Chocolate! The NW Chocolate Festival in Seattle, WA

On Sunday, September 29, Renee and I attended the 4th annual Northwest Chocolate Festival.  The event was held at the Washington State Convention Center.   Tickets were sold for each day at $25 in advance or $30 for the day of purchase.  You could also buy tickets for the weekend for $50 in advance or $60 at the door.

It was a great turn out, the audience was overflowing in the all panels that I attended.  Various speakers from local companies gave a 45-60 minute presentation about chocolate and the topics that they were passionate about.  The majority of the speakers gave a quick explanation of how chocolate is created from bean to bar and informed us on current issues regarding cacao in the growth and distribution.  There were three rooms: the Chocolate Keynote Room, the Cacao Learning Room & the Aphrodisiac Room and two stages of panels, which were located on the top floor with all the booths of local and global businesses.

The first panel I went to was "The Dirt in Your Chocolate: How Origin (Terrior) Impact Flavor" presented by Lauren Adler from Chocolopolis in Queen Anne.  I had visited Chocolopolis in the past and I really enjoyed their selections.  These chocolatiers offer chocolates from different countries, which gives profound flavor notes depending on the region, the way the cacao beans are processed and the ingredients that are added to the chocolate.  For example, we got to try sample of chocolate that was from Madagascar and Venezuela.  Madagascar chocolate is known for their red fruit, citrus and tart notes, where as Venezuela chocolate has flavor notes of dark cherries and complex other fruits like plums.

As we sampled these chocolates, she taught us how to taste chocolate by using our senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and texture.  This enhanced my experience at the chocolate festival with these basic yet complex observances.  The next time you try chocolate, let it melt in your mouth.  Trust me, you'll  will gain more satisfaction and pleasure, after all it is an aphrodisiac.

Also, Adler mentioned that there are different types of cacao:

• Criollo (Central/South America & Mexico):  High quality but low production.
• Forastero (Central/ South America & Africa):  The most popular cacao cultivated because it grow fast.
• Trinitario (Central/ South America & Asia):  A crossbreed between Criollo & Froastero.
• Nacional (South America):  High quality smell but hard to grow.
• * USDA Cacao Genome Project (12 varieties so far, ex. Maranon Chocolate & Madecasse Chocolat):  They are using technology and research to further expand the livelihood of cacao from the destruction of humans and nature.  I hope to do more research in the future on this topic.

After that very informative panel, I met up with Renee in the Aphrodisiac Room to listen to "From Directly Sourced Cacao to Chocolate Body Care" by Erin Andrews of Indi Chocolate.  This inspiring woman spoke of her passion for Belize chocolate and how she incorporated it in her all natural body products.  Her product line consists of lotions, body scrubs and lip balms.  The most memorable product she had was her "OMG" mint chocolate body lotion.  The lotion smell was very comforting and kept my hands smooth for hours.  Indi Chocolate is located in Ballard and you can order her products online.  The 4 oz mint or orange lotion is $12 or for $3 more, you can get an 8 oz bottle of the mint for $15!

The next panel we attended was "Taste Fresh Cacao Fruit Direct From Ecuador!" a special presentation from Bill Fredericks, The Chocolate Man.  This panel was overfilling with people interested in trying this mysterious cacao fruit.  Fredericks showed us pictures of his trips in Ecuador and Mexico, where he visited different cacao farms and at a first hand experience on the cultivation of the cacao fruit and beans.  The cacao fruit only grows 20 degrees above and below the equator.  These vibrant and egg shaped fruit grow on the tree's trunk and they can contain 20-50 cacao seeds that are covered by the fruit.

Each person in the room got to try a sample of the fruit.  The white mucilaginous pulp was thin surrounding the seed and was sweet with the texture of a stringy mango.  This is an expensive fruit to transport due to quick spoilage.  It was an amazing experience to try this fruit that was specially shipped from Ecuador because it was not cheap!  After each of us had our taste, Fredericks collected our seeds for future cacao trees in Seattle. Currently in Seattle, there are trees in the Washington Park Arboretum and in the Butterfly Exhibit in the Pacific Science Center.

The Chocolate Man is located in Lake Forest Park and they offers classes, bulk chocolate, supplies and rentals.  Their hours are generally from 10 am to 8 pm during the week and 11 am to 5 pm on the weekends.


We took a break to visit from sitting and listening and walked around the top floor to check out all the booths.  There were samples every where from truffles, bars to caramels.  Some of my favorites were:

• Theo Chocolate (Fremont) - Bean to Bar Fair Trade Chocolate Company.  I highly recommend them!
• Jodee's Desserts (Greenlake) - Gluten Free Desserts.
• George Paul Chocolates (Store opening soon!)  - Hand Crafted Chocolates.  The Dark Chocolate with Habanero & Pineapple is simply divine.
• Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco) - Bean to Bar Chocolate Company.  Pure chocolate with a little sugar from Venezuela, Madagascar, and the Dominican Republic.
• The Grenada Chocolate Company-  Tree to Bar Organic Chocolate Company made on the Island of Grenada (NE of Venezuela).
• Holy Cannoli (Belltown) - Yummy Cannoli & Stromboli
• Chocolate Shop Wine (Seattle)- Chocolate Red Wine, Creme de Cocoa, Chocolate Strawberry & Almond Roca.  Really flavorful, good in moderation.
• Hot Cakes (Ballard) - Original & Organic Take-N-Bake Molten Chocolate Cakes & Other Desserts.  One of items they sampled was Smoked Chocolate Chips.  I was very intrigued with the idea of smokey flavors and chocolate. It blew my mind.  Of course, if I could only afford a half pound for $15...

The last panel we attended was "Tanzanian Cocoa: The Reality of Farming in Africa" by Nathan Royston from Theo Chocolate.  Royston shared his travels to Tanzania and informed us on the farming of Cacao.  One of the main significant issues is the education given to the farmers.  The price of the cacao is the same no matter how the beans are fermented and roasted.  This effects the quality of the chocolate.  Many of these farmers worldwide will never get the chance to taste chocolate because it is expensive and a luxury.  Not many of us realize that we have taken for granted the consumption of chocolate because of companies such as Herseys and Nestle, they have made chocolate affordable due to the addition of sugar, milk and various cheap products.  When comparing the quality of chocolate, it is important to look at the first ingreident listed on the label because that is what you are paying for.

Theo Chocolate is located in Fremont and is it one of my favorite chocolates!  From their fair traded beans to making their own signature chocolate, Theo gives you an earthly and fruitful notes that will make you wanting more.  They use flavors such as chilies, chai spices, curry, bread, hazelnuts, sea salt and so much more.  They give one hour tours seven days a week for only $6 a person.  If you haven't done the tour yet, you should!  Plus, did I mention you get to sample chocolate!


At 4pm, I missed the showing of the U.S. premiere of "Nothing Like Chocolate".  The movie just came out this year and I have heard good things.  I watched the preview and I am intrigued.  It is about how a man name Mott, from Oregon, decides to move to an island country called Grenada (Northeast of Venezuela) to open a chocolate company. The Grenada Chocolate Company is a tree to bar and certified as organic chocolate.  In the preview, they address that there is child slavery issue in the Ivory Coast and many people and companies are striving to make chocolate more fair trade and educate farmers to improve their working conditions.  I can't wait to see it.

When I left the Chocolate Festival, I felt inspired and overwelmed with the information.  It gave me a sense of awareness of the world and gave me a boost of my passion in chocolate.  I hope that some day I will be able to visit Hawaii again or other countries, such as the Philippines or Central/South America to see these amazing fruits that have effected each and one of our lives without us even thinking about it.  I can't imagine my life without chocolate.