Piety & Desire Chocolate
New Orleans, Louisiana
Our Story
Founded in 2017 by chocolatier Christopher Nobles, Piety and Desire Chocolate is a New Orleans-based artisan chocolate maker dedicated to creating exceptional chocolate through traditional craftsmanship and responsible sourcing.
Originally a chef and musician, Christopher developed a fascination with chocolate making that led him to study the craft, visit cacao farms, and learn firsthand about the process of transforming raw cacao into finished chocolate. He eventually opened Piety and Desire Chocolate on South Broad Street, bringing a bean-to-bar approach to New Orleans.
Unlike most chocolate businesses that purchase ready-made chocolate, Piety and Desire starts with raw cacao beans sourced from farmers and producers around the world. Every step of the chocolate-making process, from roasting and grinding to refining and tempering, takes place in New Orleans.
The business produces small-batch chocolate bars, handcrafted bonbons, and other confections, often incorporating Louisiana ingredients and flavors inspired by the city's culinary traditions.
Today, Piety and Desire Chocolate operates a chocolate-making facility on South Broad Street and a café on Magazine Street, combining a commitment to ethical sourcing with the creativity and craftsmanship of New Orleans' food culture.
Production Practices
Piety and Desire Chocolate follows a bean-to-bar production process, transforming carefully sourced cacao beans into finished chocolate entirely in New Orleans.
The company sources its cacao through Direct Trade and Conscious Trade relationships, purchasing directly from farmers and cooperatives or from distributors that maintain transparent relationships with growers. According to the business, these sourcing practices allow it to pay significantly above conventional commodity prices, helping support cacao farmers and their communities.
Once the cacao arrives in New Orleans, the beans are roasted, separated from their shells, ground, refined, and tempered in a process that takes approximately one week. This hands-on approach allows the chocolate maker to develop the natural flavor characteristics of cacao from different growing regions.
Piety and Desire also incorporates Louisiana-grown ingredients, including unrefined cane sugar sourced from Three Brothers Farm in Youngsville, Louisiana. Its chocolate is made without artificial flavorings or preservatives.
Beyond the chocolate itself, the business uses recycled paper and home-compostable cellophane for its chocolate bar packaging, reflecting an effort to reduce unnecessary waste.
Through responsible cacao sourcing, small-batch production, and the use of Louisiana ingredients, Piety and Desire Chocolate connects traditional chocolate craftsmanship with a more thoughtful approach to food production.