Chocolate Chocolate shop was voted Washington, DC's best chocolate shop.
Chocolate is sweet success for sisters Frances and Ginger Park, Korean Americans who opened Washington's first gourmet chocolate more than 25 years ago. quarter century ago. In addition to running their Washington DC Chocolate shop, the Park sister have published award winning books. The books embrace their family's roots and the American Dream.
Chocolate Chocolate shop website:
ChocolateDC.com
Francis and Ginger Park author website:
Parksisters.com
Chocolate Chocolate Shop Washington D.C. - ad free VOA Video
Chocolate Chocolate
1130 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036| 202-466-2190 |
Showing posts with label Chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chocolate. Show all posts
2011-02-12
Chocolate's Genetic Code Unraveled
Scientists Unravel Chocolate's Genetic Code
Small farmers expected to benefit from better cacao trees
Scientists have unraveled the genetic code of chocolate, which could lead to an improved yield for farmers worldwide whose livelihoods depend on seeds from the cacao tree.Chocolate lovers around the world take note: two separate groups of scientists have unraveled the genetic code of your favorite sweet.
It's good news for the millions of small farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America whose livelihoods depend on the seeds of the cacao tree.
Candy is serious business. The world's top-10 confectioners sold more than $40 billion of it in 2005.
But many of the more than five million farmers worldwide who produce cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, are living in poverty.
Yield gap
One reason for that is that their farms are not very productive, according to Howard-Yana Shapiro, head of plant research for the US-based candy giant, Mars Inc. Shapiro says the average West African cacao tree farmer produces only about 400 kilograms of cocoa beans per hectare.
Each year farmers lose about a third of their harvest to pests and fungal diseases. The genome data is expected to help relieve the problem.To reduce that disparity, Mars helped fund a project to sequence the genome of the cacao tree. The Mars project sequenced the most common variety. French researchers led a separate effort focusing on the high-quality Criollo variety.
Cocoa disease
Genome data is expected to help with some of the most common problems facing cacao growers. Each year farmers lose about a third of their harvest to pests and fungal diseases, says Bill Guyton, president of the World Cocoa Foundation, an industry-sponsored group promoting sustainable cocoa farming.
"This type of program we feel is going to be very beneficial in helping to breed trees that are more tolerant or resistant against some of the fungal pests," he says. And with better productivity, he adds, farmers can earn more money and improve their social conditions.
Many of the five million farmers worldwide who produce cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, are living in poverty."We want to be in business sustainably in the future. We want to have certified cocoa that is sustainably grown. We want the farmers to have a sustainable life. We don't want them to all have to move to the city."
The genome data will be publically available without restrictions or patents. Shapiro expects improved cacao trees to start reaching farmers in about three years.
Scientists Unravel Chocolate's Genetic Code
September 22, 2010
Article from VOA
2011-01-04
Tcho Chocolate - premium dark chocolates
New US Chocolate Maker Trying to Break Into World Market
Photo: VOA
A worker makes final preparations before a square of Tcho chocolates are separated and wrapped, Dec 2011
While many American industries took a hit during the economic recession, one seemed to thrive. According to the National Confectioners Association, the U.S. chocolate industry in 2009 scored a record $16.9 billion in sales. One new American company is trying to break into the lucrative market, but for the California-based connoisseurs, the gold is in the flavor.
Located on the eastern waterfront of San Francisco's embarcadero, Tcho Chocolate is as traditional as it is cutting edge. As the only chocolate manufacturer in the city, Tcho's premium dark chocolates are carefully crafted at the 2,800-square-meter factory - from selecting the right beans, to labeling and packaging.
The emphasis is on flavor, with categories like "nutty" and "fruity" aimed at helping consumers rethink the way chocolate can be experienced. Louis Rossetto is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer of Tcho. His partner, Jane Metcalfe is the company's president. He said, "The world doesn't need another chocolate company per se, but it needs people who are trying to innovate, to try to make things better."
While Tcho only started selling chocolate in the United States in 2009, it is already expanding its global reach. The company's chocolate is now available in select stores through Britain, Ireland, and most recently, Japan.
"We aspire to considering the entire world …a potential market for Tcho," said Metcalfe. With global demand for chocolate on the rise, Metcalfe said there are big opportunities in emerging chocolate-consuming markets like India and China.
For Tcho, premium chocolate starts with the coco bean. "Like wine, chocolate expresses the flavor of the fruit that's being used to make the final product," said Rossetto.
To get those distinct flavors, Tcho employees scour the world in search of the top three percent to five percent of premium cocoa beans, importing them from Peru, Ecuador, Madagascar, and Ghana.
Then, through countless laboratory tests, chocolate makers analyze different variations of beans, fermentation and roasting. Creating one chocolate bar that meets the desired flavor criteria can take as many as 300 to 400 tests.
Brad Kintzer is Tcho's chief chocolate maker. He said there are as many as 900 flavor compounds in a single piece of chocolate. "That's something that … inspires us here, is to try to bring that diversity and that complexity and that excitement to the consumer."
With capacity to produce millions of bars of chocolate a year, the factory is traditional in its setup, but also full of technological innovations, a reflection of Rossetto and Metcalfe's background as founders of the tech-centric magazine, Wired.
For example, an i-Phone application allows Tcho workers to monitor factory controls, from heating temperatures to light switches.
The use of "virtual factory visualization" is in the works and will allow for direct oversight of the factory and employees.
Technology and the Internet also are utilized to engage cocoa farmers, many of whom have never even tasted the final product. The idea is to provide farmers with training, so they, in turn, will be able to produce premium, higher value beans.
And while the cost may be higher, Metcalfe said consumers are willing to pay. "It comes from a genuine desire on the part of developed countries to pay a fair price, and to enable people to have the fruits of their labor get them out of poverty."
"Our intention isn't to put a particular price on what we do, it's to make something that delights consumers, and then price it fairly," said Rosetto.
So far that philosophy seems to be working.
"Our sales are growing at a very rapid pace, especially considering the current economy," said Rob Kopf, director of sales at Tcho, noting that it typically takes between two and three years to break even in a market as crowded as the one for chocolate.
"We're not looking to necessarily take over the chocolate universe, but at the same extent we don't want to stay as a tiny little local player," said Kopf.
So far, Tcho has West Coast distribution networks covered and is working to secure distribution throughout other major metropolitan areas.
With its new-age 21st-century look and ethical sourcing concerns, Tcho seems equipped to provide for the rising number of eco-conscious consumers. But when it comes to selling a product, how much success depends on the branding?
"If it doesn't give you that sort of, 'Oh my God that's so good, you've got to try this!' you know then, then all the branding money and the packaging in the world isn't going to help sell your chocolate, in the end it is about the chocolate, it is about what it tastes like," said Metcalfe.
And while some argue that American chocolate can not stand up to the global competition, Rossetto recalls how American wine surprised skeptics, and said American chocolate can do the same.
"Today, American chocolate can stand up to any in the world and be among the very best," said Rosetto.
For the 30 employees at Tcho, being obsessed with chocolate is just part of the job.
For Metcalfe and Rossetto it is a way to interact directly with customers and farmers and with the world - making a positive impact that leaves a sweet taste.
While Tcho only started selling chocolate in the United States in 2009, it is already expanding its global reach. The company's chocolate is now available in select stores through Britain, Ireland, and most recently, Japan.
"We aspire to considering the entire world …a potential market for Tcho," said Metcalfe. With global demand for chocolate on the rise, Metcalfe said there are big opportunities in emerging chocolate-consuming markets like India and China.
For Tcho, premium chocolate starts with the coco bean. "Like wine, chocolate expresses the flavor of the fruit that's being used to make the final product," said Rossetto.
To get those distinct flavors, Tcho employees scour the world in search of the top three percent to five percent of premium cocoa beans, importing them from Peru, Ecuador, Madagascar, and Ghana.
Then, through countless laboratory tests, chocolate makers analyze different variations of beans, fermentation and roasting. Creating one chocolate bar that meets the desired flavor criteria can take as many as 300 to 400 tests.
Brad Kintzer is Tcho's chief chocolate maker. He said there are as many as 900 flavor compounds in a single piece of chocolate. "That's something that … inspires us here, is to try to bring that diversity and that complexity and that excitement to the consumer."
With capacity to produce millions of bars of chocolate a year, the factory is traditional in its setup, but also full of technological innovations, a reflection of Rossetto and Metcalfe's background as founders of the tech-centric magazine, Wired.
For example, an i-Phone application allows Tcho workers to monitor factory controls, from heating temperatures to light switches.
The use of "virtual factory visualization" is in the works and will allow for direct oversight of the factory and employees.
Technology and the Internet also are utilized to engage cocoa farmers, many of whom have never even tasted the final product. The idea is to provide farmers with training, so they, in turn, will be able to produce premium, higher value beans.
And while the cost may be higher, Metcalfe said consumers are willing to pay. "It comes from a genuine desire on the part of developed countries to pay a fair price, and to enable people to have the fruits of their labor get them out of poverty."
"Our intention isn't to put a particular price on what we do, it's to make something that delights consumers, and then price it fairly," said Rosetto.
So far that philosophy seems to be working.
"Our sales are growing at a very rapid pace, especially considering the current economy," said Rob Kopf, director of sales at Tcho, noting that it typically takes between two and three years to break even in a market as crowded as the one for chocolate.
"We're not looking to necessarily take over the chocolate universe, but at the same extent we don't want to stay as a tiny little local player," said Kopf.
So far, Tcho has West Coast distribution networks covered and is working to secure distribution throughout other major metropolitan areas.
With its new-age 21st-century look and ethical sourcing concerns, Tcho seems equipped to provide for the rising number of eco-conscious consumers. But when it comes to selling a product, how much success depends on the branding?
"If it doesn't give you that sort of, 'Oh my God that's so good, you've got to try this!' you know then, then all the branding money and the packaging in the world isn't going to help sell your chocolate, in the end it is about the chocolate, it is about what it tastes like," said Metcalfe.
And while some argue that American chocolate can not stand up to the global competition, Rossetto recalls how American wine surprised skeptics, and said American chocolate can do the same.
"Today, American chocolate can stand up to any in the world and be among the very best," said Rosetto.For the 30 employees at Tcho, being obsessed with chocolate is just part of the job.
For Metcalfe and Rossetto it is a way to interact directly with customers and farmers and with the world - making a positive impact that leaves a sweet taste.
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