In Part I of my post, I focused on the changes and significant growth in the ranks of craft chocolate makers between 2008 and 2018. Now let me turn to the changes and innovations that have happened in cacao sourcing in the past ten years. When we opened in 2008 the craft chocolate market was […]
Ten years ago on July 2, 2008 at 4:37 pm we opened our doors and made our first sale. What was our first sale? It was an Amedei 63% with Almonds for $12.00. It’s a bar we no longer carry, and its one of the few with a lower price point a decade later. More […]
I sat down to write my reflections on ten years in the chocolate industry with the intention of posting something before I left to speak at the Fine Chocolate Industry Association in New York at the end of June. I started writing and I found that I couldn’t stop. I had so much to say. […]
This week’s customer spotlight is on long-time customer Monali Patel. I first met Monali in 2012 as the store was celebrating its fourth anniversary. She attended Dr. Kristy Leissle’s talk at Chocolopolis on “Fair, Free and Direct Trade” and introduced herself then. A chocolate lover with a passion for supporting mission-driven organizations, Monali received her […]
Where to start? While Samantha had been a customer of ours for a while, I first got to know her when we were running our Kickstarter campaign in 2013. Samantha approached me and told me she wanted to have a vocational vacation where she followed me around for a week to see what it was […]
Jess Tupper is one of our most enthusiastic customers. Her enthusiasm doesn’t stop at chocolate, it extends to all sweets. In fact, she microblogs about desserts for a living. I have to thank my long-time employee, Anna Daniell, for introducing me to Jess Tupper. Jess is a friend of Anna’s from GeekGirlCon, a group where […]
It’s been 10 years since we opened our doors and introduced Seattle to craft chocolate! We’re kicking off our tenth anniversary celebration on July 3 with extended hours from 11:00am to 7:00pm to mark our first full day of business in 2008. I’ll be in residence, ready to reminisce with you and to share some […]
One of the things I love most about my job is sharing chocolate with customers. Whether I’m introducing someone to craft chocolate for the first time, or whether I’m challenged to find something new for a veteran taster, the experience of tasting chocolate together is a wonderful profession. It’s an experience I would like to […]
Valentina Vitols is one of our oldest customers – I don’t mean by age. She started shopping at Chocolopolis when we she moved to Seattle in July of 2008, the same month we opened our doors. She’s been with us ever since. Valentina comes from Venezuela, a country with a proud tradition of growing fine […]
Photo: COCOBOD quality control officer grading cocoa in Ghana; photo by Kristy Leissle By Dr. Kristy Leissle Last week, I wrote about the people and companies that lose out (or have a questionable outcome) when cocoa’s price rises, as it did during the first quarter of 2018. This week, I tackle the question that prompted […]
