I’ve been getting questions on a daily basis about what is happening in the cocoa market and how I see things so today’s Ask the Alchemist is addressing as many of them as I can with no one guiding question other than What the Actual Fuck?   All markets are built upon the backs of slave labor....until they aren’t   That is one hell of a statement, isn’t it?   Since we are just about to talk about the cocoa market, prices and how we move forward, I think that is a profound comment to set the stage of conversation. Many of you may be unaware but the cocoa industry is going thr ..read more

Level: Novice Read Time: 10 minutes I got some high quality cacao nips from my local store but the chocolate they made was horrible.  How can I make them into good chocolate?  They were certified non-GMO and organic.  Should I roast them again?   There is most likely a disconnect happening here in that if you made horrible chocolate from already roasted beans, it is a high likelihood the beans were not high quality.  For many years, back in the aughts, I didn’t carry any organic beans as they tasted about as good as the paper organic certificate.  Just because s ..read more

  We have a couple new beans, the first One, brand new.    Mexico Camino Cacao - Direct Trade - 2023 It never fails to excite me when I have a new origin to announce.  It is twice the fun when I can't seem to stop eating the chocolate.  Check out the spider chart.  The flavor is as big and full as the chart indicate   Ghana Rain Forest Alliance 2021 This is the epitome of a well rounded chocolate flavor profile and is the chocolate flavor we all grew up with and came to love.  The chocolate is deep and rich like fudge with walnuts.  I also get war ..read more

Level: Novice Read time: 7 minutes "At this point, just make the chocolate as you would any other" isn't recipe directions. Would you call it a recipe for oatmeal cookies if I just listed the ingredients and then wrote, "Just make them like you would any other cookie"? Your "recipe" has only left me with dried nibs. Then what??? This comment came in about my recipe for Ruby Chocolate.  I think it is very worthwhile to point out what I also said in the recipe: This recipe is just a jumping off point.  Feel free to experiment.  The only really thing you need to keep in place is ..read more

The new crop of Ecuador Palo Santo has arrived and it is delightfully lively. What I have found out though is that it does not shine at 80% where we do all our evaluations. I found it a little sharp and unintegrated at that level. In a burst of inspiration, I’ve decided to offer it up as a ready to go chocolate making kit. The details are in the right hand information tab of the product. TLDR is it is a 2 lb 68% kit with roasted nibs that you just have to turn into chocolate with your melanger. In not good news, it looks like Madagascar was a flash in the pan and we are probably not going to h ..read more

I recently purchased a Sylph Winnower and Spectra 11 Melanger from your website, along with raw cacao and other ingredients, moulds, etc. to make bean to bar chocolate. I am using a Behmor roaster to roast, left over from my early coffee roasting days and in good condition (I now roast coffee in a small commercial propane-powered drum roaster). I have also recently purchased a used Champion juicer on eBay and 4 pounds of raw cacao from Sweet Marias. The profile that I am using to roast the cacao is P5 D, which, as you are most likely well aware, is lowest temp, slowest roasting cycle, taking ..read more

"Where is my order? I ordered last Friday!” We got hit with an ice storm over the weekend and are currently closed. We have sheets of ice everywhere and although we are all safe, no one can get out due to hazardous conditions and a good portion of the city is without power. Add to that, USPS, UPS and FedEx are all not picking up either. We are now thawing and hoping to be back processing and packing orders tomorrow but I’m sure it will take us until next week to catch up. Your patience is deeply appreciated. But!!!!! Some of us have not been idle. After 20 years of being in business, I guess ..read more

Level: Novice Read time: 10 minutes I just received my beans and noticed that in the bag containing the Bolivia beans there are some maggots, bugs, spiderwebs, and some beans with small holes in them. I’m still relatively new to chocolate making so this may be a simple question, but is this normal? Can I still use the beans safely, or are they compromised? Honestly, this is one of the more reasoned questions I’ve had about this. Thank you.  I hope to do it justice with a likewise reasoned response. Possible trigger warning I’m not joking around today.  This subject and people’s sen ..read more

These past four years... whoa, right?! Each year I think, "Okay, that was intense," but then the next year rolls around, and it's like, "Hold my cocoa beans!" The ongoing saga since 2020 has been a wild ride, and 2023 is no exception. Despite what some might think, we're not quite back to 'normal' yet. Supply chains are still doing the cha-cha, prices are soaring (the new cocoa market high is up a staggering 75% this year alone) and inflation isn't just knocking – it's barged right in! It’s a lot. And then there's Black Friday/Cyber Monday. It feels like everyone – including their pets, sourdo ..read more

Level: Apprentice Read Time: 5 minutes I’ve been making two ingredient chocolate a couple years now and notice my chocolate is much thicker than the chocolate I get from <censored>. I know my chocolate is superior but I can’t figure out what I can do to make it thinner without adding cocoa butter ruining the purity of my chocolate.   Can you tell me how to make my chocolate like <censored> without adding extra ingredients? Some days I wonder if you folks come up with these questions just to push my buttons and bait me.  I’ll admit, I really considered ranting.  And ..read more