Nick Davis makes bean to bar chocolate at One One Cacao on the northeast coast of Jamaica. The cacao trade on the island has been tainted by a colonial past of slavery and oppression, but is now being reclaimed as farmers and makers take back agency. Nick shares his thoughts on the good and bad of inclusions, the challenges and opportunities in Jamaican cacao and chocolate, the historical and modern impacts of colonialism on both, and how making chocolate has allowed him to reclaim some of his family’s story and power that had been taken by that colonial harm.

In this Bite Sized episode we hear from Arcelia Gallardo from Mission Chocolate in Sao Paulo, Brazil. When Arcelia first moved to Brazil and began making bean to bar chocolate, the quality of the Brazilian cacao that was available at the time was not great, but she was committed to working with it. She decided to set her chocolate apart by using the natural bounty Brazil, employing fruits and nuts that were unique to the new culture she found herself in. Here’s Arcelia to talk about the steps that led to working with ingredient like cupuacu and baru nut.

Today we’re talking with Brad Kintzer, the chocolate maker at TCHO Chocolate in Berkeley, California. In our conversation, we discuss TCHO's corporate ownership, how they source their cacao, nthe flavor labs TCHO has established in many cacao growing regions to work with growers on a mutually-informed flavor lexicon, and TCHO’s relationship to craft beer, both through the cacao nibs they provide to brewers through BSG (Brewers Supply Group), and through direct collaborations with breweries like Fieldwork and Faction. These collabs have resulted in some really unique chocolate beers, and most recently, a beer chocolate bar called Hoppy Hour made with Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook hops.

What what is malt, how is it made, how is it used in brewing, and what flavors and characteristics does it provide for beer? In this bonus episode, we talk all about the basics of malt.

Mushrooms aren't the first ingredient we think of for flavoring beer or chocolate, but many craft brewers and craft chocolate makers are using different species of mushrooms to create unique flavor experiences. In today's episode, we talk all about using mushrooms in beer and chocolate. Guests include Marika Josephson of Scratch Brewing, Sara Ratza of Ratza Chocolate, and mushroom grower Jesse Bussard.

In this Bite Sized episode we hear from AJ Wentworth from Chocolate Conspiracy. AJ loves craft beer almost as much as he loves craft chocolate, and has collaborated with several breweries around the Salt Lake City area on beers and bars that blur the flavors lines between beer and chocolate, including bars made with Uinta Baba Black Lager, Level Crossing Soul Rex Doubla IPA, and Kiitos Coffee Cream Ale. We talk about his development process for those bars and working with the bold flavors of Double IPA.

New Zealand beer and chocolate journalist Luke Owen Smith interviews Phoebe Preuss of Living Koko. They talk about Living Koko's relationship with Samoan cacao farmers and Savai'i Koko. They also discuss Penina, Living Koko's non-alcoholic beer brewed brewed in collaboration with Brewicolo and made with cacao and hopped with Citra, Amarillo, and Ekuanot hops.

Is chocolate really an aphrodisiac? In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized we hear from Michele Hauf, author of Lust and Chocolate, a romance novel themed around craft and bean to bar chocolate. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, spend 5 minutes this morning with Michele as she talks about creating the world of her novel about a plucky food reporter tasked with tracking down and reviewing the world’s most coveted chocolate (and maybe, just maybe, falling in love along the way). She also talks about a thoughtful way in which chocolate really might be an aphrodisiac.

In this bonus episode of Bean to Barstool we talk with Manoa Chocolate founder Dylan Butterbaugh in Kailua, Hawaii, about Manoa’s relationship with rum, whiskey, wine, and beer. Manoa makes popular bars made with both rum and whiskey made locally, and they run a wine bar that offers both casual pairing guidance and structured pairings. They’re even working with a local brewery to make a beer made with cacao and then chocolate made with those nibs.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized we hear from Chris Heier, co-founder and head brewer at Half Hitch Brewing in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada. At the height of the pandemic when most people were learning to make sourdough bread, Chris was learning how to make bean to bar chocolate. He's one-fourth Trinidadian, and he sourced cacao from Trinidad & Tobago through Meridian Cacao and made chocolate from it. He also made a chocolate Porter with the same cacao, and in this quick episode, Chris tells us about developing that beer and what he learned along the way. Nicole is an artist who has created a variety of artwork using cacao and coffee.

In this episode cacao agronomist Sarah Bharath talks about cacao lavado (unfermented cacao), using story to explain complicated systems, and the nature of learning and unlearning.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized we hear from Nicole Hewat, the creative mind behind World Tree Chocolate. Nicole is an artist who has created a variety of artwork using cacao and coffee. She published a children’s book about chocolate illustrated with cacao butter-based paintings on glass, and also sells landscape paintings made with paint made from cacao husks and coffee. Listen in as Nicole explains her process for each.

In this episode we explore one of the most common flavor ingredients in craft chocolate and craft beer: vanilla. We talk with Dr. Alan Chambers, an expert in the science of vanilla, and Sean Buchan, the founder of Cerebral Brewing, who uses single origin vanilla in many of his beers.

Join me for a look back at my favorite beers and chocolates of 2023, as well as picks from other beer and chocolate writers. After you’ve listened to the show, I’d love to hear your own favorites from this bizarre trip around the sun.

Monsoon Chocolate is making bean to bar chocolate in the desert climate of Tucson, Arizona. It’s not a region we might think of as a hotspot for craft chocolate, but as founder Adam Krantz explains, the southwest has a strong historical claim to cacao, and he wanted to honor that heritage while also pushing the boundaries of flavor with unique regional ingredients like chiltepin chilis or mesquite. Listen in as we talk with Adam Krantz of Monsoon Chocolate.

Max Gandy, better known in the craft chocolate world as Dame Cacao, has been a calm and knowledgeable voice within craft chocolate for nearly a decade now. She’s also incredibly well traveled, and has spent time at many cacao origins. In our conversation, we discussed her journey within craft chocolate, the way going to origin can change our perspectives on chocolate, and what has to happen for the general public to come around to craft chocolate. We also spent some time discussing cacao liquors and other alcoholic beverages made by farmers in different regions.

Firetree Chocolate in the UK has been making single origin dark chocolate from primarily Pacific island origins since launching in 2018. Their motto is Rich Volcanic Chocolate, referencing the volcanic soil of the islands where their cacao is grown. David Nilsen sat down recently with Firetree’s chocolate maker Martyn O’Dare to talk about Firetree and making chocolate that respects the nuances of each cacao origin and the farmers who grew it. Listen in as Martyn shares the story of Firetree.

Beer writer Beth Demmon has written a book called The Beer Lover’s Guide to Cider: American Ciders for Craft Beer Fans to Explore. The book explores the potentially overwhelming variety of the modern cider scene through the lens of beer, relating cider varieties to major flavor groupings from craft beer. In this interview, Beth and David Nilsen discuss her book, what cider and beer can learn from each other, and what it’s been like for both of them to explore other artisan industries parallel to our first love, beer. Listen in as we talk with author Beth Demmon.

Fall beer styles like pumpkin ales, Märzen, Festbier, and even fresh hop and wet hop beers can pair great with craft chocolate, and today we’re going to talk about some of my favorites and recommendations to check out. Listen to this bonus episode to learn which bean to bar chocolate bars will work best with each seasonal style.

A photo of a beer in a glass is a moment captured.

Sometimes when I'm photographing beer in a taproom a bystander will sarcastically ask if I'm going to drink it. Yeah, I am. But I'm going to make sure I remember it first, and I’m sharing those memories with you now in this little zine.