The Chocolate Conservatory

Historical Archeology in the Chocolate Bar

What can a potsherd tell us about a chocolate bar? Three leading archaeologists that have focused part of their work in cacao—Patricia L. Crown, PhD, whose discovery of c

Alternatives and substitutes: a (nascent) industry perspective

What happens to chocolate when it no longer begins with the cacao bean? Ahrum Pak, founder of Win-Win, acompany to bring cocoa-free chocolate to market using fermented in

Farmer healthcare in West Africa and beyond

Dr. Shadrack Osei Frimpong, founder of Cocoa 360, and recent Harvard graduate and ICCR Research Fellow Dara Adamolekun join our hosts to discuss pressing sustainability q

Bean to confection in Mexico

Most modern chocolate doesn’t end in a solid bar, and it is through the craft of Mexican chocolatier Luis Robledo—using chocolate couverture made from cacao beans produce

Professional Education with a University Accent

Discussing education for chocolate professionals, Penn State Emeritus Professor Greg Ziegler and CacaoLab Executive Director Claudia Delbaere share lessons learned from t

Labor in sugar cane

Cornell University Professor Alex M. Nading, a medical anthropologist, joins host Carla Martin to discuss the epidemic of chronic kidney disease of nontraditional causes

USA Cacao: A New Origin?

Hawai'i meets Puerto Rico in this discussion of cacao production in the United States! Dr. Viviana Medina of V.M.R. Consulting and Dave Elliott of O'ahu Resource Conserva

Numbers, Networks, and Narratives in Specialty Coffee

Emory University Professor Peter Roberts, an economic sociologist, joins Carla to discuss the commodification of specialty coffee producers and the industry's obsession w

Research and Innovation in the Chocolate Lands

Zurich University of Applied Sciences Professor Tilo Hühn describes his lengthy career in food technology innovation and the ways in which Switzerland remains a center of

Cocoa Price Crisis: Ghana

Harvard historian Emmanuel Akyeampong and Fuad Mohammed Abubakar of Ghana's Cocoa Marketing Company join Carla to discuss how Ghana's cocoa pricing developed and the chal

Welcome to the Chocolate Conservatory!

In this trailer, our hosts Carla D. Martin and Jose Lopez Ganem introduce themselves, and the premise of the podcast! Listen in to learn more about why it is important to