Wild Chocolate: Across the Americas in Search of Cacao's Soul

Overall Ranking 2) Recommended Reading

Wild Chocolate: Across the Americas in Search of Cacao's Soul by Rowan Jacobsen, 2024, Bloomsbury Publishing

What is the book about?

There is so much more to chocolate than deciding between a Hershey’s bar and Ghirardelli. What most of us eat is a homogenized, mass-marketed "chocolate flavor" that is crafted for predictability so that your chocolate chip cookies turn out identical every single time. It’s a solid foundation, sure, but it’s just the harmony in the song that is chocolate. There is an entire orchestra of flavor that is torn down to get that predictability on the cheap.

Much like fine wine or specialty coffee, chocolate has terroir. That means that flavor changes wildly based on where the cocoa was grown, the local climate, and the specific variety of cocoa bean (and yes, there are many!). Each bean carries genetic quirks that dance to slightly different tunes on your taste buds. This hidden dance is exactly what fuels the passion of farmers, activists, and craft chocolate makers dedicated to getting its song out there to a world that is barely shuffling its feet. 

That rich, complex universe is the backdrop for Rowan Jacobsen’s journey through the world of artisanal chocolate in the Americas. Jacobsen starts out just like us. Staring at the wholefoods chocolate aisle wondering how a chocolate bar can be $10. But unlike us, he drops some serious cash and travels the world to find out. 

Would I recommend reading it?

From page one Rowan plays the curious guide, pulling you along as he uncovers a good portion of the chocolate story (turns out the world of chocolate is deep, complex, and could be its own series of book) mostly focusing on the raw basics of harvesting cocoa pods, a quick history of chocolate as it spread from villages in Mesoamerica to chocolatiers across the world with the biggest focus on the lesser-known history of rare, ancient cacao strains. All of this is told through the vibrant lives of the visionaries driving the modern "bean-to-bar" movement, I would call it a peek under the hood at the passionate people crafting high-end, single-origin chocolate bars.

The book is a bit choppy as you bounce between subjects, chocolates, and producers in a non-linear arrangement that keeps you engaged albeit a touch lost. You are going to get some repetitive themes as you encounter more producers/growers. I don't fault him for that as if you go to any farmer and ask, "what's your biggest issue?" you shouldn't be shocked to hear most talk about the impacts that the weather is giving them. 

All in all, this book is an absolute must-read. Even when the narrative circles back to familiar themes, you get right down in the mud with Jacobsen as he plunges into the remote jungles of Latin America in search of the rarest, most legendary cacao on the planet. Between the grueling humidity, swarming bug bites, and dangerous predators, both four-legged and two-legged, you’ll gain a whole new respect for the craft. By the final page, you won't hesitate for a second to drop a few extra bucks on a bar of pure, unadulterated single-origin chocolate.

The Chocolates and Where to Find Them

While Jacobsen does touch on several bean-to-bar producers there are three that crowd the spotlight:

1. Luisa Abram's Jurua bar
2. Volker Lehmann's Tranquilidad
3. Jacob Marlin's Wild Criollo

While Jacobsen did provide a list of websites to purchase them from I found that Caputo's was the easiest to navigate. I took the liberty of trying all three. I can already hear you asking, "Was it worth it?". My answer is that it matters how you approach it. If you are looking to extract as much value as possible from these chocolates, then there is something you must do. You must treat it like you would a fancy wine tasting. You want to have fun and explore the odd little flavors that come from the chocolates. Have three or four cheeses to nibble at and pair with your chocolates. Have a strawberry to get a fun kick of fruit in. Yes, these are chocolate bars, but they are more of an expedition of flavor than a treat. So, kick your shoes off. Close your eyes. Be slow. Deliberate. Let your curiosity and laughter flow. Who knows, you may even have a ratatouille moment.  

https://caputos.com/caputos-chocolate/

The Organizations Mentioned in the Book

• Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE) 
• https://www.bfreebz.org/

• Heirloom Cocoa Preservation
• https://www.hcpcacao.org/

Classes, Supplies, and Festivals

If you say, "It has never been easier to make your own chocolate at home" then you'd better be able to put your beans where your mouth is. Jacobsen shovels those beans in using the last few pages of his book to highlight classes, supplies and festivals for you to become more familiar with the intricacies of putting good things in your cacao hole. 

All of the links and descriptions below are directly quoted from Wild Chocolate.

https://chocolatealchemy.com/

John Nanci launched the home-chocolatier revolution in 2004 with his site Chocolate Alchemy which for the first time put the tools for making bean to bar chocolate in the hands of over cacao-curious amateur, and it's still the go-to site for tabletop chocolate making. Beans, nibs, equipment, instructions, and philosophy, all under one url. 

https://www.ecolechocolat.com/en/

Since 2003, the destination for chocolate learning of all kinds, for aspiring amateurs and professionals alike. Most classes are taught online, until you get really, really serious. 

https://www.c-spot.com/

Mark Christians quirky and erudite website, filled with entertaining reviews and in-depth divvies into chocolate history, science, and lore.

https://thechocolatelife.com/

The original website devoted to chocolate (like, way back when the Web was young) and still the most comprehensive, this is a fill-blown community forum with thousands of members, ongoing discussions, classified listings, and weekly livestreams with founder clay Gordon and special guests. 

https://damecacao.com/

Great chocolate blog from world traveler Max Gandy, with gobs of information about every aspect of the world of chocolate. Especially thoughtful on environmental and social justice issues.

https://www.finechocolateindustry.org/

For the pros! News, events, webinars, schmoozing, and more.

Caputo's Annual Chocolate Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah

https://caputos.com/chocfest/

A gathering of Salt Lake City's finest chefs, mixologists, and chocolate makers, with all proceeds benefiting the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund. 

Northwest Chocolate Festival in Washington State

https://www.nwchocolate.com/

If you care about artisan chocolate, this is the one you want to go to. A two-day blowout in Washington State each fall, with everything you'd expect from an industry conference: awards, demos, seminars, tastings, workshops, and thousands of exhibitors. 

Books to Bowls OUT!

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