How are cacao and cocoa different? Which is healthier, cocoa or cacao? Do cocoa and cacao taste the same? As a chocolate writer, I get these questions all the time, and the answer is quite simple: cacao and cocoa are the same word, in different languages. It’s a bit of a debate in the craft …

Do you remember when books were the social media of choice? I don’t. But I’ve heard tales of a time when people used to put photos in albums and just eat the food on their plate instead of taking a picture of it from every angle. It seems that what people love even more than …

Chocolate can taste creamy and sweet and bitter and umami and sour… but is chocolate vegan? The short answer is that it depends; it can be. Many dark chocolates are vegan, and a small but rising number of white and milk chocolates are vegan. There’s currently no vegan ruby chocolate, but I have no doubt …

Trends in Singapore tend to develop and spread rapidly, especially in the food industry. Some past examples include specialty coffee, black sugar, and salted egg everything. Each of these items has had their moment in the spotlight, and most have left a lasting legacy still open for business in one corner or another of the …

In these strange times of quarantine, small chocolate businesses still need our support. So in an effort to make your shopping easier, here are the best places to buy craft chocolate online. We go from the best craft chocolate on Amazon to online craft chocolate retailers (sorted by country). There are even unique gifts for …

Ever since the controversial new ruby chocolate was revealed at a Shanghai trade show in September 2017, the ever-wandering eye of the public has been curious about pink chocolate. China’s not exactly a hub for craft chocolate making (yet). But one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world chose to debut its newest creation …

Growing up in the US, going to Whole Foods was a special occurrence, reserved for birthdays and whenever I convinced my mom we needed fancy hummus. As I grew older and began doing all my own grocery shopping and cooking (fancy hummus occasionally included), I quickly learned that when it comes to health food stores, …

Thailand is hot. Even in the dead of winter, the south is sticky, melty hot. It’s not the kind of hot you normally associate with chocolate, but Thailand has actually been growing cacao— the raw material for chocolate— for over a century. Over the last few years, this fruit has been cropping up across southern …

Almost exactly two years after the company’s release of ruby chocolate, Zurich-based Barry Callebaut has released a new product: WholeFruit Chocolate. Some statistics dropped about the product line include 70%, which is how much of the cacao pod is said to be wasted in the processing of cacao. You may have seen some of the …

Korean chocolate is a topic close to my heart, as I’ve been living in South Korea for the last three years, and watched the local market blossom. However, South Korea is rarely— if ever— associated with great chocolate. It’s not that Korean chocolate has a bad reputation, but rather that it doesn’t have a reputation …