“How do we keep bringing change to this supply chain, and keep introducing new ways of doing things, so we don’t fall into the trap of ‘business as usual’?” -Sunita De Tourreil, Founder of The Chocolate Garage Sunita De Tourreil has spend the last decade-and-a-half advocating on behalf of chocolate makers. In her craft chocolate …

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, …

“I do wish more people had an appreciation for what an incredible labor of love goes into craft chocolate, and how this is not an industry for people who want to get rich.” -Matt Caputo, CEO of Caputo’s Market & Deli Matt Caputo is a well-known name in the world of chocolate, having started the …

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 …

“There’s too much power in the chocolate makers’ hands as opposed to cacao producers’ hands…. for the industry to be truly long-term sustainable, that power dynamic has to shift.” -Greg D’Alesandre, Dandelion Chocolate Greg D’Alesandre is almost beyond description. Since 2012 he’s been a part of the Dandelion Chocolate team, building up a sustainable and …

You probably found this while looking for Hawaiian chocolate shops, and maybe even Honolulu chocolate shops in particular. But did you know that Hawaii is the only state in the US which can actually grow chocolate? The chocolate tree is called Theobroma cacao, and these cacao trees grow quite happily in the tropical clime of …

Have you ever thought about where vanilla comes from? The plant, Vanilla planifola, is native to Mexico, but now grows on a vine in tropical locations around the world. The largest growing regions at the moment are in Madagascar and Indonesia.And like the chocolate tree, vanilla comes from a fermented fruit grown from one of …

Have you ever wanted to visit a chocolate farm, and try a fresh chocolate fruit straight off the tree? Of course you have! For those of you not in-the-know, the chocolate tree is called Theobroma cacao, and it grows within 25 degrees of the equator, putting Hawaii right at the edge of its growing region. …

“There’s growing and then there’s making, right, and both are distinct arts. So what is Hawaiian chocolate? Is it only that it’s grown here? What if it’s shipped to Switzerland— does it then become Swiss chocolate because it’s made there?” -Tammie Butterbaugh, Manoa Chocolate Hawai’i has made both their pineapples & their macadamia nuts world …

Paradise. This is most people’s understanding of Hawaii. There are palm trees swaying in the wind, a gentle surf, and pineapples. Sometimes we imagine macadamia nuts and hula dancers, but overall it’s more tropical beach than rain forest. But such images just scratch the surface of Hawaiian potential, and all the many unique things to …