In our shop, we carry a wide variety of single-origin 100% cacao bars. Naturally, customers ask us all the time: "What do you actually use this for? Can you eat…
Every once in a while, a customer comes into the store asking for “cacao.” Sometimes, it takes a little conversation to understand exactly what they are looking for. The word…
Much like wine, coffee, or speciality tea, craft chocolate has a story behind it. The cocoa's origin, the farmer's work, fermentation, roasting, and the chocolate maker's choices all influence the…
The world of cacao is vast, diverse, and endlessly fascinating. One of the things we value most is visiting cacao origins, meeting the communities behind the beans, seeing their work…
Before making cacao mass—roasted cacao beans must be cracked and the shells separated from the cacao nibs. This step is called cacao winnowing. The shells can be removed by hand…
Many people assume that if they buy chocolate from a health store, they are automatically choosing a better product. It makes sense. Health stores are built around ideas like organic…
What makes Peru particularly interesting is not a single defining flavour profile, but the range of genetic diversity and production conditions found across its cacao-growing regions. This variability means that…
When people think about chocolate, they often picture a cacao plantation or a chocolate factory. Few imagine monkeys moving through the canopy, birds feeding on fruit, or tiny insects hiding…
Fifteen or twenty years ago, most people did not think much about coffee origins. Coffee was simply “strong” or “mild.” Bitterness was expected. Few people knew where the beans came…
Higher percentage means better chocolate. Does it? I once read someone compare dark chocolate to salmon. You could take a beautiful piece of salmon and cook it in the…
When we talk about pairings with chocolate, coffee is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Stout beers are a personal favourite, and rum is an easy match that…
Most cafés and bakeries serve hot chocolate—but what actually makes a good one? The most common version is made with cocoa powder. This comes from cacao mass after most of…