Straight From the Source
Cacao in Hawaii with Madre Chocolate
This week on Straight From the Source, Clay Gordon is joined by guest Nat Bletter, the founder of Madre Chocolate in Hawaii, the only state in the US where cacao is grown commercially. Find out what's going on with chocolate in Hawaii and how Nat went from an ethnobotany degree to chocolate maker. Get some great insight into the industry and advice for aspiring chocolate makers. Learn about the history of cacao in Hawaii, including the early days of Hersey. Whether you're interested in farming, consuming or selling chocolate - you can learn from Nat on a very informative episode of Straight From the Source. This program was sponsored by Heritage Meat Shop.
"When you're studying botany you get exposed to an amazing array of tastes, flavors and how things are used in different cultures." [20:56]
"We [Hawaii] are the north pole of cacao. It's the coldest place in the world cacao is grown!" [30:04]
--Nat Bletter, founder of Madre Chocolate on Straight From the Source