In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, we spend about 5 minutes with Natalie Suwanprakorn of Xoconat in Bangkok, Thailand. Nat makes her Up in Smoke bar by smoking cacao nibs over a Thai aromatic candle often used for Thai desserts. It’s a wonderfully evocative bar, and your reaction to it will largely depend on whether or not you have a cultural familiarity with the smoke of this candle. I didn’t, and it brought to mind bibliosmia, the smell of old books - quite a comforting and intriguing quality for this book lover. Listen in as Nat shares the story of this bar, how it was made, and its significance for her as a Thai chocolate maker.

Shay Pal is a chocolate, spirits, and coffee enthusiast from Chicago and runs the @choccoffeewine Instagram account. In this Bean to Barstool Bite Sized conversation, we discuss Crow & Moss Vanilla Smoke, a 69% dark chocolate made with hickory smoked cacao, and Shay makes spirits pairings for this unusual bar.

Have you ever tasted smoked chocolate? Bean to bar chocolate makers are finding creative ways to infuse cacao with a diverse array of smoke flavors, and we taste several of them in this episode.

Beers and chocolates featuring smoke or spice flavors require graceful dance partners that can both set them free and keep them on beat. Find some great examples in this episode.

Smoke is one of the most evocative aromas in the world. It can be found in abundance in the world of craft beer, and it’s making its way into more and more bean to bar chocolate as well.