Chuck Horne's Comments

Comment Wall (2 comments)

At 11:07pm on January 7, 2012, Thomas Forbes said…: You can contact Abel Fernandez at Conacado in the Dominican Republic and get finely ground paste, butter and cake which is certified fair trade and organic. They process this in a factory called Cafiesa in San Francisco de Macoris. This is where Equal Exchange and Green and Blacks get their products. Mast Brothers and Taza get their Dominican beans from another cooperative but when they can't fill their order, they get the rest from Conacado. The paste is very fine and I would imagine very little conching would be necessary when you add the sugar. If you give me around 6-9 months, maybe I can give you what you need.

At 8:10pm on December 26, 2011, Dale Anderson said…: Chuck,

Thanks for the referral. Yes, I am aware of Theo. They make great chocolate bars, but I'm not aware of any couverture grade wafers, blocks or pastilles available from them. Equal Exchange, Divine, Green and Black, Omanahene, Kallari, Alter Eco, Seeds of Change, Newman's Own, Endangered Species, Rapunzel, and several others are manufacturers who produce organic or Fair trade certified chocolate bars (in more or less 3 oz. wrapped portions), but these are not very useful (or cost effective) for use in producing chocolates. If you learn of any companies that produce chocolate in bulk, I'd be happy to learn more about it.

Thanks so much for your response, and for keeping your eyes open for me.