Ancel Mitchell's Page

"We'll be there from February 9 to 16. It will be great to meet you! My email address is erica@hummingbirdchocolate. What is the best way to reach you to set up a time to visit?"

"Hi Erica, Sure! We're on the Caribbean coast, almost on Puerto Viejo. There are at least 3 other chocolatiers here too. When are you coming?"

"Hear hear!"

"Ignore the money. Follow the cacao. In the same way that buy local, locavore, farmers markets have become big in an attempt to move away from the certification /big agro mess and muddle, why can't artisan chocolate makers do the same? Lead the…"

"On average the Swiss population consumes 11lb per year per person, in Germany the average is 10.8lbs, in the UK it's 10.3, and in the US 5.1lbs. So they say. That's all chocolate bars, not just the good stuff. I think consuming a pound a…"

"I think Fairtrade has to be taken in context. While the concept of paying a fair price for something is great, the reality of global prices makes the 'label' fairtrade an over simplification and allows the consumer to sleep through what…"

"Organic cacao farms, in Costa Rica at least, tend to be agroforestry, meaning that while the cacao is technically monocropped, the trees providing the shade are habitually harvested. They may also be trees used for fodder. In the Caribbean area much…"

"Hi Lisa, For Costa Rica, October through early December is the best time to come: harvest, fermenting, drying all happen in these months. Actually the cacao here is produced year round, but these months represent the main harvest and it's by…"