Episode 61 Overview

There’s an old saying, “You have to think outside the box.” Deepak Chopra famously updated this phrase to, “You have to throw the box away,” suggesting that more is needed. > My corollary to Chopra’s update is, “To be truly innovative, you have to forget what boxes are.” At its core, forgetting what boxes are means regularly re-examining assumptions and being open to changing what you believe because the words you use inform your beliefs, your beliefs inform your actions, and actions have consequences.

For example, many people who call themselves “bean-to-bar” chocolate makers only make bars. This makes sense in this framing. However, changing the framing to, “I make chocolate, what can be made with chocolate?” opens up the possibility of making other things, even if it’s just chocolate bark. ...

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Episode 60 Overview

I try very hard to get my facts right in every post. But recently I was approached by the author of a script for a TedEd video complaining about the tone of voice I used (“snarky”) to refer to what I saw as factual mistakes in a video on the history of chocolate.

A correspondence ensued during which I offered to review the video and submit what I thought the mistakes were. I offered to update the post if I were provided with primary source citations that showed that I was mistaken.

After I started this post and before publishing it I ran into another instance where I relied on my memory – which turned out to be completely wrong ...

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Episode 59 Overview

I have had a week now to review the two interview episodes about craft beer and craft chocolate with David Nilsen of Bean to Barstool – the first on his podcast and the second on #PodSaveChocolate. ...

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Episode 58 Overview

Twice a year, since before I dipped my toe in the waters of my ChocolateLife, the Specialty Food Association has been hosting Fancy Food Shows (FFS) twice a year. The Winter show was traditionally in San Francisco but recently moved to Las Vegas. The Summer show has been in NYC at the Javits Center since my first visit in 2001. ...

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Episode 57 Overview

Anyone who has followed PodSaveChocolate (and TheChocolateLifeLIVE before it), knows that I care a great deal about the words and phrases we use because words inform beliefs, beliefs inform actions, and actions have consequences.

When it comes to communicating the value proposition for specialty chocolate (which I prefer to craft and bean-to-bar) agreeing on what the phrase means, even if it’s just for the sake of conversation, means the people who are party to the conversation aren’t talking past one another. ...

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Episode 56 Overview

World Chocolate Day, first observed in 2009, is an annual celebration of chocolate observed globally on July 7th. The date is thought to mark the anniversary of chocolate's arrival in Europe (in 1550), though the exact historical accuracy of this date is uncertain ...

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Episode 55 Overview

XOCO was founded in 2007, focusing on producing specialty cocoa in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Founder Frank Homann had a unique view of the economics of cocoa production gained from a background in management consulting and wanted to prove his ideas in the field.

I was fortunate to attend a presentation Frank gave at CHOCOA where he presented the thesis and some of the results of XOCO’s work. That presentation is the basis of this episode, which will review and then project Frank’s assessments from a decade ago to the present day_ and into the future ..._

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Episode 54 Overview

AVPA, the Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products, is a non-governmental, non-profit organization, mainly composed of producers and taste enthusiasts. The association’s goal is to enhance the value of agricultural products and to recognize the excellence of certain producers too often forgotten in this era of industrial production and mass marketing.

AVPA currently organizes four competitions for products manufactured in producing countries – Coffees Roasted at Origin, Teas of the World, World Edible Oils, and Chocolates Processed at Origin.

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Episode 53 Overview

It’s hot. Dang, it’s hot ... and many people at this time of year pine longingly to get out of their humdrum day-to-day to spend long leisurely days at a beach working on their tans and consuming media ...

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Episode 52 Overview

It’s hot. It’s hot. And the forecast is for it to get – and stay – hotter.

Large parts of the US are experiencing hotter-than-normal temperatures making shipping chocolate in the summer – always nerve-wracking – more challenging than normal.

With that as the backdrop, I thought it made sense to review the past advice on topics around shipping in general with an emphasis on shipping when the temps soar through the upper 80s (30C+) ...

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