Learn About Chocolate

​The Northwest Chocolate Festival Award winners were just announced a couple weeks ago, so it seemed like the perfect time to post about my experience there. While I didn’t play …

When left in less-than-ideal conditions, chocolate bloom can develop and be mistaken for mold. Chocolate can’t grow mold because it’s anhydrous, and can’t hold water, but it can spoil. The …

Chocolate has been around for thousands of years in one form or another. Yet it’s only been in the last 100 or so years that it’s become a global powerhouse, …

Java chips are a chocolatey topping that make drinks and confections both richer & tastier. They’ve become synonymous with Starbucks’ Java Chip Frappuccino®, because most people who order one say …

Countless media portray chocolate as the gift of choice between lovers, friends, and family. Gifting chocolate is widely considered a symbol of love, but we never really discuss why. The …

Cacao and coffee ‘beans’ are some of the most widely consumed crops around the globe. They share a similar history, qualities, and utility, while still retaining their distinct differences. When …

Fair trade as a movement has a long history, and it didn’t actually start with Fair Trade cocoa or any other food product. In fact, it started with the roots of …

Chocolate is an incredibly popular treat that can be consumed anytime, anywhere, and melts close to body temperature. Its popularity and sensitivity to temperature inevitably lead to accidents— and unfortunately, …

Back in 2014, before starting my chocolate blog, I wrote a long paper on the pros and cons of Fair Trade chocolate. There were several points on either side, and …

Caffeinated drinks are a part of most people’s daily routines. But we don’t often consider the caffeine content in chocolate when reaching for something to wake us right up. This …