as the non-negotiable gift during our most emotionally laden holidays such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day. This is not just a product of recent history—throughout the plant’s pre-Colombian origins, cacao beans have been regarded by different cultures as representative of wealth, often consumed in sacred rituals and used as forms of currency. In more ways than one, cacao remains the money that grows on trees.
Greg and T’s thoughtful and humorous personalities guide the chocolate making process, and Front Porch’s identity as a business can be tasted through their product. Greg is a self-proclaimed purist, fanatically driven to produce the most honest dark chocolate with the highest standards from a manufacturing standpoint. T, on the other hand, injects the creative flair, bringing new combinations of flavors to their products beyond just 70% Single Origin Dark Chocolate. This commitment means crafting chocolate without adding filler ingredients or taking short-cuts relied on by most mass-market brands. And the authenticity is combined with pairings strategically targeted to maximize the experience for your taste buds—flavors like Tiramisu, Chai Rose, Hint o’ Orange, and holiday-inspired seasonal favorites—namely, Eggnog Bourbon White Chocolate and Peppermint Bark Dark Chocolate.
My experience with Front Porch Chocolate, through the guidance of their whimsically dedicated chocolate makers, deepened the relationship I have with this magical plant. Their class taught me to be intentional with how I consume it more sustainably—and, perhaps more importantly, not take myself so seriously when I do—I have the potato chip and strawberry chocolate bar I made in class to prove it. Just as I’m inspired by our local farming community to purchase and consume high-quality produce in a way that supports our local economy, the creators of Front Porch Chocolate champion a similar ethos for the farms that provide the beans that power their business.
I recommend you buy a bar or take a class and experience Front Porch Chocolate for yourself.
Check them out at the Livingston Farmers Market and various retailers around town.