My wife and I flew to Seattle (strictly speaking, Bellvue) Washington to attend the 2025 Northwest Chocolate Festival, October 4th and 5th. The Northwest Chocolate Festival is the largest craft chocolate industry trade show in North America, and 2025 marks its 17th year. The 2025 show featured some ~200 exhibitors, although, full disclosure, some exhibitors had nothing to do with chocolate (WTF, BMW?). The two-day show featured an exhibition floor open from 9:00 AM1 to 5:00 PM, and workshops running from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM both days.
Since this was by way of a late-anniversary trip, we added a few days before the weekend to spend in Mount Rainier National Park. The only observations I’ll make about that are 1) the park was open despite the shutdown, 2) Douglas firs get absolutely enormous, and 3) if you think “food deserts” are a myth, try to find groceries in Ashford, Washington.
We attended both days of the festival. Attendance seemed pretty good. I don’t have numbers, but the line was out the door Saturday morning, and the floor was packed in the afternoon. Sunday was a little lighter, particularly early, but still a good crowd. For us, attending both days worked out well, since we only managed to cover half the floor on Saturday. All of the chocolate makers offered samples, and while most samples were maybe the size of a pea or a little larger, after hours of tasting samples, you just have to stop for a while. We chatted a little with some other attendees, and just looking around, I would guess that at least half of the attendees were not what I would call serious about chocolate. That is, they paid to get in so they could eat “free” chocolate, but were not there to taste craft chocolate.
The “big names” were represented (Dick Taylor, Dandelion, Guittard2, Forte, etc), although two of our favorites did not attend: Askinose out of Springfield, MO, and Soma out of Toronto, Ontario. Also lots of recognizable names: Fjak, Fresco, Lucid, Luisa Abram, Naive, Spinnaker, Qantu. There were a lot of small makers from overseas. In some cases we got to meet makers who are also the growers, who flew in from Cameroon, India, Belize, Nicaragua, etc. The couple we met from Kairi (Trinidad) introduced themselves “he grows the trees, she makes the chocolate.” Each bar from Semilla (Mexico) is like a capstone project for classes of students learning how to grow, ferment and process cacao3. There were at least two Indian makers, which was a little surprising to me, as I have not previously seen bars sourced from Indian cacao. The explanation we got was that, during the British colonial period, Cadbury locked up all the Indian cacao plantations, and it is only recently that some independent plantations have begun producing craft bars. In general, we had a great time talking with the exhibitors.
We did attend two workshops on Saturday. The first, presented by Rob Anderson from Fresco, was about how different roasting techniques can completely change the final product. Rob’s background before chocolate was electrical engineering4, and he retains an analytical mindset. Fresco is a pioneer in producing series of bars based on the same cacao, same sugar content, etc., that differ only in roasting and conching process. He talked about ramp up time, maximum temperature and dwell time, and cooling time, and how those affect uniformity and acidity. There were samples to taste test during the workshop, although sadly they ran out. So of the three cacaos, we didn’t get the second half of the comparison for two of them. I was very surprised that the vast majority of the workshop was Rob fielding questions from the audience, and some very thoughtful questions, too.
The second workshop was presented by Chloe Doutre-Roussel, who is a judge and consultant on craft chocolate. Chloe has a chocolate purist streak a mile wide, and I loved it. The topic of the talk was nominally how to produce a marketable variety of products from a limited selection of cacao, but she covered a wide range of topics. Like Rob, she talked about the importance of roasting, but criticized the drum roasters, common in the coffee industry, that have largely been adopted in the chocolate industry. In chocolate, unlike coffee, the husks are still on the beans during roasting, and the agitation of the drum roaster will cause some husks to fall off, resulting in uneven roasting of the beans. She talked about adding flavors to chocolate, which to a large extent is a reaction to market demand5. As she talked about trends in flavors, I could see exactly what she was talking about on the exhibitor floor (the new hotness is ginger, by the way). Flavors are also a great way to cover up defects in the base cacao or in processing. While she’s not completely against flavors in chocolate, she insists that flavors should be chosen to complement and not overpower the existing flavor notes. She discussed the difference between inclusions and infusions6 as flavoring techniques, and accidentally answered a question I didn’t know to ask: why do I really dislike milk chocolate?
The milk in milk chocolate is technically an inclusion: a flavor from something that is added to the chocolate. Because you can’t add anything containing water to chocolate, the milk must be powdered. But just adding powdered milk would make the chocolate too thick to work with, so the powdered milk is dissolved in cocoa butter. If you recall from the first snobbery article, the percentage of “cocoa” in a chocolate bar does not distinguish between “cocoa mass” and “cocoa butter.” Given two bars with the same cocoa percentage, say 45%, the cocoa in in the milk chocolate must contain a larger fraction of cocoa butter than the “dark” chocolate7. And there’s my problem, I don’t like the texture and bland flavor of the high cocoa butter content. I prefer the firmer “snap” and richer flavors from the cocoa mass8. We both really enjoyed Chloe, her obsessiveness over every aspect of flavor and visible disdain for “lazy” mass market gimmicks.
Also present were exhibitors selling machines for making chocolate, mostly melangers (grinders), for grinding nibs into cocoa liquor. Diamond Custom Machines also had a dustless cracker, which will winnow and crack roaster beans to nibs. Fairbank Engineering was selling CNC machined chocolate distribution plates for filling molds at production rates.
In the end, we spent a shitload of money on chocolate. Bars were going for more than I had expected, there were a lot that went for $15 – $20 each. More than one person commented on the high price of cacao, but it’s not clear if that is due to tariffs, higher cost of labor, or cost of improved fermenting and drying practices on the farms. We did hear that Northwest is not a cheap show to attend, so maybe makers were trying to cover table costs, or the foreign makers were trying to cover the cost of travel. We might go again, but probably not for a few years. Seattle is just an expensive city to stay in, and air travel sucks. Happily, one lady we ran into turned us on to a (much smaller) chocolate festival that is an easy drive from home, and we’ll probably hit that this year still.
1 Floor open at 9:00 if you bought early entry tickets, which of course we did. Duh.
2 Is Guittard really “craft” chocolate anymore? Debatable.
3 The lady we talked to at Semilla freely admitted that their most recent bar was not really a successful project, but the person next to us bought one anyway, bless her.
4 Rob and a MechE buddy built the roasters that Fresco still uses today.
5 Turns out lots of people prefer big, obvious flavors, instead of subtle notes, and those people also have money.
6 Infusions are accomplished by putting the cocoa in contact with the flavor source and letting the cocoa butter absorb the flavor, but the flavor source is then removed. With inclusions, the flavor source is left in.
7 Ignoring that the hypothetical 45% “dark” chocolate would have to be 55% sugar, which makes it candy, not chocolate.
8 “Bland” according to me. Chloe would point out that cocoa butter also has flavor, unless you are using a de-scented cocoa butter, which is … not good.
Excellent article! My daughter is into craft chocolate. She especially likes the dark bitter chocolate.
Also a hedonic chocolate first. Or a foist if you live up North.
Your Firsts are chocolate and peanut butter covered nuggets of joy to my heart.
My daughter is into craft chocolate.
Maybe she’d like a trip to Seattle next October.
That’s the weirdest euphemism yet.
Thanks for the write up! I would have absolutely wrecked myself there.
lol That is a lot of old wypipo.
*dives in*
All of the chocolate makers offered samples, and while most samples were maybe the size of a pea or a little larger, after hours of tasting samples, you just have to stop for a while.
Challenge accepted.
lol If you say so.
Yeah, that was a little tongue-in-cheek, heh heh.
Seriously.
*phew*
Bars were going for more than I had expected, there were a lot that went for $15 – $20 each.
That’s a little cheaper than gold.
I dunno, every time I am at a bar I drop a $50
How many of those are singles?
Sounds more like he gets mugged on the regular.
The haul from the show. We did not buy from some makers from which we routinely place online orders.
That’s a good haul. Any favorites?
Two different makers (Vixen and Foundry) had bars using cacao from Vanuatu, and both of those were really good. And I really liked the bars from ChocoMe Atelier, but golly they’re proud of their stuff.
Thanks!
This post inspired me to see if there was anything local-ish, and I came across this.
Looks like I have plans, now.
AMEN! I cannot stand that shit.
It’s by far my favorite. I know it’s not real chocolate, but I much prefer it to ‘good’ chocolate.
Quite certain that’s my problem.
I don’t like milk chocolate either and I’m the only one in the house that eats dark chocolate, so it’s safe if I leave it around…except from me.
Thanks for this bit o’ fun and pics. Only a bit thru, but this sticks out- “Also lots of recognizable names: Fjak, Fresco, Lucid, Luisa Abram, Naive, Spinnaker, Qantu..”
I recognize none of those names, nor the Big Boys ya mentioned. I am not a chocolate person, tho I appreciate it.
Those pods are a great demonstration of how humans will fuck around with *anything* for hopes of food. Lots of work, too. We’re persistent, creative creatures.
Continuing now.
I’ve made multiple purchases from chocosphere based on the last article. I’m glad to see this article isn’t pointing to new temptations.
Fun article, thanks. It’s always nice when somebody here shares something they have studied and have an interest in explaining.
We learned a lot there, from the workshops, but also just talking to the exhibitors. A lot of them were the people actually making the chocolate, and they were happy to talk about it.
I’d guess there will be a (consumer grade) melanger with the wife’s name on it come Christmas. Strangely I’m more interested in attempting home chocolate making than she is, but I’m working on her. The melanger can be used to make nut butters, too, so it has some utility.
but I’m working on her. [….] make nut butters
Go on….
More useful than a duck press then.
You had me at “Chocolate,” Grummun.
Thanks for a great article.
Seconded
Complete and utter microaggression.
All the dark chocolate, send it to me.
I used to get in to the baking chocolate in my grandmother’s pantry. She thought I was mistaking it for a candy bar until I ate one in front of her with great joy.
There is a Roseanne scene that re-enacted an exact scene from my early childhood where I got into the baking chocolate and wanted to spit it out.
Heh, DJ (and Arnie).
Guittard is deprecated? More for me then.
I haven’t seen Tcho in a while. Their mocha bar was moreish.
Sometimes you have to learn the hard way.
lol Exactly
Thanks for a great article.
You’re very welcome.
We did buy a couple 100% bars, from ChocoMe Atelier and Aroco.
I loved it too.
Bitter, hard and dark like my heart.
My wife used to have a Scharffen Berger shirt that just said “Extra Bitter”.
My wife doesn’t need the shirt…
Sorry OT – Laptop broke mid editing a cover letter. Mouse works but I can’t click anything. HP Chromebook . Yes, restarted and hard restarts.
Needed a new one anyway but FUCK this greatly upsets me. I don’t do anything fancy, but an upgrade is needed. 4GB RAM, same as old one, but this one never really worked.
What specs should I look at for quality? Hope to spend under a k, as this desperation -purchase was ~$500.
Much appreciation. I gotta do everything on my phone. (My OT comments were from my laptop! Sad but thankful face.
Wanna spend more than $500, but hopefully under $1k, is my meaning. Might be asking for a pony.
No suggestions, but man, you seem to be having poor luck in that area lately.
I really have, Toxeth. This one lasted maybe four months. I’m still being stoic (read: not thinking about) the death of my prior one.
Both were cheap and it seems wise to upgrade somehow. $500 for this corpse in front of me.
Much thanks, RJ! Will see if it’s in a nearby store. I GOTTA have one early tomorrow, my Sunday.
Been quite a bad week, I admit, despite a few genuine positive sparks.
[REDACTED]
As I suggested last time, a Windows 11 machine. Mine is now $365. Still works great. Better screen than your Chromebook too. Works perfectly well for any office work, browsing, writing. I am not teasing you about this:
https://a.co/d/5KlyyBa
The same company sells a bigger screen laptop that doesn’t fold for $275. I have no experience with that one.
Unless you are doing major graphics work there is zero need to spend even $500.
Win11 … 😵💫
See dedthred for my little rant about being treated like an employee. 11 is a hot mess, nothing’s customizable (or at least, as much as I require), and I can’t fucking find where anything is, templates buried where they aren’t supposed to be, no templates where they should be … 😤
Thanks to you all! Will be my first task tomorrow ‘morn.’
I have purchased only Dell computers for my law firm for 20+ years. They have been extremely reliable.
For laptops and pre-built stuff I’ve been buying HP with the intent of doing my own OS isntalls. The hardware hasn’t given me any issues.
But I’m the level of crazy who does too much stuff others would want to ignore.
I have an Asus TUF.
Great article, love the dark!
Once you go dark,
You cant go back…?
I would never have guessed there would be such an event nor would I have thought there would be so much interest in it.
Thanks much, Grummun, for the education.
Glibs continue to amaze me with their skills, knowledge and experience(s).
^^^ This, right here.
If you think Doug firs (or Doug-firs if you’re a pedantic killjoy who doesn’t think Pluto is a planet) are large, let me introduce you to sequoias.
Heh. We took a walk in Big Basin State Park in southern CA some years back, saw some redwoods.
Neat.
There is a hobby and convention for everyone.
I’ll be on the other side of snoqualmie pass tomorrow. Not that I want to be.
Will you be on the crazy or sane side tomorrow?
The difference is fading
My husband’s the chocaholic. Me, I’m all about citric acid and tart fruit flavors.
Give me salt and sour. (Rarely(?) combined.)
You must be a big sourpatch candy fan.
Yuck! My newest candy gold? Sour Skittles. Not the fucking gummies, tho they ain’t bad.
If only they’d neatly fulfill my pocket-candy routine at work. Well. They’re giving me the gift of missing them. In the eve, I’ll eat out half the bag in one sitting. Mhm.
Dentist complimented me. (Not on my candy eating.)
I don’t understand chocosnobbery. Most of the product held up as ‘superior’ has turned out to be unremarkable or worse than mass market.
I’m not a chocolate snob but even I have some minimal standards.
Which mostly boil down to anything > Hershey’s.
No.
While I have happy memories of those bunnies, I agree that they did use some subpar chocolate.
I almost linked to the chocolate gold coins because those aren’t any better.
Hershey’s is fine in a pinch and s’mores.
I do like the Hershey’s truffle nuggets but at that point you’re spending good money.
I once had a 90% Valrhona that put me off chocolate for a year.
European milk chocolate isn’t bad: smooth, creamy. Hershey’s, blech. Yeah, yeah, butyric acid.
So much for artisanal talk. Sorry, Grummun.
A year? What did that bar do to you?
Reveals how bad cocoa tastes without the flavor-improving adulturants.
Six months?
Too like poor DJ Conner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wC-k2aoiXw
“What did that bar do to you?”
Kicked her out. Ya shoulda seen it. She shoulda charged for her Choco Show.
The puppy and I are going into the yard. Only one of us is coming back.
https://youtu.be/8Nttb9okOdc?t=94s
Good puppy!
Chocolate. I wish I could still eat it. But the consequences might be dire, so I don’t.
Men should only go to whisky festivals. Weak.
You missed the local garlic festival ~two weeks ago.
Scotch and chocolate go very well together. Just saying…
I will assume that is a year’s supply of chocolate.
Alas my excess body fat limits my chocolate intake drastically.
Anyway Romanian craft chocolate is mostly under the 85% cocoa limit so I do not care for it so much anyways
we need a resident lefty to tell us craft chocolate is a decadence of late capitalism and no one needs so many types while the poor suffer. CHECK YOUR CHOCOLATE PRIVILEGE!
I get enough of that treatment in meatspace.
No thank you.
aaanyhooo mornin glibbies
Morning, Pie.
I’m going to commute to the office now. See you there.
Good afternoon, Pie, and good morning U, Sean, Ted’S., and Roat!
Morning.
How goes things with you and yours?
So far so good. We have a big all-staff meeting offsite this afternoon, and I just have to make sure everyone has a place to sign in and a boxed lunch to eat (including Miss Gluten Free.) How are you?
I forgot to bring cough drops in to the office, so I might be noisier than otherwise. I got all of a page written on that story I’ve been brainstorming of late. I’m not sure how well it hooks the reader though.
Maybe if you cough enough they’ll make you go home…and you can write some more! 😃
Then I’d have to charge leave!
😱
Kindly turn your head when you cough.
Hi ho, hi ho, off to work I go.
😩🐪🌤️
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuJE40OBt48
🎶🎶
You’re mining crying camels to appease the sun god?
Kind of noticeable this election cycle, I don’t hear the word abortion 19 times during breakfast.
Mean while, in virtue-signaling wastes of time:
Rosendale Town Board opposes ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Spanberger is pushing abortion in some of her ads.
https://6abc.com/post/suspects-wanted-vandalism-termini-brothers-bakery-south-philadelphia/18007248/
Asshoes.
“To see our private property defaced is a punch to the gut,” the bakery posted on Instagram. “We’ve experienced this before, but we won’t lie – it hurts every time. We’ll clean up this mess and continue doing what we do best, but come on, Philly – you can do better.”
It’s Philthadelphia. Can they really do better?
They’re insured.
Mornin’
We might see the Sun here in southern NH today.
Lies, the Son is booked solid all day.
In honor of this article, I added cocoa powder to my coffee just now
Tell the truth – you were reaching for the instant and grabbed the hot cocoa instead.
If everyone would just label properly, these kinds of disasters wouldn’t happen!
::raises fist:: Solid, brother.
So my second pepper has turned ripe on the plant. It’s about a third the size of a store pepper. I’m trying to figure out what to make with it. Suggestions?
Halloween (1978) pitch meeting: https://youtu.be/g18baN-8k3w?si=UdsjPsTsZ_mc1FOQ