Category: Blog

All chocolate in the world is made through complex steps that start from fresh cocoa seeds, which, if cut open lengthwise, denote unexpectedly romantic hues, ranging from the deepest purple to the palest pink, up to the purest white. How does color change and evolve from purple and pale cocoa seeds to brown chocolate bars? […]

Blogging is so effective that there are over a billion blogs on the web, which equals roughly one blog for every seven people. A curated blog is not only a great marketing tool for personal branding but, unlike social media platforms, the moment someone creates a blog that targets a specific audience, they can continually […]

After four years, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, releases an updated list of Fine or Flavor Cocoa Producing Countries. At the latest meeting of the ICCO Ad Hoc Panel on Fine or Flavor Cocoa held in April 2019, the International Cocoa Council amended Annex C of the International Cocoa Agreement […]

In their 2020 Cocoa Barometer report, the VOICE Network, a coalition of civil society and non-governmental organizations, outlines the systemic asymmetries in the political economy of the commodity market burdening cocoa farmers in West Africa. By analyzing the roots of the imbalances in the chocolate supply chain, the authors offer critical recommendations and strategic remediations […]

As the shelter-at-home COVID-19 situation is significantly affecting the format and essence of social interactions and food consumption, consumers are fostering a practice of exploring exotic flavors to try to escape a prolonged ‘pandemic fatigue.’ The growing yearning for indulgence is pushing more people not only to look for ready-to-buy treats like specialty chocolate, but […]

With more and more vegan alternatives to milk chocolate being launched in 2020, innovations in the craft chocolate industry haven’t been limited to that area only but also opened up to a thoughtful development of fine chocolate products containing high-quality dairy ingredients. A rediscovered appreciation for A2 milk produced by heritage cow breeds expands the […]

With keto-friendly sweeteners and tropical flavors characterizing new fine chocolate products launched during the health- and comfort-seeking craze of 2020, I couldn’t miss trying the novel ‘Squaring the Circle‘ line by Zotter Chocolate. The trendy chocolate range featuring alternative sugars was announced early this fall by the inventive Austrian chocolate maker famous for the prolific […]

Besides nuts, a hot evergreen that pairs well with chocolate and meets the crave of gourmets for familiar but exciting inclusions is coffee.(Not by chance, coffee was formerly reported as a hard-to-die flavor in my article on the most inspiring chocolate trends.) Coffee also has the advantage of sharing a similar chain and origin with […]

You’ve never really tasted American craft chocolate if you’ve never tried Ritual. The patterns of a Ritual bar are such eye candy to give brain tingles. The combined tactile and visual sensation by following the joints from which the outer packaging gets unfolded and the bar extracted from the inner wrapper and held between the […]

If I had to call only one nation representing absolute pride for its cacao producing tradition in the world of fine chocolate, that would undoubtedly be Ecuador. The reason for this ardor is a desire for redemption from the traumatic event of the witches’ broom disease in the 1920s, when most of the original Nacional […]