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How Do You Define Raw Chocolate?
I get lots of requests for raw cocoa beans or products, see lots of raw claims, and continue to wonder what the *&@* raw is…you probably do too. I’ve read that foods remain raw if the food has not been heated over 118°F, or 114°F. Supposedly this protects any naturally occurring enzymes as well as [...]
Read MoreHow Cocoa Beans Are Made Into Chocolate
The journey the cacao bean makes, from the tree all the way to the chocolate bar on the store shelf, is a long one. But you'll have a basic understanding of what happens after you've read this post. To make chocolate, you need cacao beans, sugar, and the right equipment.Cacao beans are first harvest from [...]
Read MoreWhat is Raw Chocolate?
Raw food products have gained a popular following among consumers and the market for raw products seems to be expanding. But there is very little clarity or definition in what is considered raw, and that goes for chocolate too. Raw really has not been defined clearly, there is no officially recognized industry organization putting a [...]
Read MoreWhat Are Cacao Nibs?
Most people know what chocolate is-at least they know what chocolate tastes like, that it usually comes in a bar, and is considered a sweet treat in most cases. Chocolate is usually consumed by itself or in a dessert combined with ingredients to make cakes, cookies, brownies, or even some fruit desserts. Chocolate is also [...]
Read MoreHow to Hold a Chocolate Tasting Party
After spending seven years in Ecuador making chocolate, exporting chocolate, teaching about chocolate, leading chocolate tours to cocoa plantations and factories for consumers and industry professionals, I want to share some of that knowledge with you. Living in Ecuador was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work, but I was happy to [...]
Read MoreWhere do Cacao Trees Grow?
Where do cacao trees grow? Cacao, also known as Theobroma Cacao, is a tropical plant. The growing area for cacao ranges from approximately 10° north to 10° south of the Equator. Most cacao is grown in Africa but cacao is now also cultivated in a tropical belt worldwide. The Ivory Coast and Ghana are the [...]
Read MoreCacao and San Marzano Tomatoes
Say you have a fine flavor, single origin cacao which is as highly recognized as San Marzano tomatoes. The Chuao bean from Venezuela immediately comes to mind.San Marzano tomatoes have a protected denomination or origin (Denominazione Origine Protetta in Italian) - cacao does not. Stringent crtieria are enforced by the government to maintain the integrity [...]
Read MoreWhat is Direct Trade?
Many artisan chocolatiers, and even some larger chocolate companies, claim they operate on a "direct trade" model. Direct Trade is a term coined in the last 5 to 10 years, first by the coffee industry, and now used widely in both the coffee and cacao business. To date, there is no certifying body or organization [...]
Read MoreFAQ-Can I Grow A Cacao Tree From Your Beans?
Please watch this short video on why you can't grow a cacao tree from cocoa beans.
Read More5 Great Uses For Cocoa Pods
Our cocoa pods are great decorative items for home or store. Our whole pods are our most popular item but empty pods have a huge number of uses. You can do a whole lot more with them than just put them out on display or sell them to customers. Here are a five great ways [...]
Read MoreRecent Posts
- Check out our Interview with Millcreek Cacao Roasters!
- Chocolate Maker's Series-Part V Roasting
- Learn About Creo Chocolate and Sign Up To Win 3 Free Creo Bars, and Cocoa Pods and Nibs!
- Chocolate Education for One Hundred Third Graders at a time!
- Check Us Out At The National Museum of the American Indian