Why choose our chocolate?

At Snake & Butterfly we produce all of our own chocolate; we are not remelters. Our fair-trade, organic chocolate is refined in small batches using traditional stone melangers. We temper and hand pour in our own little factory. Some of our chocolate is live (raw) and many of our products are suitable for vegans.

Philosophy:

At Snake & Butterfly we believe that a business should be based on passion, integrity, a strong sense of purpose, and responsible, ecologically-sound business practices.

We believe that responsible business practices include supporting the farmers who grow our raw ingredients in a sustainable, equally-sound manner, and paying a fair price for those ingredients. Furthermore, we believe that our packaging should have a low environmental impact.

Snake & Butterfly is committed to providing the highest quality chocolate and impeccable customer service to our customers.

Who we are:

Benjamin Bulik has worked in the food industry for over ten years, most recently as a part of the Left Bank Corporation. He has extensive experience in food production, marketing, and sales. In addition, Benjamin has training in the areas of nutrition, fitness, and holistic medicine. Additionally Ben is a talented, self-taught artist who works with pastels, watercolors, and oils. He has been involved in chocolate research and development for five years.

Celeste Flores graduated cum laude from Santa Clara University, where she received her bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2005. While at university she served as the editor in chief of the Santa Clara Review, a bi-annual literary magazine established in 1869. Additionally, her background includes purchasing for retail stores and various positions in educational institutes. She has two children, Miss P (6) and 'Renzo (3), who personally test and approve every product before it becomes available to the general public! Celeste will be happy to work with you on requests (even the strangest) and favors for special events or weddings. 

Vincent "Papa Vince" Flores has had successful careers as a musician and in the fields of retail management, high tech sales, and food service. His musical career began at age 13 when he started playing the bass in local bands. In college, Vincent studied music theory and composition. He has continued to perform and, as a BMI artist, his music can be heard on radio, TV, in film, and live theater. (Please click here to hear a sample of his music or buy his CD "Silk Road.") Vincent has also worked for several years in the food industry as a waiter, bartender, and chef. His passion for great food and his artistic creativity has drawn him to become involved in the creation of high quality chocolate. Most recently, he has been developing new confections and truffles for Snake & Butterfly. 

Although she left a high-tech career behind in the dot-com bust, Jen Sorenson brings the project management skills that served her teams of network engineers into play every day.  She's directed her organization, communication and dedication into volunteer efforts in her hometown of Campbell, the mom's group she joined when her son Gunnar (now 5) was born, and now to Snake & Butterfly.  Her all-organic marshmallows, which began as a preschool treat for a class of finicky eaters, brought new depth to the S&B line and resulted in the most scrumptious S'Mores this planet has ever seen!  We don't know what she'll think of next, but we do know it's going to be delicious.

What people are saying about S&B: 

• "I bought one of your raw bars at the Campbell Market right before Thanksgiving. I brought it home with me to Georgia.  I have made it last all this thime nowI have a tiny bit left and am so sad to finish it. BEST chocolate I ever had in my life. I plan on placing an order soon." Noreen - Georgia
  

• "I brought home some Brandy and Lapsang Truffles from the Santa Cruz Farmers' Market today, and my boyfriend said your chocolate is better than Recchuiti. :)" Nadine - Santa Cruz, CA

• "We ate the last of the peanut butter cups last night and I swear to God those are some of the most decadent and divine things I have ever had grace my tongue.  Truly amazing.  I am not sure how you stay so skinny making food that good, because I could eat those every day! Thanks again!" Jocelyn - Woodland, CA
  

• "As I said at the Campbell Market on Sunday - Vosges from Chicago used to be my favorite chocolates but now theirs seems like Hershey's compared to your bars.  WOW!  We are hooked." Debbie - Campbell, CA
  

• "Celeste, Ben and Papa Vince, We ordered your chocolate dipped marshmallows, chocolate peanut butter cup, chocolate oranges and s'mores.  Everything was heavenly.  My husband even commented, "wow, these would make great gifts!"  We polished all of it off in one night, it was just too good to stop eating.  And everything was packaged so nicely, beautiful presentation and delicious chocolate.  We will be buying more soon!" Natalie - Tampa, FL
  

• "So here's the deal. I bought that chocolate peanut butter cup for my husband because he really likes desserts like that.  (He loves Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, which I hate.)  I did not expect to really enjoy it that much, and I certainly did not expect to be obsessing about it the next morning!  (Could be 2nd trimester hunger, who knows.) It was divine.  You have created a monster.  I love that you can taste the quality .... my roommate actually said you taste the lack of preservatives. EXCELLENT PRODUCT.  Excellent!!!" Jocelyn - Woodland, CA
  

• "This is THE MOST amazing chocolate that I have ever had. I am intolerant to potato and fruit/sugar combonation and I was absolutely THRILLED to find that I can eat both your chocolate and marshmallows as well. What an indulgent treat!" Julie - Spokane, WA
  

• "My firm sent out gift baskets last year from this fledgling company (after tasting all the delicious samples ourselves). The baskets looked great and we received marvelous compliments. We're ordering more this year due to popular demand!  I highly recommend them." Marci - San Jose, CA
  

• "Loved loved loved the chocolate covered mallows!!! They arrived last night (2 packages) and were gone within minutes! I recommend them to everyone, and they would make a good christmas present too...I'm just sayin' is all. ;)" Amanda - Campbell, CA
  

• "I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved the mango. WOW! Also, the pine nut bar tasted a tad like licorice. Which was really nice as I love licorice. My husband raved over the coconut and ate the entire portion. He fusses at my expensive taste, but I could tell that he relished the idea of eating chocolate and being healthy at the same time. The almond was wonderful as usual. I loved it. The texture of the chocolate is superb. Lastly, Celeste - you outdid yourself with how fast it arrived. Wowzers!" Lisa - Matthews, NC
  

• "Oh my goodness. Since I've gotten utterly ridiculous about what I eat, chocolate's been kind of off the table for me. Celeste's chocolate is completely different-sort of like what I imagine chocolate would taste like if you followed a winding trail through the rainforest to the secret stone temple of the ancient, dream-like chocolate gods. Go. Buy from her." Hala - Bronx, NY