Lareka at the EuroBean Festival 2025: Where Bean to Bar meets technology

In early August, Lareka travelled to Chemnitz in Germany for the EuroBean Festival 2025. This is Europe’s premier event dedicated to artisanal bean to bar chocolate. Our Managing Director, Martin, attended to experience first-hand how this unique festival celebrates flavour, craftsmanship, innovation and passion, which aligns perfectly with Lareka’s mission.

What is the EuroBean Festival?

The EuroBean Chocolate Festival is an annual celebration that focuses entirely on bean to bar chocolate. This means chocolate that is crafted by artisanal makers in-house from cocoa bean to finished bar. The 2025 edition took place from 1 to 3 August in the Industrial Museum in Chemnitz as part of the European Capital of Culture programme.

With around fifty chocolate makers from all over the world, tastings, workshops, lectures and live music, the event was a vibrant showcase of craftsmanship, sustainability and innovation in the chocolate industry. Key themes included fair trade, sustainable production and the reinvention of industrial processes, all of which strongly connect with Lareka’s values.

Lareka’s presence at a bigger and busier EuroBean

This year’s EuroBean Festival was bigger than ever. For the first time, the event took place in the Industrial Museum in Chemnitz, a spacious venue that perfectly accommodated the growing number of exhibitors and visitors. The change of location coincided with a vibrant cultural week in the city, which added to the atmosphere and drew even more people. Over one hundred volunteers worked behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly, and the result was a lively and positive energy throughout the three days. For Lareka, it was a great opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces from the bean-to-bar community and meet many new chocolate makers from around the world.

Patrick from Choco del Sol: pioneer and BTB25 enthusiast

One of the driving forces behind the EuroBean Festival is Patrick Walter, founder of Choco del Sol. As a passionate bean to bar chocolate maker and festival organiser, Patrick understands the importance of reliable equipment in the chocolate making process. He has been a dedicated user of our BTB25 for many years and often calls it one of his favourite tools in production.

Patrick’s appreciation for the BTB25, especially for its reliability and ease of use, confirms for us that Lareka is making a real difference for artisanal chocolate producers worldwide.

Looking back and ahead

For Lareka, the Eurobean Festival was an inspiring experience and a clear sign that the bean to bar movement is stronger than ever and continues to grow in professionalism. We returned to Valkenswaard with fresh insights, engaging conversations, and new ideas on how we can continue to support chocolate makers worldwide.

Want to know more?

Curious about how our BTB25 or NP60 can strengthen your bean-to-bar production process? Get in touch or visit www.lareka.com to explore our solutions.