Hi everyone — Ingrid here, head of operations at 50Hertz Tingly Foods, checking in from the field.

I recently had the chance to visit Monica at Goodnow Farms in Sudbury, Massachusetts, the chocolate makers we partnered with for our Herbaceous Green Tingly Dark Chocolate. 

I studied in Massachusetts, so the trip felt familiar, but this was the first time I’d get to see their space in person. I’d seen photos before, but nothing really prepares you for driving up to their 225-year-old farmhouse on a fall New England morning. Bright leaves, quiet roads, and an old barn that somehow turns out to be the home of some of the best chocolate in America.

Yes, literally. Food & Wine called their chocolate “the best in America.” After visiting, I get why.

And before we go any further: A chocolate farm? In Massachusetts?

That’s the burning question everyone asked me. So let’s clear that up right away.

Goodnow Farms isn’t a cacao farm. The “farm” part is the historic property Monica and Tom, her partner, bought and turned into their chocolate studio. They still use pumpkins and apples grown on the land for seasonal bars, but the cacao comes from farms they work with directly across Latin America.

Now let’s get into the visit.

Meeting Monica & Tom

Monica met me as soon as I walked in. She’s focused, friendly, and clearly hands-on with every part of the operation. She is an engineer and before chocolate she worked in real estate development and construction, and Tom was a reality TV producer  — an unexpected combination, but once you see how they work, it all fits.

You can see how both of their backgrounds show up in the way Goodnow Farms runs. There’s this mix of structure and creativity, precision and storytelling, and you get the sense that each of them brings something different but equally important to the table. They didn’t start in the food industry, but their skill sets transferred seamlessly into building a thoughtful, small-batch chocolate business.

Monica also speaks fluent Spanish, which has helped them build direct relationships with cacao farms across South America. They travel often to visit the farms they source from. They don’t just buy beans — they know the people who grow them.

A Closer Look at Goodnow Farms

One thing that stands out immediately is how intentional everything is. Goodnow Farms is a true bean-to-bar operation — not just in name, but in practice. They sort cacao beans by hand, roast them in small batches, press their own single-origin cocoa butter (which very few craft chocolate makers do), refine and conch the chocolate slowly, temper it carefully, and wrap every bar by hand.

Sustainability is a major priority for Goodnow Farms. All of their packaging is fully compostable or recyclable, which fits the rest of their thoughtful, low-waste approach.

And even though they’ve won more chocolate awards than any maker in North America, there’s nothing flashy about their setup. It’s calm, organized, and built around doing things the right way, not the fast way.

How Sichuan Pepper Entered the Picture

Before we ever collaborated, Monica had been wanting to make a green Sichuan pepper chocolate for a long time. She just couldn’t find Sichuan peppers with the right brightness and aroma. The moment she smelled our 50Hertz Green Sichuan Peppers, she knew it was finally possible.

When Monica was at the Good Food Awards in Portland, Oregon, she visited a gourmet food shop and found our Sichuan peppers. She loved them so much that she placed an order before she even boarded her flight home.

I also learned that Monica and Tom really balance each other creatively. Monica believed Sichuan pepper would work; Tom wasn’t totally convinced at first. But the bar proved her right. And on the flip side, Tom once created a caramelized onion chocolate that she doubted — and that one worked too. They keep each other open-minded in a really fun way.

Walking Through Their Production Space → A Stroll Through Chocolate Nerd Heaven

Here are a few moments that stood out during the walkthrough:

Monica vs. the Beans (She Always Wins): Watching Her Sort Ucayali Cacao Beans — the beans behind our chocolate

Watching cacao beans roast in a modified chicken rotisserie  — Goodnow practicality and sustainability at its finest

Learning how they press cocoa butter for days

The aftermath of butter pressing: cacao powder and cocoa butter blocks everywhere

Tasting warm liquid chocolate straight from the refiners (with single-use tasting spoons, of course!)

Tempering, molding, and wrapping bars by hand

Spotting our Herbaceous Green Tingly Dark Chocolate in all its glory on the shelves 

Everything felt small-batch, hands-on, and cared for. There’s no sense of rushing anything here.

Final Thoughts

This visit helped me understand why their chocolate earns so much recognition. Yes, the flavor is incredible, but it’s the process — the way Monica and Tom think, work, and collaborate — that really sets Goodnow Farms apart.

I arrived already loving their chocolate.

I left with a lot of respect for the people behind it — and for the partnership that brought our Herbaceous Green Tingly Dark Chocolate with Sichuan Pepper to life. 

If you’re curious what all that care and craft tastes like, you can try the bar for yourself here.