Toronto couple behind city's award-winning chocolate

Chocolate is a holiday staple around this time of year and there's certainly no shortage of it in Toronto.

The city has its fair share of chocolate-makers, including the sweet-smelling Cadbury factory on Gladstone Avenue.

But one local couplehas been busy perfecting the art and they're even getting international recognition.

Tucked away on a side street in the city's west end,SomaownersCynthia Leung and David Castellanhave been busy experimenting in the company's secret cacaobean lab.

The location is kept under wraps, but it's here where the youngcouplecomes up withtheir delicious ideas, finding new ways to go from bean to bar.

Somahas already received global attention for its creations at the International Chocolate Awards.

It took home gold at the October 2015 World Finals in the 'plain dark chocolate bars' category for its Porcelana bar.

It also won silver for its Thai stick truffle, which combines white chocolate, coconut milk, ginger and a "zip" of lemongrass, chili and lime.

For Leung and Castellan, it's the level of care that goes into thatprocess that separates Soma's chocolate bars from the competition.

"We do 120 kilos at a time," says Castellan."The roasting is actually a big step in chocolate-making. It's where the flavours are developed, so wepayattention to thetime and the temperature."

Once the beans are roasted and cooled, it's time to take the shells off in order to get to the good stuff.

"We use the cocoanibs, which iswhere all the cocoa flavour is," says Castellan.

"Thecocoanibs are ground into something calledcocoaliquor. There's no alcohol in it. It's called cocoaliquor because its ground up and syrupy when it comes out."

This holiday season, the couple saythey havecocoaliquor from as many as10different countries, including Jamaica and theDominican Republic. The syrupy liquid serves as the building block for each chocolate bar.

The chocolate-makers doesn't only serve bars. On the menu, you can find anything from truffles, drinking chocolate to a 12-layer chocolate jawbreaker with rings representing those of a tree.

Somasells its sweets at two locations in the city, one on King St. West and another in the Distillery District.

"If you look around, you'll find that chocolate is an amazing world," saysCastellan.

"There's a lot of depth to it."

And it's likely a depth that manyTorontonians are more than happy to explore.