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Learn the heart & craft of making small batch bean to bar chocolate

Our goal is to help you reach your chocolate dreams.

We are a bean to bar maker-founded chocolate school, helping students of all experience levels learn the methods needed to successfull craft chocolate, start a chocolate business, and grow their chocolate skills.

Award winning craft chocolate maker and Next Batch founder in the livestream chocolate kitchen.

Next Batch founder, Mackenie Rivers: driven by curiosity, with a love for small batch bean to bar

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Not the typical chocolate school.

I started making bean to bar in 2014, and by 2016 students were traveling from around the world to learn from me in person. In 2020 I created the Next Batch School because small batch chocolate was being left out of the craft chocolate conversation: the focus was on growing a chocolate business bigger, with factory-scaled equipment. No one talked about how to stay small, and grow a chocolate livelihood through small batch crafting.

But that was exactly what I was doing. In fact, staying small, and crafting chocolate slow, was the secret to my wild success.

Since the Next Batch School opened its doors, I’ve realized I’m not the only one with a creative, small batch chocolate dream. It is hared by small batch makers around the world. Makers who found joy working in small spaces, crafting from home, people who were discovering the beauty in knowing our customers by name.

There’s a big difference in falling in love with making something from scratch with our own two hands and a 75,000 square foot chocolate factory with dozens of employees, and conveyor belts. One isn’t better than the other, they just have different intentions, and very different needs, techniques, costs, and approaches.

The truth is, the world’s most beloved craft chocolate makers are, and have always been, small batch.

We make chocolate at home or in small kitchens. We win awards, craftas a hobby, create livelihoods, and keep our families and communities happy with the surprise of handcrafted chocolate.

~~Mackenzie Rivers, chocolate maker & owner of Map Chocolate Co,

founder of The Next Batch Chocolate School~~

  • "Mackenzie is one of the most inspiring, kind, fun and knowledgeable persons I've ever known. This course is like no other and I enjoyed every second of it."

    Michelle van Schaick, founder Faraway Garden Chocolate, Academy of Chocolate judge

  • "Thank you for all your inspiration and amazing creations. You are a staple of the craft chocolate scene."

    Fjak Chocolate, Norway

  • "You made an incredible and indelible mark on my work and this community. Thank you for your passion and art, your skills, and generosity."

    David Upchurch, chocolatier

  • "The Next Batch class is 100% what kept me going and made me feel better about taking a huge, risky leap forward. This year has taught me so much, and being a part of the Next Batch Community has been a huge part of it all. I learned so much that we just didn't do at _____, thanks to you, and I'm grateful for your time and willingness to help other chocolate makers pave their own way forward in the industry.

    Elizabeth Gentry, founder Harvest Chocolate

  • "I would probably not still be making chocolate had it not been for Mackenzie and the Next Batch School. Her words of wisdom, patience, humility and willingness to repeat things she has already said make her a real life Yoda in my world."

    Tyler Cagwin, founder Nostalgia Chocolates

  • "I have dared to take risks and experiment with flavors all because of you. Thank you for sharing your craft and wisdom."

    EndeCacao

  • "I am on record saying that just one of the reasons I like her work is her fearless approach to flavor. Her work is just plain fun to eat--and always meticulously crafted."

    Clay Gordon, Discover Choc and The Chocolate Life

  • “For years I’ve been telling people you are the most artistic chocolate maker I know of!”

    —Lowe Bibby, creator of the Chocofiles worldwide tasting database

  • "By the end of Day one I knew I’d hit the chocolate jackpot.”

    Estelle Tracy, chocolate sommelier, 37 Chocolates

  • "...truly a gamechanger."

    Aaron Sylvester, Tri-Island Chocolate, and Grenada Chocolate Co

  • “I have been a chocolatier for over a decade. Making craft chocolate enticed and intimidated me. I never felt ready to try it. Then, one day, I was listening to Lauren's Well Tempered podcast where she chatted with you and I was so touched by your conversation. I felt like I was invited by a kindred spirit to meet chocolate in a new way. A more playful and poetic way. Thank you.”

    ~~Christy Farion

The online Bean to Bar ChocolateCraft Workshop provides what my first-hand experience as a chocolate maker taught me makers need most: real-life insights, the how-to techniques only a maker can know, and honest advice.

Bean to bar skills

Students learn how to transform cacao beans into chocolate, with lessons that cover

  • Choosing equipment, and setting up a workspace

  • Understanding origin and cocoa bean selection

  • Roasting and winnowing

  • Batchcrafting and refining for every type of chocolate

  • Tempering and molding chocolate

  • Inclusioncraft and creative additions

  • Packaging

The guidance and lessons are tailored to small-batch makers, meaning you can follow along in your home kitchen, a commercial space, or workshop, no matter what the size

Designed for all skill levels

The workshop was created by a working chocolate maker (not a scientist, not an equipment salesperson :) with

  • Clear, step-by-step instructions

  • Techniques broken down into manageable parts

  • Tips and troubleshooting for common challenges (because yes, these exist and I’ve experienced them)

  • A supportive pace and explanations that don’t just assume prior experience

Whether you’re completely new to chocolate making or bringing some skills already, the Workshop meets you where you are and helps you grow.

Online, Interactive, and Supportive

I created my Workshop online so you can:

  • Join from anywhere

  • Learn on your own schedule

  • Watch and converse in livestreams with Mackenzie, recorded to watch at any time

  • Ask questions and get feedback

  • Have the extra help of a private 90-minute mentoring session

  • Build confidence one batch at a time

Our goal is to help you reach your goals, whether that means mastering your first bar, starting a small business, or deepening your creative connection with chocolate.

learn more about the online workshop
bean to bar livelihood

bean to bar livelihood

sourcing cacao

sourcing cacao

crafting in a small kitchen

crafting in a small kitchen

easy tempering

easy tempering

every step of bean to bar

every step of bean to bar

setting up to craft

setting up to craft

roasting cacao

roasting cacao

PDFs for download

PDFs for download

plant-based recipes

plant-based recipes

inclusioncraft

inclusioncraft

crafting single origin cacao

crafting single origin cacao

batchcrafting

batchcrafting

sustainable, beautiful packaging

sustainable, beautiful packaging

Swirls of white, dark, and milk chocolate marbling on chocolate coffee latte bars

Swirls of white, dark, and milk chocolate marbling on chocolate coffee latte bars

drinking chocolate

drinking chocolate

flavor pairing

flavor pairing

the B(usiness) side of chocolate

the B(usiness) side of chocolate

the pretty and not so pretty

the pretty and not so pretty

how to bring your chocolate goals to life

how to bring your chocolate goals to life

equipment needs

equipment needs

spreads

spreads

production planning

production planning

unique-to-you products

unique-to-you products

choosing equipment to fit your space and production needs

choosing equipment to fit your space and production needs

Teaching bean to bar chocolate and sharing real-life insights through the lens of a small batch chocolate maker’s path to success

we’re on Instagram @thenextbatchschool

Tomorrow in my Bean to Bar workshop we’ll be going deeper into roasting: 🔥 🫘🍫roasting is our chance to nurture and highlight an origin’s unique flavor personality 🔥🫘🍫pairing the roast profile to the batch % is a useful tool 🔥🫘
“Something artisanal is made by hand and very special. The little wooden spoon your sister carved is artisanal, and so is the honey from your neighbors’ beehive. This adjective describes things made by artisans, or skilled craftspeople.
🎥 Video lessons, 🫘 Topic chapters with insights into the why’s of the how-to’s, 🍫Recipes, 💻 Livestream discussions and demonstrations plus the recordings, 📱 Direct access to a (friendly!) bean to bar pro for questions and feedback,
Ready for the livestreams, and all tidied up for the new chocolate year 🤎 🫘🍫
“Happiness in the onset of the unexpected good. Maybe this is deeply planted in us, this sense that what we’re here for is to be elated and to be loved. So, you look at somebody you love. And if you live with them, maybe you do it every d
full disclosure: this post was made while enjoying a creamy drinking chocolate made with 68% dark Zorzal cacao, soy milk, and a pinch of cardamom.
I’ve been talking with friends in chocolate, and we’re all feeling a similar thing, which, when we’ve confessed it to each other has been a beautiful surprise: 2026 is going to be an amazing year for small batch chocolate. Maybe
Your chocolate IS your marketing.
First confession, my chocolate class is not just about making chocolate, namely because for me as a bean to bar maker, making chocolate was an expression of the joy I’d found in taking beautiful humble cocoa beans and witnessing their transform
In January 2015 when this photo was taken I was not thinking “Someday I’ll start a chocolate school for people who want to learn how to make chocolate.” I was just giddy about making chocolate with my own two hands, getting it tempe