Wellington Chocolate Factory has taken home two golds and a silver in the 2020 NZ Chocolate Awards this week.

Their Raspberry Milk Bar was a joint category winner, and their Peru Chocolate bar came first in its categories, with Star Anise Milk Chocolate taking out silver in another.

Founded in 2013, this was the factory's most successful year yet, and founder Gabe Davidson said the recognition couldn't have come at a better time.

"The last week has been a stressful one, and like many other Kiwis we're all feeling a bit uncertain - so winning these awards is a huge morale boost for the team," he said.

Supplied Wellington Chocolate Factory's founder Gabe Davidson, right, with one of his growers in Peru in February, 2019.

All three of these single-origin, small-batch varieties are made right here in Wellington at their home on Eva St.

They sourced beans from ethical suppliers, supporting local farmers and ensuring fair trade.

Judges described the Raspberry Milk Bar as enticing, strong, alluring with outstanding depth and complexity.

One judge said, "If I close my eyes it's like a spoonful of my nana's homemade raspberry jam, sweetly tickling my tongue."

Davidson loved that the bar evoked such a beautiful childhood memory.

"This is one of the reasons we do what we do; it's great when people can be transported somewhere else for a moment or two; a micro-vacation.

They made at least a dozen trial batches of the Raspberry Milk Bar before they nailed it.

This bar had five ingredients to balance; organic nibs, cocoa butter, raw sugar, milk solids, and freeze-dried raspberries, thrown in the stone grinders with the chocolate.

"What we wanted to achieve was a bar of dark milk chocolate with a twist," he said.

Supplied Wellington Chocolate Factory's Raspberry Milk Bar was a joint category winner in the 2020 NZ Chocolate Awards.

Davidson went to Peru in February last year to catch up with his suppliers, and said the effects were "really positive".

"Because of craft chocolate and people paying a fair price, some farmers are transitioning from making coca, which is used to make cocaine and controlled by the cartels, to growing cocoa beans."

​The factory partnered with Trade Aid who import the beans and sell on to Davidson.

"We're really grateful for that relationship, and we have a lot of faith in what they do in terms of auditing."

The Peru bar has done well in internationally, too; it won best microbatch certified organic craft chocolate in the World Finals of the International Chocolate Awards in 2018.

It was 70 per cent cocoa beans, and 30 per cent sugar - nothing else. Any flavours people tasted were simply the flavour of the bean.

"If we source interesting beans to begin with, there isn't a lot we need to do make it interesting."

The factory was still producing chocolate, although their shop was closed for the lockdown, and they were closely working with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to make sure they abided by the rules.

People could buy a block at New World or Countdown supermarkets, or online. "Support local. We're going to get though this together."

Supplied Wellington Chocolate Factory's Raspberry Milk Bar was a joint category winner in the 2020 NZ Chocolate Awards.

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