Day 2
Today was Friday, the second day of the Northwest Chocolate Festival and UnConference. The first thing I did was notice Snooky on the railing overlooking the elevator. We had another nice chat, and I learned that he had, in fact, designed the Dandelion factory. Read about my tour of the factory in one of my previous posts.
When everyone was there, we all did some more of those group discussion prompts, and then there was a Chocolate Triangulation Taste Activity. This time, instead of rating the bitterness and sweetness, we rated the acidity and astringency of the chocolate samples. Astringency is a quality where it feels like your mouth is drying up because of the bitterness or acidity, sometimes combined into one dominant flavor.
The first seminar of the day was Chocolate Evaluation Methods from the International Cacao and Chocolate Institute, spoken by a woman by the name of Maricel Presilla. The international Cacao and Chocolate Institue is a very prestigious organization, and this lady was one of the founders, so naturally it was a very enlightening speech. She demonstrated how you can tell if a chocolate can be defined as "fine" chocolate, how if a chocolate is fermented by just a couple hours over it completely ruins the texture, the dangers of over roasting, and so, so much more.
The next seminar was after lunch, and it was a Panel Discussion: Building an Ethical Artisan Food Business. Speakers are Jean Thompson, Autumn Martin, Sarah Weiner, and Kim Wilson, the moderator. This one was interesting, they all had their individual sections about their business, how they got started, and how they laid out all the groundwork for this whole process. There were a lot of questions at the end.
Ending out the day was another Chocolate Triangulation Taste Activity. We met Snooky again and this time, the dominant flavor was clear. We still took several pieces.
We had an absolutely delightful dinner at a Spanish restaurant, and we closed out the day by singing "Happy Birthday" to my younger sister, Opal via FaceTime.
Day 3
Today was day three, my final day of the Northwest Chocolate Festival/UnConference. Today was the start of the retail show, which meant that the convention center was going to be filled with fine chocolatiers from top to bottom. This was also going to be my first test in retail, because I was going to be helping out in a booth that sold equipment. The company's name was Cocoatown, and run by a fine fellow by the name of Balu.
So, for the first three hours, I demonstrated how the cracking/winnowing machine worked, then showed the crowd how important the melanger was for making the chocolate, refining it, which gives it that silky smooth feel in your mouth, and also conches, which is the process of eliminating unwanted flavors from the chocolate mixture. I also let them taste the un-conched nib and letting them notice how the chocolate tastes something like chocolate, but still is very bitter.
There happened to be a Dandelion Chocolate booth, and manning it was none other than my good friend Nate. They had a melanger running, just like at the factory, and the chocolate inside was already well on its way to becoming ready for tempering.
After I finished working the stand, I walked around for some time. and saw just how many chocolatiers there were. Coincidentally, one of them was called Wildwood Chocolate, so that was a nice surprise. As I walked around, I happened to find a brand of Taiwanese chocolate, and later, after buying the bars, I learned that they were one of the finest chocolatiers in the world. I also found a brand of Indian chocolate, and I got a couple of those too. Then I saw a Boba Tea bar, and I knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime. Boba and chocolate! Who can say no to that combination? Certainly not my sister. Then the next stop was to find a Passion Fruit bar for my brother, and then a Couple bars for the whole family. We stopped by Meridian Cacao, which is a bean distributor. From there, I got a bag of cacao pulp, which is this fruity, lychee-like substance that is found covering cacao beans inside of the pod. After we left, we were walking back to our hotel, when we were greeted by none other than Snooky. We walked back to the hotel together, and Snooky looked at my massive inventory of chocolate. Snooky and I went to lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant cleverly named Fuh-ever, and after we ate our fill, we parted ways, and so ended the Northwest Chocolate Festival and UnConference.
This is me and Balu at the Cocoatown booth. I helped him set it up before the doors opened. We are standing in front of the melanger in this picture, and off to the right side is the cracker/winnower.
This is me demonstrating how the melanger plays a crucial role in the making of the chocolate. I had no idea that I would attract such a crowd, but I guess people like seeing eleven-year-olds work heavy machinery.
Here we see me and Nate at the Dandelion booth. I am holding two bars. The melanger in between us is the one that actually has chocolate in it. The other one, on the far right, has nothing in it. Nate was the one who took me through the full, unabridged tour of the Dandelion factory in San Francisco.
This is me and Jenny, the founder of Conexion, a bean-to-bar chocolate company. Jenny was one of the speakers in the panel discussion yesterday, and she talked about all the challenges she faced on her way to becoming a successful chocolate maker, and how she overcame them.
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