N2 Sweetlab single origin chocolate bar buried in cacao nibs stepstone imaging

15th July 2026

Costa Rica to King Street, Maidstone: the cocoa sourcing story behind N2 Sweet Lab

For Ned and Nina at N2 Sweet Lab, the question of where ingredients come from isn't an afterthought - it's the foundation of everything they make. Unlike most chocolatiers, who start from pre-made couverture, N2 Sweet Lab begins with whole cocoa beans sourced directly from farms and small cooperatives in Costa Rica, Peru, Uganda, and Brazil.

Each origin brings its own character. A bar made from Costa Rican beans tells a completely different flavour story from one made with Peruvian beans, even when the recipe is identical. "They're all amazing," says Ned. "We genuinely can't pick a favourite region." It's this variety and complexity that makes the bean-to-bar approach so compelling - and so different from anything produced at commercial scale.

The journey from bean to finished chocolate is longer and more involved than most people realise. Beans arrive fermented and dried at the Maidstone workshop on King Street, smelling nothing like the finished product - more like a rich, living fermentation. Roasting transforms them, and the roast level is critical. Too hot, and the natural flavour notes are lost. N2 roasts carefully, preserving the fruity, wine-like character of each origin.

It's the kind of provenance story that resonates strongly with the Produced in Kent community - built on the belief that knowing your producer and your ingredients makes for a better experience. N2 Sweet Lab is a brilliant example of that ethos in practice, made right here in Kent.

Visit the N2 Sweet Lab website to find out more and plan a visit to King Street, Maidstone.