Interview

“The vast majority of the farming community still doesn’t know that they are actually working against nature… Everything is the latest generation of chemicals.” -Harish Manoj Kumar, Co-founder of Soklet Chocolate & Regal Plantations Not only is India one of the world’s largest economies, but the country has a huge range of micro-climates, even within …

“We have this motto… never ask your customer what they want, because they of course have no idea what they want. A customer, a consumer, a person on the street can only tell you what they already know.” -Julia Zotter, Creative Director at Zotter Chocolate Since 1995, Zotter Chocolate has been creating confections in southeastern …

“Having a business is like having children; it doesn’t really make sense money-wise, and it’s the same with a small business.” -Barbara Wilson, Co-Founder of Mindo Chocolate Makers While Covid-19 has ravaged populations around the world, it’s also nearly halted the global economy. Almost every industry around the world is heavily affected, most often in …

“Against all odds, you know, these growers who were at one time among thousands— and now we’re down to really a handful of growers— the best plots are the ones that have survived… the ones… that have remained really are the ones that are worth keeping.” -Ning-Geng Ong, Founder of Chocolate Concierge For over a …

“I was the first person that came to East Timor and asked about East Timor cacao… one of the guys there had somehow gotten a hold of some information on how to ferment and dry, so he had done just a little bit with a few trees, and they sold me those first tries.” Mikaël …

“When we first started trying to purchase beans, when we called up the bean broker… we said, you know, we just want to buy one bag, two bags [of cocoa beans], and they kinda laughed and said ‘no one ever orders two bags of cocoa… I only have 11 customers. There’s only 11 companies in …

It’s the 1950’s; your country is poor and in the throes of recovery from WWII— but in the south, there’s the promise of land. The Japanese occupied the Philippines for 3 years, and after they were forced out, the country was devastated. Many Filipinos chose agriculture as a way out of poverty, and the country …

“I think even if the [cacao] beans are all the same, but the makers are different, the outcome is very different.” -Emily Paek, Founder of Public Chocolatory Emily Paek was one of the first craft chocolate makers in Korea, and quite frankly, it’s been a long road to journey down. Over the last few years …

“Craft chocolate is still such a small industry that it’s very rare that one, or even five craft chocolate makers would be able to purchase the entire harvest of one origin… they need the stability of a buyer who can bring on the cacao from the harvest as it’s coming out, as it’s ready to …

“Every farmer that we started with [in 2011], we are still working with.” -Vincent Mourou, Marou Chocolate Vincent Mourou is widely recognized as one of the first craft chocolate makers in Asia. He’s one of the co-founders of Marou Chocolate, a value-added chocolate factory established in 2011 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The company …