Greg D'Alesandre, Chocolate Sourcerer at Dandelion Chocolate talks about the value of relationships, collaboration, and making the invisible visible.

Today we are joined by Greg D'Alesandre (@gdalesandre on Instagram). He is the "chocolate sourcerer" and co-owner of Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco. Greg is an expert in all things chocolate but specializes in traveling the globe in pursuit of the best cacao beans in the world. In this episode we cover many different sectors of the craft chocolate industry, including: ingredients in chocolate, making an impact in the industry, scaling a chocolate business, what is craft chocolate, and more! • Follow us for more chocolate content @manoachocolate: https://www.instagram.com/manoachocolate/ • Learn more about us and try our chocolate: https://manoachocolate.com/ 0:00:00 INTRO 0:00:38 CHOCOLATE BAR INGREDIENTS 0:33:30 MAKING AN IMPACT 0:53:35 SCALING A CHOCOLATE BUSINESS 1:11:02 WHAT IS CRAFT CHOCOLATE? Film & Edit: Carson Butterbaugh Hosted By: Dylan Butterbaugh Music: Pure Imagination, Future James

In this episode we welcome back our good friend Greg D'Alesandre of Dandelion Chocolate. Once again we have a wide ranging conversation, but this time we focus in on various business models of chocolate making. • Follow us for more chocolate content @manoachocolate: https://www.instagram.com/manoachocolate/ • Learn more about us and try our chocolate: https://manoachocolate.com/ 0:00:00 INTRO 0:00:30 WHEN CHOCOLATE MAKING GOES WRONG 0:08:36 SHARING KNOWLEDGE TO GROW THE INDUSTRY 0:12:20 RETAIL VS WHOLESALE MODEL 0:48:50 TRANSPARENCY 0:54:50 SOURCING CACAO Film & Edit: Carson Butterbaugh Hosted By: Dylan Butterbaugh Music: Pure Imagination, Future James

Since 2012 Greg D’Alesandre has been a part of the Dandelion Chocolate team, building up a sustainable and reputable company which links cacao producers and consumers through chocolate. His self-designated title of cacao sourcerer is a nod to his extensive work with cacao producers around the world. In this interview we dig into the responsibility of chocolate makers, some of the industry changemakers, & shifting power dynamics. Show Notes: damecacao.com/interview-greg-dalesandre-dandelion-chocolate/ Dame Cacao IG: instagram.com/damecacao/ Chocolate OTR IG: instagram.com/chocolateontheroad/

Originally broadcast live on May 19, 2016 Fine chocolate with fabulous flavor starts with high quality beans. But for many chocolate makers, one of the biggest challenges, especially when starting their business, is finding or “sourcing those beans”.  The process of bean sourcing from finding the beans themselves all the way to having them arrive at your factory ready to be made into chocolate is a complicated one that can involve many people including farmers, brokers, transporters and more. In this Chocolate Masters Hangout, we’re going to talk about bean sourcing – how does the process work today? Has it changed over time with the extensive growth in the bean to bar chocolate industry? What is involved in ensuring that a chocolate maker gets the best beans to make the best chocolate? What are some of the best tips for a new chocolate maker just starting out? Join us to learn more about sourcing cocoa beans!   Chocolate maker: Greg D’Alesandre, Dandelion Chocolate Chocolate maker: Art Pollard, Amano Chocolate   Moderator: Alysha Kropf, Ecole Chocolat Producer: Robert Ouimet, Big Snit Media   About our Panelists:   Greg D’Alesandre, Dandelion Chocolate Greg has been working with chocolate for over fifteen years, and making bean-to-bar chocolate for the last few. He started making liquid nitrogen truffles in college with “borrowed” equipment from the physics lab. As Dandelion’s Chocolate Sourcerer, he travels the world in search of the best cacao to use to make great chocolate, and feels strongly about sourcing cacao directly and building good relationships with the network of cacao producers and chocolate makers around the world.  https://www.dandelionchocolate.com/   Art Pollard, Amano Chocolate Amano Chocolate is a multi-award winning artisan chocolate maker. Art believes in making chocolate using a hand’s on approach. He visits the plantations, buys directly from the growers, and when necessary works with them to improve their skill in properly growing, fermenting and drying the cacao beans to meet his standards. http://www.amanochocolate.com/

This program is part of our Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Join the brains behind Bay Area-based Dandelion Chocolate, in conversation with maker Adam Savage, as they dig deep into the world of chocolate making and eating. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Todd Masonis, CEO of Dandelion Chocolate, Greg D’Alesandre, chocolate “sourcerer,” and the rest of the Dandelion Chocolate team make some of the best bean-to-bar chocolate around, and their book, Making Chocolate: From Bean to Bar to S’more, unravels the secrets for anyone from hobbyists to professional makers seeking to create delicious, luxurious chocolate in their home kitchen. From the simplest techniques, such as roasting beans on a sheet pan to winnowing away the shells with a hair dryer, to more complex subjects, such as the science and mechanics of making chocolate to the nuts, bolts and ethics of sourcing beans directly, this book follows the cocoa bean from the farm to the factory to the pastry kitchen—and everywhere in between. Talking about chocolate can be torturous unless there’s tasting involved, so join us before and after the program for Dandelion chocolate-making demonstrations and education, chocolate samples, hot chocolate, s’mores, and more! Thanks to in-kind sponsor Fort Point Beer for providing tasty brews to accompany the treats.

In this episode we explain why the super market candy “chocolate bar” costs $1 and why the average craft chocolate bar costs $10. Make sure to watch until the end to understand the main reason your chocolate should cost more. If you liked the video give it a like and subscribe to stay up to date with Craft Chocolate TV! • Follow us for more chocolate content @manoachocolate: https://www.instagram.com/manoachocolate/ • Learn more about us and try our chocolate: https://manoachocolate.com/ Film & Edit: Carson Butterbaugh Hosted By: Dylan Butterbaugh Music: Pure Imagination, Future James

Product manager Greg, a.k.a. Dr. Wave, gives an introduction to Google Wave and points out parts of the user interface: http://wave.google.com/help/wave/drwave.html . Learn more about Google Wave at http://wave.google.com