About Us

About Morag

Morag Reid hails from the UK, born in England and raised in a variety of countries around the world before settling in Scotland at a young age. Early careers include graphic design, illustration, and web design. Morag spend 20+ years working in theater, managing front-of-house operations including box office and volunteer management.

Throughout her travels, Morag always loved chocolate, and she developed a taste for unusual flavors. When deciding to open a chocolate shop, she checked out a few franchises, but nothing fit into the mold of the fine chocolate shops she visited in Europe, and so she decided to strike out on her own.

Morag trained with the renowned Ecole Chocolat school based in Vancouver, Canada, and graduated with honors. She earned her Master Chocolatier designation in Bowen Island, Canada, and has trained with renowned chocolatiers Melissa Coppel, Richard Tango-Lowey, Luis Amado, Kriss Harvey and Gonzo Jimenez. Morag continues to explore new flavors and techniques, blending the traditions of Europe and the newer American style to create classic flavors – such as lemon and salted caramel – with more modern flavors, such as Chai Tea and Traditional Ale, using real tea and beer from local breweries.

Morag loves animals and the environment and actively finds ways to use sustainable and recyclable products. She is also an avid photographer, and when not up to her elbows in chocolate, she can be found out and about taking photos of the beautiful Florida wildlife and scenery.

About Banyan Tree Chocolate

Serendipity put us in the right place at the right time. The owner of Sirard’s Chocolates was looking to sell, and we were looking to open a new shop.

In July 2017, we became the owners of our new chocolate shop and café. As we set about making it our own, we kept all the old favorites – including chocolate-covered popcorn and Sarasota Seafoam – and introduced our new line of bonbons and truffles.

We use only the finest quality ingredients in our chocolates. The chocolate brands we work with include: Guittard, Cocoa Barry and Valrhona, all of which are less sweet and creamier, highlighting the intricacies of the chocolate flavor.

We also branched out into “bean to bar.” We create small batches of chocolate bars directly from the bean. We source beans from ethically produced farms, and then roast and grind the beans and make them into chocolate bars. For more information on this process, visit our Bean to Bar Page.

Banyan Tree Chocolate is a member of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA).