E033 – Using Data to Make Perfect Chocolate – Part 1

In the first part of this two-part episode, we do a data deep dive into a decadent vat of chocolate. We talk about history and how to make chocolate. In part two, we will talk about various stats and data with Brian Mikiten, former process engineer and founder of Casa Chocolates in San Antonio, TX. History of chocolate Evidence dates back as early as 1500 BC Fermented beverages date back to 350BC Believed to have originated with Mesoamericans Made its way to Europe where sugar was added in 16th century In 1828, Dutch chemist Coenraad Johannes van Houten used alkaline salts to process into “Dutch cocoa” 1847 – J.S. Fry and Sons created the first chocolate bar 1876 – Swiss chocolatier Daniel Peter added milk powder to create milk chocolate 2/3 of cocoa today is produced in Western Africa Fair trade chocolate certifies that chocolate is not gathered with child or slave labor Overview of chocolate making Harvesting – pods contain ~40 cacao beans Photo via TripAdvisor.com Roasting Cracking Winnowing Grinding Conching Tempering Molding Music: Deep Sky Blue by Graphiqs Groove via FreeMusicArchive.org Sources https://www.casachocolates.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_chocolate https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/05/c1/5e/bf/green-acres-chocolate.jpg https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-americas/history-of-chocolate http://www.bean-to-bar.co.uk/Category/HowtoMakeyourOwnChocolate/3823 – How to make chocolate http://dallaschocolate.org/ – Dallas Chocolate Festival http://chocolatealchemy.com/ – overviews, tips, recipes, equipment info http://www.chocolatenoise.com/chocolate-today/2017/9/19/my-top-50-bean-to-bar-chocolate-makers-in-the-united-states – List of many bean-to-bar chocolate makers https://www.amazon.com/SS-Premier-PG-506-Chocolate/dp/B016E1NUZA – Premier Choclate Refiner (Melanger) https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/1000-bean-to-bar-chocolate-trivia-everyone-with-a-sweet-tooth-should-know – Bean-to-Bar overview https://www.statista.com/chart/3668/the-worlds-biggest-chocolate-consumers/ https://brandongaille.com/26-incredible-chocolate-consumption-statistics/ https://www.icco.org/about-cocoa/chocolate-industry.html https://www.icco.org/statistics/cocoa-prices/monthly-averages.html?currency=usd&startmonth=01&startyear=2012&endmonth=12&endyear=2018&show=graph&option=com_statistics&view=statistics&Itemid=114&mode=custom&type=1 https://www.candyindustry.com/blogs/14-candy-industry-blog/post/88254-celebrating-country-and-chocolate https://blog.euromonitor.com/2018/07/global-chocolate-industry.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_chocolate http://www.sccij.jp/news/overview/detail/article/2018/01/19/nestle-japan-launches-first-ruby-chocolate-product/ https://www.bakemag.com/articles/8656-ruby-chocolate-honored-with-innovation-award-at-sweets-snacks-expo