Business in the Spotlight: Tonči Chocolates & Coffee - It's More Than Chocolate

In the heart of Plymouth, Tobago, a family transforms grief into sweetness, one handcrafted chocolate bar at a time

The aroma of roasting cocoa beans mingles with the rich scent of coal-pot coffee in a small workshop in Plymouth, Tobago.

Here, Carlina Jules-Taylor and her husband Randy Taylor are doing more than creating artisan chocolate—they're keeping a promise, honoring a memory, and building a legacy that celebrates life itself.

Welcome to Tonči Chocolates & Coffee, where every bar tells a story of love, loss, and the unbreakable bonds of family.

A Name Born from Love

The name "Tonči" (pronounced Tonjay) isn't just a brand—it's a tribute. After the Taylor family moved to Tobago, tragedy struck with the loss of their beloved son, Tonjay.

In the depths of grief, Carlina found herself haunted by a beautiful memory: her son's voice chanting "cocoa tea, cocoa tea, cocoa tea," his joy mixing with the aroma of roasting cocoa.

"The idea of making chocolates to remember him evolved," Carlina recalls. What began as a way to process grief became something extraordinary—a celebration of life itself, wrapped in the rich flavors of Tobago's finest cocoa.

As their Instagram tagline declares: "It's more than just chocolate." Indeed, Tonči represents connection, heritage, and the healing power of creating something beautiful from pain.

From Dominica to Tobago: A Heritage of Cocoa

Carlina's journey with chocolate didn't begin in Tobago. It started generations earlier in Dominica, where her mother Marie Jules taught her the art of making drinking chocolate.

Her grandfather was an overseer on an estate rich with cocoa, coffee, and coconut, and her grandmother processed everything by hand, from squeezing sugar cane to create visou (a thick, crystallized syrup) to roasting coffee and making cocoa sticks.

"My mother ran her own business, roasting and milling coffee, making cocoa sticks to sell," Carlina shares. "She bought her first cocoa mill around 1976-77 and still uses it."

This multi-generational knowledge became Carlina's foundation. When grief reignited her connection to cocoa in Tobago, she threw herself into research. As a chemistry student, understanding the crystallization and science of chocolate-making came naturally. In 2018, she bought her first melanger, and Tonči Chocolates was born.

Tree to Bar: The Tonči Difference

Tonči Chocolates stands alone as the only tree-to-bar chocolate company on the island of Tobago. This isn't just marketing speak. It's a commitment to quality, sustainability, and community that touches every aspect of their operation.

Randy manages the sourcing, fermentation, and drying of cocoa beans, paying a premium price of $75 per kilo for Tobago beans, far above market rates. They work with small farmers, people with backyard trees, and pockets of estates across the island.

Depending on the farmer's skill, they'll purchase either wet or dry beans, ensuring each harvest meets their exacting standards.

Every chocolate bar begins with cocoa beans harvested from choice cocoa trees across Tobago. The beans are fermented, sun-dried, and meticulously roasted using the traditional coal-pot method, the same technique Carlina's grandmother would recognize.

Each roasted bean is then lovingly hand-peeled, thoroughly inspected, and stone-ground with the finest ingredients.

The result? Extraordinarily smooth chocolate bars, with what Tonči describes as "a symphony of rich flavor in every bite." All products are made with 100% fine flavor Trinitario cocoa and are free of preservatives, gluten, eggs, and tree nuts, keeping health and wellness at the forefront.

A Labor of Love and Balance

Running Tonči is truly a family affair. Randy continues his work as a guidance counselor at Speyside Secondary School, while Carlina manages the chocolate production and homeschools their two children, Tadijah (11) and Theo (born 2021).

Their home education follows a four-day weekly schedule, wrapping up by lunchtime, and includes literature (Shakespeare, novels, mythology), math, history, and music appreciation.

"Every day we read poetry and do math," Carlina explains. It's this same attention to detail, this same commitment to doing things properly and with purpose, that infuses every aspect of Tonči Chocolates.

The Tonči Experience: More Than a Tasting

What truly sets Tonči apart is the immersive two-hour eco-culinary tour they offer. This isn't passive chocolate tasting—it's a hands-on journey through the entire process of chocolate and coffee making.

Guests begin with a quick bite of local breakfast paired with cocoa tea, connecting them immediately to Tobago's culinary heritage. Then comes the magic: participants roast cocoa and coffee beans themselves using traditional coal-pots, just as it's been done for generations.

They grind their own coffee beans and savor a fresh French-pressed cup, experiencing firsthand the care and craftsmanship that goes into every product.

The experience culminates in chocolate tasting and light refreshments, but what guests take away goes far beyond flavor. They leave with an understanding of the holistic approach to chocolate and coffee making—one that intertwines quality, sustainability, and community in every step.

At $250 TT per person, the Tonči Experience has become a popular tourist attraction, drawing visitors eager for an authentic taste of Tobago and locals wanting to reconnect with their heritage.

The Product Line: From Bean to Bar

Tonči offers a carefully curated selection of products, each reflecting their commitment to quality:

Chocolate Bars:

- 65% dark chocolate bar

- 50% milk bar (made with coconut for a vegan option)

- 70% guava bar (celebrating local Tobago flavors)

Drinking chocolate (honoring the traditional cocoa tea heritage)

Coffee:

- Whole bean coffee

- Ground coffee (roasted using heritage-style coal-pot methods)

Since there's no coffee grown in Tobago, Tonči roasts coffee beans from Trinidad, mainly Robusta varieties that can take a dark roast. Carlina's research revealed that Trinidad has some 21 varieties of coffee, providing rich possibilities for future experimentation.

A Philosophy of Connection

What makes Tonči truly special isn't just the quality of their chocolate or the authenticity of their process—it's their philosophy.

As they've made clear to everyone from visiting university students to trade conference attendees: they care more about sharing Tonči's story than making it a big business.

This commitment to connection over commerce is evident in how they run their operation. Every interaction is personal, every tour is intimate, every bar is handcrafted with intention. They're not trying to scale rapidly or distribute globally; they're focused on creating meaningful experiences and exceptional products that honor their son's memory and their family's heritage.

Recognition and Growth

The chocolatier's dedication hasn't gone unnoticed. Tonči was showcased at the 2024 Trade and Investment Conference, and their story has been featured in numerous publications celebrating Caribbean entrepreneurship and culinary innovation.

Pacific Lutheran University students even partnered with the Taylors, creating content and documentation that captures both their craftsmanship and their deeply personal story.

The collaboration reflects a key truth about Tonči: they inspire people. Whether it's university students from abroad, tourists seeking authentic experiences, or locals rediscovering their own heritage, the Taylors' commitment to quality, community, and memory-making resonates deeply.

More Than Just Business

In an age of mass production and global supply chains, Tonči Chocolates & Coffee represents something increasingly rare: a business built not on profit margins but on purpose. Every roasted bean, every handcrafted bar, every shared experience carries forward the memory of a young boy who loved cocoa tea and the heritage of generations who understood that making chocolate is about more than just the final product.

It's about preserving tradition. It's about sustainable practices that honor the land and the farmers. It's about creating space for families to connect and create lasting memories. It's about turning grief into something beautiful and life-affirming.

Randy and Carlina Taylor have created more than a chocolate company—they've created a living memorial, a educational experience, and a bridge between Tobago's past and its future.

In their small workshop in Plymouth, they're proving that business can be personal, that quality matters more than quantity, and that sometimes the sweetest success comes not from scaling up, but from staying true to what matters most.

As their tagline reminds us: "It's more than just chocolate." At Tonči, it's love, legacy, and life itself, distilled into every bar.

Tonči Chocolates & Coffee is located in Plymouth, Tobago. The Tonči Experience is available by appointment at $250 TT per person. For bookings and more information, visit their website or follow them on social media.