The Chocolate Bros

Hello and good day! Here is part 2 of our series going through the entire chocolate making process in extreme detail. If you are interested in knowing pretty much everything there is to know about how chocolate is made from beginning to end, these podcasts are for you. As an added bonus, we discuss our favorite ways to use cacao nibs. Brian loves to coat them in agave or maple syrup and roast them...

If you want to geek out on chocolate and food, this is the episode for you.  We go deep on the entire chocolate making process.  We go so deep that we only get through the first step on this episode.  Although, in fairness to us, we did spend the first half of the episode discussing the humanitarian crisis in Peru caused by millions of refugees flooding in from Venezuela.  On t...

What We Like In Food And Life - With Special Guest David Anijo

Over the last 13 years, we have been through a lot of ups and downs in the chocolate business.  My brother had to say goodbye to his family and go work in the jungle hundreds of times.  My wife got food poisoning and broke out in terrible hives with no access to medical care.  We've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in to cacao harvest only to have customers tell us it was a...

In our latest episode, we discuss the preparations we're making to open up our first retail chocolate shop....in the middle of a pandemic.  Enjoy!

Hello and good day! On our latest episode of the Chocolate Bros podcast, we go deep on the entire chocolate supply chain. If geeking out on the origins of chocolate and everything that has to happen for chocolate to become a reality is of interest to you, this episode is for you! We also indulge in quite a bit of silly brother humor.  Give it a listen and enjoy!

Hello and good day! On our latest episode of the Chocolate Bros podcast, we go deep on the entire chocolate supply chain. We go so deep that a one hour show didn't even get us half way through the process. We will finish describing the process on our next installment. If geeking out on the origins of chocolate and everything that has to happen for chocolate to become a reality is of interest to yo...

On today's episode, we have a special guest, our friend, customer, and business partner David Anijo.  After 9/11, David joined the army as a 40 year old man to serve Iraq. He put up with the 18 and 19 year old "young gazelles" calling him pops and Shrek and he even powered through a broken ankle to complete basic training.  Unfortunately, while on tour in Iraq, David suffered a life alte...

On this episode of the chocolate bros podcast, we go deep on why we love chocolate and we remember some special chocolate experiences from over a decade in the business.  As always, we look at this topic from a non-fancy, everyman's point of view. And as always, we focus on deliciousness. Enjoy!

In our latest episode of the chocolate bros podcast, we discuss 6 things we like and dislike about Peru and the good old US of A.  This episode is funny, thought provoking and scintillating as always! Enjoy!

In this episode, we talk about the future of our business and discuss an audacious plan to connect our customers more directly with the cacao farmers who make our chocolate possible.  Enjoy!

On our latest episode of the Chocolate Bros podcast, we get into what Peruvian cacao farmers do for fun. It is a very interesting look at a different culture. While there are differences between what a typical American and a Peruvian cacao farmer do for fun, I think you will find that people in different parts of the world are more alike than different. In fact, that has been one of our major take...

Back in the day we got an email from a well known chocolatier in SF who we had sent a sample too. He wrote something like this: "Your chocolate is near perfection. It is flavor profile is divine. The texture is second to none. The formulation makes it easy to work with. Your commitment to direct trade is heroic. In short, your chocolate is the embodiment of everything fine chocolate should be. I r...

On this episode, we continue our discussion of what it is like to break bread with cacao farmers in their family houses.  We go into detail about the experience of shooting an episode of Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain.  Lastly, Brian comes up with an idea to have our customers send gifts for cacao farmers with him on his next trip to Peru. Enjoy!

In this episode of The Chocolate Bros podcast we discuss working on the Good & Evil chocolate bar with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert.  We talk about making chancaca from boiled sugar cane. And we have a thrilling discussion about what its like to get sick in the Peruvian jungle.  Enjoy!

In this episode of The Chocolate Bros podcast, we continue discussing what it is like to take visitors from the US and Europe out to the Peruvian jungle to meet cacao farmers.  We talk about about the our experiences with the national dish of Peru, Guinea pig. Brian also proudly announces that he is the most humble man in the world.  Lastly, we delve into what there is no such thing as "...

Take a trip to Peru without getting on a plane.  In this episode we describe the trip from the airport in Lima all the way out to the Peruvian jungle.  This is the first episode in a series of episodes talking about taking travelers from all over the world to meet cacao farmers.  Enjoy! Adam

After many years of struggling in the chocolate business, we finally found something that worked.  Over the course of several years, we ended up selling chocolate in 30 countries! In this episode my brother Brian also gives me the business, referring to me as a meathead, a fancy pants, and also critiquing my pronunciation of several words. Thankfully I am not easily offended by such pettiness...

In our latest episode of The Chocolate Bros podcast, me and Brian talk about facing ice cold rejection from the chocolate world when we first launched our business. This is something that keeps most new business from making it. Give it a listen!

In this episode we talk about a huge rice husk fire.  We explain why chocolate is so much harder to bring into existence than coffee.  And for all of you fermentation enthusiasts out there, we go deep on fermenting cacao.  Also, we talk about opening the mail with a machete.  Enjoy!

On this episode we talk about the creepy and crawly critters that live out in the Peruvian jungle.  We talk about what its like visiting 60 cacao farms in a day.  And finally we get into discussing the 50 foot tall rice husking mountain that caught fire behind our 3rd facility.  Enjoy!

On this episode we talk about the difference between American dogs and Peruvian dogs...spoiler alert, Peruvian dogs are way more wild and aggressive.  We also do a deep dive on cacao fermentation and processing.  As per usual, we discuss how much hard work is required to bring chocolate into the world.  This is a funny and interesting episode.  Give it a listen!

In this episode of the Chocolate Bros podcast, we get into why we decided to move our to a whole different city in the jungle for our third processing facility.  We hear about Brian's run in with local hoodlums, the local mafia, and how he went into the heart of gangland to stop the assaults.  Our third facility was built in the city of Huarango, in the district of Haurango, in the provi...

Back in the day when my brother built our first cacao processing facility in Peru, we had no idea what we were doing. And I mean no idea whatsoever. It was so long that I had forgotten about some pretty interesting stories from those times. Our first facility was built on the site of a government germplasm bank. Our second facility was built in an abandoned parking lot. Next to the abandoned parki...

On this episode we explain why being environmentalists is important to our business and why it also fits in well with a capitalist point of view.  We also talk about a long running beef that Brian had with a turkey who belonged to an upstairs neighbor.  Adam talks about the time he refused to pee on his wife's arm even though a man in the jungle said he should.  Finally, we work on...