Cacao
Pioneers
Since
1828

VH history

Cacao
Pioneers
Since
1828

For making the rich taste of cocoa accessible to everyone to the patent they claimed for the vertical cocoa press: the Van Houten Family sparked nothing less than a revolution - one of a kind, true in its kind. Their innovative Dutching process created the lovely, full-bodied, chocolatey taste of cocoa we still enjoy today. Today still, Van Houten is the best that goes farthest.
van houten

Milestones in the Van Houten legacy

milestones van houten
Van Houten Drinks

1806

Caspardus Van Houten starts a coffee & spice shop in Amsterdam

Van Houten Cocoa Drinks

1815

Start of cacao and chocolate production in Amsterdam under the Van Houten company name

vh cocoa tree
press van houten

1828 

Van Houten patents the hydraulic cocoa press and reduces cocoa butter by nearly half for a lighter, more nutritious and dissolvable cocoa powder.

1835

Second generation: Caspardus’ son Coenraad enters the company.

Coenraad cup
cocoa powder

1846

Coenraad patents Dutching cocoa for powders with a rich, chocolatey taste. They are mixed with alkaline salts, which makes them blend more easily with water.

CHocolate drinks

1864

The third generation enters and the official name becomes C. J. Van Houten & Zoon.

van houten en zoon logo
pack in tin

1865

Van Houten packs its cocoa in tins: a revolution bringing great convenience.

Van Houten USA 1889

1889

Van Houten brings its rich cocoa flavours to the USA and becomes one of the hottest brands on the market. 

van houten history
globe world

1917-60

Van Houten opens new production facilities around the world.

1998

Barry Callebaut acquires Van Houten brand.

barry callebaut

The Originals  of van Houten

Today, Van Houten is back. Committing to its original mission to create a richer life for everyone, it reconnects with its tradition of bringing the best cocoa powders to chefs and bar tenders. Now they can spoil their customers with the rich taste and colours of chocolate with Van Houten's cacao. 

Discover our products

Classic White Chocolate

Classic White Chocolate

One of our most versatile and oldest recipes, this delicate creamy white chocolate offers a tantalizing sweet and milky taste for a luxurious eating experience.

  • range
  • Fluidity
    3
  • Min. % Dry cocoa solids
    29.3%
  • Min. % Dry milk solids
    22.9%
Well Rounded Dark Chocolate

Well Rounded Dark Chocolate

A marriage of roasted flavours and sweetness, added with a tinge of bitterness and astringency. This unassuming dark chocolate finishes with a well-rounded cocoa taste.

  • range
  • Fluidity
    3
  • Cocoa intensity
    2
  • Min. % Dry cocoa solids
    59.2%
Well Rounded Dark Chocolate

Well Rounded Dark Chocolate

A deeply satisfying bitter sweet dark chocolate matched by a complementary roasty cocoa note.

  • range
  • Fluidity
    3
  • Cocoa intensity
    2
  • Min. % Dry cocoa solids
    49.9%
Tanzania Dark chocolate

Tanzania Dark chocolate

Dark chocolate 75% from Tanzania, delivering the perfect balance of acidity, intense cocoa bitterness and fruity notes. Mainly concentrated in the area surrounding Lake Malawi, cocoa culture is more than 50% organic and provides some spectacular beans, giving Tanzania its unique reputation. Accounts for only 0.1% of the world's cocoa harvest.

  • range
  • Fluidity
    3
  • Cocoa intensity
    3
  • Min. % Dry cocoa solids
    75%
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