How Denise of Castronovo became a bean to bar chocolate maker Growing up Denise of Castronovo acquired a taste for fine chocolate from Switzerland. Her aunt would send her Swiss chocolates that weren’t available at that time in the United States. She never imagined becoming a chocolate maker; sh... View Post

An Insider's Look into Colombian Chocolate Driving through the farmlands of Cordoba in Colombia, the car I’m in slows down to avoid the bumps and holes along the narrow road. As I look towards the tall plantain and yucca trees, I am able to catch a glimpse of one fruit that rarely leaves the coun... View Post

How to Master the Art of Tasting Chocolate Despite the strong urge to devour all the chocolate in my sight, it turns out that’s not the best way to eat it. In the same way that it’s fun and rewarding (until the next morning) to drink a bottle of wine that you love, there are more interesting ... View Post

The Sweet Couple Behind French Broad Chocolates Their sweet journey started after a trip to Costa Rica - they dropped out of graduate school, left their Midwestern life and packed their lives into a 40-foot vegetable oil-powered school bus (converted by Dan), and drove south to Costa Rica. They... View Post

Reasons To Not Give Up Chocolate This Lent I’m always looking for a reason to scoff chocolate. Normally my reasoning is, it’s there. Which is good enough for me, but not for the friend who’s suddenly missing a candy bar. Luckily, there are actually lots of health benefits to eating dark chocol... View Post

The Big Story Behind A Small Bean, Cacao Bean Do you know where your chocolate comes from?!?! It might be easy to find out where it was manufactured from the wrapper but it’s unlikely to tell you where its ingredients are sourced. As a follower of Cococlectic you no doubt take an interest in t... View Post