Dame Cacao

Pashmina kinda started Bar & Cocoa “by accident,” with co-founder and former co-owner Chris Lacey, back when they were offering craft chocolate subscription boxes under the name “ChocoRush. Fast forward half a decade and a few big moves, and Pashmina is now running one of the world’s largest online craft chocolate retailers, offering nearly 80 makers & 800+ products. * how Pashmina & her co-founder, Chris, got into the chocolate industry… by accident, via ChocoRush * what Bar & Cocoa is doing to add value to shopping for craft chocolate (price & quality + uniqueness) * the evolution of bean to bar over the last half decade, from the perspective of a retailer * which daily processes are needed to keep Bar & Cocoa online, behind the scenes * borrowing ideas from wine to suss out what types of chocolates repeat customers might enjoy * growing segments in the craft chocolate industry (i.e. what sorts of samples to send her!)

In fact, I’d say that despite doubling in size each year due to tourism, most Fijians don’t interact at all with tourists, and continue on their lives in the largely rural nation. This is how Tomo came to learn about cacao in the first place, well over a decade ago, living in the small town of SavuSavu. His brands, Adi Chocolate & Fijiana Cacao, are now consumed by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Note that Fiji & Fijian cacao was the topic of my interview with Tomo, with the end product being the podcast episode on the islands of Fiji.

I hope it’s kind of like a series of Trojan Horses made out of chocolate… introducing the idea, hopefully, of complementary medicine or natural products medicine to many people. Yet that’s exactly what you’ll find in The Secret Life of Chocolate, a definitive book on cacao written by medical herbalist Marcos Patchett. The book’s many chapters read like individual deep dives into the many facets of cacao, as explored through the lens of its medicinal role in cultures through the ages. Note that I received a review copy of Marcos’s book, but that I chose to interview Marcos of my own accord.

This is where you’ll find the farms of Regal Plantations and the tiny chocolate factory of Soklet Chocolate, both of which are operated by brothers-in-law Harish Manoj Kumar & Karthi Palaniswamy. In this interview, Harish & Karthi and I dig into the development of the Indian cacao & craft chocolate scene, as well as sharing the flavors of India and how covid is affecting their community. Note that the general topics of Indian cacao & chocolate were the focus of my interview with Harish & Karthi, with the end product being the podcast episode on Indian Chocolate & Cacao. * how Karthi & Harish got started in the fine chocolate industry, and began their organic cacao farming journey * where cacao grows in India, and what makes Indian cocoa growing difficult * the connection & often competition between cacao and coconut * what makes a good cacao bean from the producer’s perspective