Business View Caribbean - January 2015 11
Opening
Lines
Woodblock Chocolate, the first bean-to-bar chocolate
manufacturer in Portland, Ore., announced a collabo-
ration with the Cocoa Research Center at the Univer-
sity of the West Indies in St. Augustine, Trinidad, to cre-
ate a chocolate bar made from more than 2,400 types
of cacao, representing the efforts of the International
Cocoa Genebank.
There are only 65 pounds of this chocolate in exis-
tence, and the bar called Trinidad Fundare will sell for
$100, with all proceeds going to the maintenance of
the Genebank's living library of cacao, representing
one of the most diverse collections of cacao varietals
in the world.
Established in 2010 by husband and wife team Char-
ley and Jessica Wheelock, Woodblock Chocolate is one
of the pioneers of the American craft chocolate mak-
ing movement. The manufactory located in Southeast
Portland houses all the equipment needed to roast,
conche, age and temper chocolate, including a refur-
bished peanut roaster from 1910 and other machines
cleverly retooled to help transform the raw cocoa into
some of the best chocolate.
Finding the best cacao is paramount and is based not
only on the flavor profile of the bean but the sustain-
able process by which it was cultivated. Woodblock
Chocolate's relationship with cacao from Trinidad be-
gan before the Cocoa Research Center collaboration
when Wheelock first traveled to the Gran Couva region
of Trinidad. As a result of this trip, Woodblock Choco-
late became one the first and only chocolate makers
to use cacao from this region in the United States.
Woodblock Chocolate released a holiday bar created
from a blend of cacao from Ecuador and Peru that was
wrapped in a poinsettia pattern. The earthy flavors of
the Ecuadorian cacao and the fruity, caramel flavors of
the Peruvian cacao come together to make a unique
chocolate that stands on its own. Other blend bar va-
rieties include salt, sesame seed, and salt and nibs.
Woodblock Chocolate to Collaborate
with Trinidadian Cacao Research Center
