At Third Wave Chocolate, simplicity is key, said business owner Joel Bogdanoff.

The sweet treat company, founded by Bogdanoff last year, offers handmade craft chocolates here in Colorado Springs. It started as a hobby, with Bogdanoff whipping up chocolate treats in his apartment, but the venture soon expanded. Now, Third Wave operates out of Provision Bakery in downtown.

“I really like the idea of craft conveying the idea that we do stuff with intention and very hands on,” he said.

The chocolatiers make bean-to-bar chocolate, meaning they don’t use third parties to source their cacao beans. Bogdanoff sources the beans from small family and tribal owned farms around the world, including South America. In sourcing from smaller farms, Bogdanoff can ensure ethical labor practices that many cacao companies often ignore, especially the use of child labor.

There’s so much room in that industry and in that world that people just aren’t aware of.

“Part of the struggle of sourcing such small quantities is that, again, family farms, they get maybe one good harvest a year,” he said. “So sometimes, we only have one bag for use, and it’s like, ‘OK, great, I’ll take it.'”

The chocolate bars themselves are simple — and that’s the goal. The bars have only two ingredients: cacao and sugar. But despite only having two ingredients, there’s plenty of different flavors.

That means most of the work comes from the beans themselves. When sourcing cacao, Bogdanoff looks for complex flavor profiles. Various farms and climates offers nuanced flavors each year, he said. And the flavors aren’t subtle, but bold and rich.

Take their Peru Pangoa Bar, for example. Using these beans sourced from the VRAE region of Peru, this bar has sweet citrus and raspberry flavors. Then there’s the Uganda Semuliki Forest bar, which tastes like guava, cinnamon and dates.

“There’s so much room to play around in that most of us just aren’t aware of,” he said. “Chocolate doesn’t have to taste like ‘X.’ It can really taste like berries or fruit or wine or citrus. It’s such a complex world of flavor that we don’t know.”

In addition to making bars, the chocolate shop also teaches classes on crafting chocolate. Date night, birthday parties or corporate events, anyone can learn what the process involves.

And it’s a chance to just enjoy some chocolate.

“I joke around, literally, I’m selling candy. That’s the best thing ever,” he said. “I think it’s time Colorado Springs had some good chocolate.”