A Legacy Rediscovered

 There was always a story in my family about a great-grandfather who made chocolate and candy in the 1920s. I always found it interesting, but I never gave it much thought. Like many family tales, it might have faded into history—if not for my uncle.

Oddly enough, my uncle is from my mom’s side of the family, with no direct connection to my great-grandfather’s chocolate business. But his work with a not-for-profit organization started by a medical doctor from Sierra Leone, unexpectedly rekindled that legacy.

During one of his photography trips to Sierra Leone, he noticed strange, brightly colored pods growing on jungle trees. When he asked, the doctor explained that they were cacao pods, the source of chocolate. These trees grow tall and wild, a remnant of a robust cacao industry devastated by civil war in the early 1990’s.  Curious, he thought about those cacao beans for a while before reaching out to me with a simple question: Would you be interested in importing cacao beans to sell?

I said I’d look into it. 

That moment sparked an unexpected journey—one that led me deep into the world of chocolate. I explored how cacao was planted, grown, harvested, fermented, dried, shipped, and ultimately transformed into chocolate. The last part—actually making chocolate—was where I became truly enamored.

And then, it all came full circle. I remembered my great-grandfather and the chocolate business he built a century ago in Indianapolis. What started as a forgotten family story became a living connection to the past. With that in mind, I revived Bradley Chocolate—not just as a business, but as a tribute to craftsmanship, simplicity, and the enduring love of real chocolate.

Today, we honor that legacy by crafting pure, two-ingredient chocolate, made in small batches from ethically sourced cacao. From the jungles of Sierra Leone and all over the world, to our workshop, every bar is a reflection of history, passion, and discovery.

Because some stories are too good to melt away.