Tag: cacao
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How Kokoa Kamili Put Tanzania On The Chocolate Map
While African coffees are prominent in the specialty market, high-quality cacao from the continent has lagged. For the most part, it’s a problem of reputation. Environmental and labor abuses in West African countries like Ivory Coast and Ghana often make headlines. Low-quality yields in East and Central Africa meant bean-to-bar producers have largely avoided using…
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Destigmatizing West Africa Cocoa
Has anyone seen a bean-to-bar chocolate made from cacao from Ivory Coast? It’s a legitimate question. We may have seen one from Bonnat at one point, but not anything else. It’s telling that the Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cacao producing nation is absent from the craft chocolate scene. This is because cocoa from West…
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What is Raw Chocolate and Why is it Good for You?
Raw chocolate makers want to change the way we think of our chocolatey treats. However, there’s a lot more to the story than unroasted cacao beans. While the process for raw chocolate is different in a significant way, the question remains – what do we mean when we say raw? Beyond Dark Even the best…
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Akesson: the Man Behind Madagascar Chocolate
Bertil Akesson is the man who put Madagascan chocolate on the map. He is also the one keeping Madagascar on the map by supplying about 95% of all cacao from the island. Imagine a European Indiana Jones. Trade some of his American brashness for a bit of European debonairness and you’ll come close to describing Mr.…
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Drinking Chocolate: From Aztecs to Swiss Miss to Craft
When the days turn cooler, many of us turn to one of our favorite warm beverages – hot chocolate. Yet many don’t know that drinking chocolate has a history that dates back thousands of years. From over 3,000-year-old civilizations to commercialization to today, this chocolate beverage continues to evolve. Origins of Drinking Chocolate in Early…