- Established
- 2008
- People
- Willie Harcourt-Cooze
- Based in
- Nordan, Leominster, Herefordshire
- Craft
- Bean-to-bar chocolate
The Local’s perspective
Chocolate that begins with the bean
Willie’s Cacao makes characterful chocolate from carefully selected cacao origins, taking the beans through roasting to final packing at its factory at Nordan near Leominster in Herefordshire.
The story
From a Venezuelan farm to British chocolate
Willie Harcourt-Cooze’s relationship with cacao began long before Britain’s modern bean-to-bar movement. After spending more than a decade as a cacao farmer in Venezuela, he became determined to reconnect chocolate with the flavour of the bean itself.
In 2008, Willie established a bean-to-bar factory in Uffculme, Devon. In 2026, Willie’s told The Local that it had completed a move to Nordan near Leominster in Herefordshire. The maker says it buys cacao beans directly from farmers in 60kg sacks and, for all current bars, carries out every stage from roasting through final packing at its factory.
That distinction matters: the cacao is grown and undergoes farm-level post-harvest work overseas, while the chocolate-making stages Willie’s controls take place in Herefordshire.
The people
Meet Willie Harcourt-Cooze
Willie Harcourt-Cooze is a cacao farmer and chocolate maker, and one of the pioneers of Britain’s bean-to-bar movement. His years growing cacao in Venezuela shaped his pursuit of flavour. Today, Willie’s says it buys beans directly from farmers and oversees its current bars from roasting through packing at its Herefordshire factory.
Inside the making
Following the cacao through the factory
Willie’s Cacao selects cacao for its individual origin character and says it handles every stage for its current bars from roasting through final packing in Herefordshire. Its recipes favour short ingredient lists and avoid using vanilla or lecithin to standardise the flavour. These process choices describe the maker’s approach; they are not automatic proof of sustainability or farm-level impact.
Our recommendation
Milk chocolate with cacao at its centre
A beautifully balanced 54% milk chocolate made from Surabaya cacao, combining deep cacao character with a generous, creamy finish.
Willie’s Cacao treats chocolate with the same seriousness given to fine wine. Each cacao is allowed to keep its own character, while slow processing and beautifully eccentric machinery turn the factory into a living expression of one maker’s obsession with flavour.
Shop at The Local
A sense of place
A new factory chapter in Herefordshire
Nordan, Leominster, Herefordshire
