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You know that feeling when you walk into a place that makes you feel like you've died and gone to heaven? That's what the upper floor of the NW Chocolate Festival felt like this past weekend. A stadium-size floor full of craft chocolate from all over the world. Vietnam. Philippines. France. Italy. Switzerland. And of course the grand old Americas—North, South, and Central, too.
And the chocolate... It was all just breathtaking. Many new discoveries were made—see below for some of my new faves!
But while everyone else was focusing on either tasting or selling chocolate, I stepped back. Gathered here were hundreds of people, and every one of them carried a lifetime. A life journey that began somewhere, for some right here in town, for others half a world away, and then wound its way around the globe in various ways until, inevitably, it came here, to this conference venue on the shipyards of Seattle.
And I wondered, what do all of these life stories look like? Who are all of these people who have traveled here to experience craft chocolate first hand, or to share their passion with the public?
And I thought about the Lyft drivers I spoke to on my way here, about the election, about their experience with driving in the new sharing economy. About the people I shared the security line with at the airport, the waiters in the restaurants, the people passing by on the street.
There are seven BILLION life stories walking around on this planet right now. Think about that for a moment. Seven billion individual people. Rather than judging, resenting, and fighting one another, why not simply discover? This is what we do as children. We play, we discover, we explore. We're not born with all those ideas, judgments, and political stances that color the way we see others.
We learn them.
~ Birgitte
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In last month's newsletter, I introduced our new initiative, Book-to-Bar. This is the world's "first literary-chocolate pairing." I'm so, so pleased to report that it was wonderfully received at the NW Chocolate Festival, and we sold out of nearly all of the inventory–no mean feat considering the number of books I shipped to the festival. But for me the most telling moment was when a family passed by the pop-up bookstand, they saw our poster, stopped, and commented on it. Despite the distance, I could hear the father say "[something something] Book to bar."
It's humbling to realize that something you have created, something you have worked so hard to make real, is now entering the consciousness of others.
We are now preparing for a campaign to sell 1,000 Book-to-Bar bundles so we can raise funds for Bio Itzà, the Guatemalan non profit that has been so helpful during the research phase of The Jaguar and the Cacao Tree.
If you're interested in working with us on the campaign and earning commissions as an affiliate, please reach out and let us know.
And remember that on November 29, we will draw the name of one of you to win a Book-to-Bar bundle. I'll send an email reminder about it the morning of.
If you have friends, colleagues or loved ones who appreciate a good bar of craft chocolate and a good book, please let them know about Book-to-Bar. At the very least they can sign up for a chance to win one!
Oh, yes, and speaking of chocolate, here are some of my new favorite bars I had the pleasure to try at the NW Chocolate Festival—in alphabetical order so as not to favor any over any other!
• Amano in Orem, Utah: Art Pollard is someone I've gotten to know over a few chocolate events. His chocolate regularly wins awards but he is the most humble, down-to-earth, approachable guy. My fave was Macoris from the Dominican Republic—with hints of apricot & cream!
• Creo Chocolate in Portland, OR: I completely melted when I tried their 73% mint chocolate. Now this is mint chocolate! An insanely perfect blend of the two, balanced on a knife's edge.
• Escazu in Raleigh, NC: Sometimes you have no idea you were missing something until you experience it. That's how it felt to taste Escazu's Goat Milk bar. I'm not a fan of milk chocolate but this blew it out of the water for me. And no it doesn't taste like feta cheese!
• Fruition Chocolate in Woodstock, NY: How many of you like that crispy rice crunch in your chocolate? I totally do. Imagine my surprise when I tasted Fruition's Camino Verde Crunch. No rice, no quinoa, nothing but chocolate... and yet, they have managed to make this bar crunchy purely through their chocolatemaking process. Now that's art.
• Harper Macaw in Washington DC: A tropical garden blooming in your mouth. My faves: their 74% Atlantic Forest and 67% Brazil bars. On top of that, their packaging has some of the most beautiful and inventive designs you'll see anywhere. And on top of THAT, they give back to the Brazilian Amazon. Full circle win!
• One more: indi chocolate in Seattle, WA: I've got one of their beautifully carved dark chocolate bars from Nicaragua. Yes, carved—well okay, shaped. Molded, if you want to be technical. I need to take photos of all these bars so you can see, but for now take a look here. It's a work of art.
And for those of you in Seattle, indi will soon sell our Book-to-Bar bundles... my book bundled with their heavenly chocolate. Yeay!
So be sure to get your gift bundle—or some for your friends and loved ones—before stock runs out!
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I'm winding down for the year... but there is one more event coming up if you're in the SF Bay Area:
Indie Author Day
Sunday, December 4, 2016
2-5pm PST
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San Jose, California
Remember Indie Author Day from October? This library is doing part 2!
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