2026 Good Food Awards – Goodnow Farms, KESSHŌ, and More Join Chocolate Winners

It’s part two in our three-part series covering the 2026 Good Food Awards for chocolate. I really enjoyed writing this one up, because most of these chocolate makers are new to Chocolate Connoisseur Magazine, so I get to feel a little bit of that “chocolate adventure” we love to talk about here on the regular.

Before we get to that, however, let’s give lots of love to one of our all-time favorite chocolate makers – Goodnow Farms.

One quick note though, in case you missed it, here are the first five Chocolate Award Winners at the 2026 Good Food Awards from last week. Okay, let’s dive in, bar-by-bar!

2026 Good Food Awards BAR #6: Goodnow Farms | Limited Release, Old Fashioned Root Beer

Am I shocked to see Goodnow Farms winning a Good Food Award? Of course not. Would I be lying if I said that I’m not at least mildly surprised to see an Old-Fashioned Root Beer bar on this list? Yes, yes I would, and let me tell you, I cannot wait to try this bar now that I know it exists.

According to its description, you’ll find that “aromas of vanilla and marshmallow meld with creamy sarsaparilla, woody notes, rich chocolate, wintergreen and lingering licorice.” That’s a lot of my favorite things all wrapped up in one chocolate bar.

Also, it sounds like creating this super unique bar was an adventure in and of itself per Goodnow –

“We researched the ingredients that have historically been used in root beer (some of which are now illegal!) and had fun trying new and different flavors, too.  We created many different combinations, and after LOTS of test batches we came up with a robust and delicious (and legal) recipe for what we believe is the perfect root beer flavor.”

They then combine whatever magical alchemy creates that root beer flavor with their single origin Boyaca cacao to make this bar complete. Click here to try ordering the Old-Fashioned Root Beer bar direct (yet another limited release chocolate bar on this list).

Goodnow Farms makes some incredible bars, no doubt. One year their Putnam Rye Whiskey bar was my primary gift to give at the holidays, and everyone who received one raved about it. Root beer is a new iteration, and one that I don’t think I’ve ever tasted in a chocolate bar before anywhere. This means they’re pushing the envelope, which is great, and that makes it even more of a pleasant surprise to see such an effort honored with a Good Food Award. Congratulations!

Click here for a look at our In Focus interview with Goodnow Farms.

Goodnow Farms Limited Release, Old Fashioned Root Beer Bar Ingredients
Single Origin Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Single Origin Cocoa Butter, Organic Indian Sarsaparilla, Organic Birch Bark C/S, Organic Star Anise, Vanilla Bean, Ground Ginger, Dried Green Sichuan Pepper, Salt

BAR #7: Honoka’a Chocolate | Barrel Aged Rum Bar with Coconut Milk 70% Chocolate Bar

Now in their ninth year I believe, we have yet to cover Honoka’a Chocolate here at Chocolate Connoisseur, so I’m happy to finally celebrate this wonderful chocolate maker out of Honoka’a, Hawaii.

With a scientist turned chocolate maker (Mike Pollard) at the helm, Honokaʻa’s story intrigues me, and meanwhile, they’ve racked up over 50 awards by crafting excellent chocolate from cacao they grow on their own farm in Hawaiʻi.

 This particular award winner sounds outstanding. It features Kueleana Rum Works infused Hawaiʻi cacao, organic coconut milk, and “a hint of organic turbinado cane sugar”.

I’m sure that aging the cacao nibs and rum “in oak barrels for 4 to 5 months before processing into chocolate” greatly contributes to this bar’s award-winning flavor profile — a profile that just garnered its 4^th award. This wrapper will need another update soon!

Click here to try ordering the award-winning bar from Honoka’a directly.

Honoka’a Chocolate Barrel Aged Rum Bar with Coconut Milk Chocolate Bar Ingredients
100% Hawaiʻi island cacao, organic coconut milk, organic turbinado cane sugar

BAR #8: J. Street Chocolate | Nocino Nib Bar

These next two chocolate makers are brand new to me in my own personal return to the chocolate world here in 2026. First, J Street Chocolate out of San Francisco pulls its name quite clearly from its founder, Julia Street (and is probably featured on a Top 5 Coolest Named Chocolate Company List somewhere).

As Julia tells it, “Fermentation is my passion and chocolate is one of the most amazing fermented foods out there (if you ask me!).”

Safe to say that others concur, because this Nocino Nib Bar is turning heads. Also, much like half the bars we reported on in our first Good Food Awards segment last week, it’s out of stock too!

Nocino is an Italian liqueur, “similar to a beautiful amaro – rich in flavor and warming to the soul.” J Street infuses the cacao nibs with the finished nocino, resulting in very unique tasting notes of cola and warm spices.

There is an alternate version of this bar that comes topped with local Fuyu persimmon instead of the infused nibs, which is what you see on the right side of the photo above.

Click here to try ordering the Nocino Nib Bar directly from J Street; just wait until July 1^st, however, because the J Street online shop is closed for  the month of June.

J. Street Chocolate Nocino Nib Bar Ingredients
Cacao nibs from Camino Verde in Ecuador*, cane sugar*, nocino using local green walnuts, cocoa butter*  — *organic

BAR #9: KESSHŌ | Guava Lime 57% Dark Chocolate Bar

Calling Austin, Texas home, where they also serve gelato by the way, the new kid on the block here is KESSHŌ Craft Chocolate (although technically they started making chocolate back in 2018 at a different location), co-founded by Liang Wang and Mark Huetsch. Their mission in our wonderful world of chocolate is to combine their favorite Asian flavor profiles with bean-to-bar chocolate, and it’s a mission they are accomplishing quite well, in short order!

Not only is the chocolate unique, so is KESSHŌ’s packaging, “a blend of watercolor style and traditional Chinese painting techniques.” They really have their own vibe, and I’m here for it.

This first of their two Good Food Awards winners this year is “inspired by Southeast Asian night markets and their chili-sugar dusted guava.”

The bar “blends single-origin Ugandan dark chocolate with bright, tropical guava and a zesty lime twist.”

It features tasting notes of “sweet guava, tropical tanginess, warming chili.”

Click here to pick up the Guava Lime bar directly from KESSHŌ.

KESSHŌ Guava Lime 57% Dark Chocolate Bar Ingredients
Whole cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, pink guava powder, lime powder, chili powder

BAR #10: KESSHŌ | Salted Plum 59% Dark Chocolate Bar

The final bar in this second part of our Good Food Awards winners coverage is KESSHŌ’s second winner, and since I’m literally eating a plum while I’m writing this, yes, I am way too excited to try this bar.

Featuring the same cacao as the Guava Lime bar (Semuliki Forest – Uganda), this bar complements that cacao with “sweet-tart salted plum.”

I’ll give KESSHŌ credit for an outstanding product description as well:

“Each zesty, vibrant bite delivers an artisanal burst of plum mingling with the smooth, fruity notes of the cacao. The natural tang and salt of the plum play perfectly against the chocolate, creating a soul-satisfying harmony of contrasting yet complementary flavors.”

The bar features tasting Notes of “tangy, hint of chocolate-covered raisins, zesty.”

Click here to purchase one at KESSHŌ’s online shop.

KESSHO Salted Plum 59% Dark Chocolate Bar Ingredients
Whole cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, plum powder, salt

I’ll be back next week for the final four bars in this incredible lineup. If you find yourself in NYC over the weekend ahead, let me know if you make it to the New York City Mercantile on June 28th, where they’ll be officially presenting this year’s awards.