

Coffee and Chocolate - Beyond the Bean Part 3
In Part 3 we will discuss the cultivation and proliferation of coffee and cacao, highlighting the often negative social and environmental impacts. Take a look at Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them. Coffee's impact has been felt across the globe Dark History Both coffee and chocolate have been shaped by the often times dark history of Colonialism. Shortly after the two stimulants arrived in Europe and garnered a wide audience, European colonists began the mad rush to grow as


Coffee and Chocolate - Beyond the Bean Part 2
Let's pick up right where we left off...if you missed Part 1, check it out here
The Harvest The harvest and processing of coffee and cacao are also very similar. All of cacao harvesting in the world is still done by hand - either with the use of small machetes or poles with attached metal hooks. The cacao pods are cut from the trunks and branches of the trees. The vast majority of coffee harvesting in the world is done by literally picking the coffee fruit, known as “cherrie


Coffee and Chocolate - Beyond the Bean Part 1
Coffee and chocolate...is there anything else in the world so beloved? In this series we’re going to take an in-depth look at the incredible parallels between the worlds of coffee and chocolate. Coffee and chocolate have been consumed everywhere humans venture - Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit the earth had a tube of chocolate sauce as part of his rations, and thanks to some inventive people in Italy, astronauts can now enjoy an “authentic Itallian espresso” at the Inter