Barbara Wilson’s voice picks up when she talks about Mindo, Ecuador. “Mindo is a tiny little town where you can walk everywhere. Everything is lush and green and everyone knows everyone. It’s very safe and there are lots of things to do and lots of people from other countries.” I spoke with Barbara about Mindo […]
On my recent journey to Ghana, I had the privilege of visiting cocoa farmers in the community of Asarkewaa in the Central Region. It was a special day for me, finding myself at ground zero for cocoa. These farmers work hard to give the world chocolate on a scale that craft chocolate makers can only […]
On my recent journey to Ghana, I had the privilege to visit a community of cocoa farmers in Ghana’s Central Region. In Part I of this post, I shared my first impressions of the day and our visit with the first cocoa farmer and his family. After spending over an hour asking questions about cocoa […]
On a recent trip to Africa I was fortunate to visit a cocoa-growing community in the Asikuma Odoben District of the Central Region of Ghana. It was an incredible day that was the highlight of my three-week trip to Africa and one that will stay with me forever. You may note that I’m using the […]
Have you ever held a fresh cacao pod in your hand? Cracked it open and tasted the fresh pulp? If you’ve never tasted cacao pulp, you don’t know what you’re missing. It tastes a bit like lychee, pineapple and apple, balancing tart with a whole lot of sweet, the perfect nectar to attract bacteria for […]
As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, I find myself conflicted when the temperature creeps up and the sun comes out. After months of gray, overcast skies and mists of rain, I’m happy to bask in the warmth of the sun and replenish my vitamin D levels. As the owner of a chocolate shop, however, […]
Last Fall we added sweet and fruity-tasting Cacao Juice to our chocolate collection. Despite the name, it does not taste like chocolate. It’s the juice from the mucilage, the sticky pulp that surrounds each cacao bean. Mucilage is a critical element in developing chocolate’s flavor. The wild fermentation process that cacao farmers have used for […]
I am excited to be leading a chocolate expedition to Ecuador this coming September 5 – 14 with Global Family Travels and I hope you’ll join us. Not only does Ecuador have an ancient cacao tradition that dates back centuries, but it is home to a vibrant, modern craft chocolate scene that offers excellent cacao […]
About five years ago Kim Wilson came to Chocolopolis to drop off samples of her Good King Snacking Cacao to see if we might be interested in selling it. Kim had transformed quality cacao beans into tasty snacks by removing the husks and dusting the beans in sugar, herbs and spices. Her snack offered the […]
I recently came across a new chocolate product that was exactly what we were looking for to fill the void left when we stopped producing our own matzo clusters. While I’m excited about the Matzo Project’s chocolate covered matzo clusters (which look like our clusters, but also include toffee and other tasty ingredients), the memories […]
