Taza Chocolate Bar

Taza Chocolate is a world class chocolate company based in Somerville, MA famous for their round “pucks” of intense chocolate. They stone grind organic cacao beans into perfectly unrefined, minimally processed chocolate with bold flavor and texture, unlike anything you have ever tasted. Taza was the first U.S. chocolate maker to establish a third-party certified Direct Trade Cacao Certification program and partner only with cacao producers who respect the rights of workers and the environment.

Taza hired Kaplan Thompson to design their first retail store, The Taza Chocolate Bar,  at The Boston Public Market, a year-round, indoor market featuring fresh, locally sourced food from over 35 vendors. It is the only locally sourced market of its kind in the United States. We worked closely Taza’s retail and graphic team to created a dynamic and inviting place where people are encouraged to try their unique, fresh stone ground chocolate drinks, experience directly the cocoa stone grinding process, and see raw chocolate in its primal form.

The design tries to bring Taza’s intense rustic flavors into built form.

Design features include:

• Water jet cut metal screening
• Reclaimed & stained pine boards
• Dual-service drink bar
• Custom steel merchandise shelving
• Integration of graphics and architecture
• Working traditional Mexican molino stone grinding mills