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Devoted To Fine Chocolate

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Tag: bean to bar

Cocoa Adventure in Enchanting Southern India

Posted on October 4, 2018July 27, 2020 by Hazel Lee

In 2015 I received an email from Karthikeyan Palaniswamy. He asked if I would be interested in evaluating cacao and chocolate from his developing businesses (Soklet and Regal Cacao) based in Anamalai, Tamil Nadu, India. I was very excited to …

Blog, Cocoa Adventuresbean to bar, cacao, cacaolove, cocoa adventure, cocoa farm, cocoa pods, india, tree to bar2 Comments

My Second Podcast Interview!

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Hazel Lee

Brian Ruggles of the Utah Chocolate Society has recently created the Chocolate Fascination Podcast: a podcast all about fine chocolate.

Brian found me at the Northwest Chocolate Festival last year and asked if we could record a podcast episode …

Blog, Chocolate Eventbean to bar, cacao, cacaolove, interview, podcastLeave a comment

Cocoa Adventure in Vietnam

Posted on September 14, 2017April 9, 2018 by Hazel Lee

In 2009 I spent a month backpacking Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore and I absolutely loved it. The abundance of delicious food, gorgeous beaches, vibrant culture and some great beach parties made it a trip of a lifetime that will be …

Blog, Cocoa Adventuresbean to bar, cacao, cacaolove, cocoa adventure, vietnam

My First Podcast Interview!

Posted on July 6, 2017July 7, 2017 by Hazel Lee

Lauren Heineck of WKND Chocolate based in Denver, Colorado created the Well Tempered Podcast to celebrate the smart, creative and crafty women in the chocolate industry.

Thank you Lauren for inviting me to interview for your twelfth episode! In this …

Blogbean to bar, cacaolove, cocoa adventure, interview1 Comment

Craft Chocolate Discoveries from Chocoa, Amsterdam 2017

Posted on May 10, 2017May 12, 2017 by Hazel Lee

In February I attended the international chocolate event of Chocoa based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. I managed to squeeze in a short trip over a weekend thanks to the short distance between London and Amsterdam. This was also my first trip …

Blog, Chocolate Eventbean to bar, cacao, cacaolove1 Comment

Interview: My Chocolate Highlights of 2016

Posted on December 22, 2016December 22, 2016 by Hazel Lee

Thank you to the lovely Zoe Perrett of the Culinary Adventures of the Cocoa Nut blog for including me in her interviews of the 2016 Chocolate Highlights! And thank you to all of the wonderful people in this chocolate world …

Blogbean to bar, cacao, cacaolove, cocoa adventure, interviewLeave a comment

My Second Chocolate Interview!

Posted on November 30, 2016February 17, 2017 by Hazel Lee

Thank you to Victoria Cooksey, Washington-based Chocolate Blogger, for interviewing me on her blog Dark Matters Fine Chocolate. It was a pleasure to meet you in person at The Northwest Chocolate Festival 2016!

Please click here or the …

Blogbean to bar, cacao, cacaolove, interviewLeave a comment

Discoveries from Salon du Chocolat, Paris 2016

Posted on November 21, 2016May 10, 2017 by Hazel Lee

I attended the Salon du Chocolat, Paris at the end of October (the origin of this now international chocolate show) and had a truly wonderful time meeting old friends and new, tasting some fascinating chocolate and even doing my …

Blog, Chocolate Eventbean to bar, cacao, cacaolove, cocoa adventure1 Comment

An Evening with Josef Zotter

Posted on November 1, 2016May 10, 2017 by Hazel Lee

The Academy of Chocolate hosts a variety of chocolate events including talks, tastings, debates, dinners and conferences. Most recently, they hosted an evening with the eccentric and rather brilliant Josef Zotter of Zotter Schokoladen. The event was held at …

Blog, Chocolate Eventbean to bar, cacao, interviewLeave a comment

Chocolate and Love

Posted on October 9, 2016October 9, 2016 by Hazel Lee

Over the past couple of years as my “chocolate life” has developed, I have felt more love than ever before. I’ve mentioned a few times through my social media posts that although chocolate is delicious, fun to make and simply …

Blogbean to bar, cacao, cacaolove2 Comments

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This is what I love to see: @TasteWithColour in ac This is what I love to see: @TasteWithColour in action! Placed above the conche and splattered with chocolate at the @ChocTreeScotland factory. Tasting and identifying flavours throughout the chocolate making process 🍫🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💕 #TasteWithColour #CacaoLove
CACAO MEMORIES 🍫🌴✨ St George’s Market, G CACAO MEMORIES 🍫🌴✨ St George’s Market, Grenada 🍫🇬🇩 November 2019.
It was @MagdaGrenada’s birthday yesterday so after I wished her a happy birthday I looked back at the photos of my latest Cocoa Adventure to Grenada in November last year.
I have an obsession with anything that has a cocoa pod on it 😆. Here I am in St George’s market, excited to have found a calabash bowl with a beautiful cacao pod painting! I also found some cacao pod tea towels and cocoa bean and spice necklaces 📿.
Thank you so much to Artie from @TrueBlueBayResort for unexpectedly being my chauffeur, cacao hunting buddy and personal photographer during this trip 🙏🏼💁🏻‍♀️😅.
I don’t know what the travel situation will be like in May next year but if it’s safe to do so, I really hope to be at @GrenadaChocolateFest again!! 🤞🏼❤️🍫🌴🇬🇩💕✨ #CacaoLove #CacaoMemories
This never gets old 😍🤩 #BeanToBar #CacaoLove This never gets old 😍🤩 #BeanToBar #CacaoLove
I love a good cheese and chocolate pairing 🍫🧀🤤 a cheeky behind-the-scenes tasting with @ChocolateFascination at the @CraftChocolateExperience back in early March. I’m so grateful for this trip and chocolate gathering just before lockdown 🙏🏼❤️ #CacaoLove
Who enjoys winnowing with a hairdryer? 🤪 I do n Who enjoys winnowing with a hairdryer? 🤪 I do not miss those days 😅.
I call myself a “home” bean to bar maker because I just make chocolate for fun. Back in 2014 I set myself the challenge to make bean to bar chocolate at home with minimal investment in equipment. This was just after I returned from my first trip to @LaIguanaChocolate. 
I used my home oven to roast the beans, a tin can to crack them, a hairdryer to winnow, a liquidiser to pre-grind the beans and a spare granite floor tile to temper the final chocolate. I did invest in a wet grinder from Amazon (thanks to @WilliesCacao for sharing the link back when these were a bit of a secret!). From my research, no standard kitchen equipment would create a completely smooth chocolate.
Since I started making chocolate at home I have also invested in a refurbished tempering machine and this Sylph winnower. I bought the winnower second hand but it was designed and created by @ChocolateAlchemy. It’s such a relief from using the hairdryer!! (Many people have made their own winnowers).
Since I don’t make chocolate often I didn’t want to invest too much in equipment but I am so glad I bought this 😅.
I still crack using a tin can 💪🏼. There can be some stubborn beans which you can probably see in this video. After an initial run through the winnower, I sieve out the larger unbroken beans for another cracking 💪🏼. Next on the list will be a cracking machine 😅
🍫❤️ #BeanToBar #CacaoLove
Happy World Chocolate Day everyone! 🍫🌎 This Happy World Chocolate Day everyone! 🍫🌎 This has been my Instagram profile picture for over 5 years 😅 sending lots of #CacaoLove to you all ❤️
CACAO MEMORIES 🍫🌴✨ When I fell in love wit CACAO MEMORIES 🍫🌴✨ When I fell in love with cacao 😍 at La Iguana Chocolate, Costa Rica 🇨🇷🦎 December 2013.
In autumn 2013 I wanted to book my first solo trip somewhere tropical. Instead of “hopping hostels” I wanted to volunteer somewhere to have a more meaningful experience and interact with the local culture.
At this time I already had a passion for chocolate. I worked at @HotelChocolat Guildford during the holidays while I was at university and had already worked on many chocolate projects in my first full time job at a food consultancy business.
I wanted to volunteer somewhere food or drink related. Perhaps a coffee farm in Colombia... but then I came across @LaIguanaChocolate, a cocoa farm in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle 😍. I got in touch immediately. The dates and flights all aligned and a trip was booked!
This was the first time I met a cacao tree up close. I was mesmerised by the beauty of the cacao tree and its tiny, intricate flowers 😍🌸. Needless to say, I instantly fell in love!
After my first trip to La Iguana, I set myself the challenge to make bean to bar chocolate at home. And so my chocolate journey began... 🍫💚 #CacaoLove #CacaoMemories
CACAO MEMORIES 🍫🌴✨ Cacao Chica at La Iguan CACAO MEMORIES 🍫🌴✨ Cacao Chica at La Iguana Chocolate, Costa Rica 🇨🇷🦎 January 2015.
During my stay at @LaIguanaChocolate, I expressed my love for the flavours of fresh cacao.
To my delight, at the farm we produced a small batch cacao “chicha”, a fermented, lightly alcoholic drink made from fresh cacao (we used the five pods pictured), water and panela (unrefined cane sugar, produced locally in the Costa Rica jungle).
We drank the chicha on my last night after a few days’ fermentation. It was absolutely delicious! It had some bubbles (see second photo) and a tiny bit of alcohol (probably around 2%) but the main enjoyment was the delicious flavour of the cacao fruit 😍 I wish I could have taken some home to share! 🍫💚💛🧡 #CacaoLove #CacaoMemories
CACAO MEMORIES 🍫🌴✨ Harvest at La Iguana Ch CACAO MEMORIES 🍫🌴✨ Harvest at La Iguana Chocolate, Costa Rica 🇨🇷🦎 January 2015.
It has been lovely to go through photos and reflect on previous Cocoa Adventures.
@LaIguanaChocolate was the first cocoa farm I visited. The last leg of the journey to get there included a 3 hour bus ride into the Costa Rican jungle by myself with limited Spanish and no phone signal. There was no going back, that was for sure!
When I arrived, none of the other volunteers were around and it was starting to get dark. I was greeted in Spanish by one of the members of the family. I had such culture shock I didn’t know what to do with myself so I just went to bed (at 8.30pm!) questioning my decision to come 😂. The following morning I met the other volunteers and Jorge, the main man behind La Iguana, and soon settled in. The days involved a group breakfast followed by 5 hours of volunteer work with the afternoons and evenings free to relax and explore (and drink rum! 🥃🙊). Despite the initial culture shock, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience of the cacao jungle life!
I returned the following year after my trip to San Blas. In this first picture I am wearing a mola in the form of a headband (handmade textile appliqué art) that I bought from the Kuna Indians.
My favourite days at La Iguana were of course visiting the cacao orchard. It was an energy intensive day with a hike there and back and plenty of manual work. After I got back and showered, I relaxed in a hammock and watched the beautiful sunset (second picture) surrounded by the curious sounds of the jungle around me 🍫🐒🌿🌅💕 #CacaoLove #CacaoMemories
Treat yourself and support small (chocolate!) busi Treat yourself and support small (chocolate!) businesses! 🍫 I’m a big believer in treating yourself, particularly when we are isolated and with empty diaries.
As an extrovert with a big passion for travel, I have struggled to be cheerful during this time which feels so grey. However, I am incredibly grateful to be safe and well and to continue working full time! 🙏🏼
And incredibly grateful to have such talented friends in the industry who make delicious treats like these 😍🍫🙏🏼🥰 thank you @JKFineChocolates 😘.
Stay safe and eat quality craft chocolate everyone ❤️ #CacaoLove
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