Back From Ecuador — Creo Chocolate

“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

I’ve learned that culture-hopping is overwhelming. Being surrounded by others who don’t speak your language makes a person keenly introspective and self-conscious, especially when social rules and cultural norms are completely foreign. This project has broadened my understanding, humbled me far past my comfort zone, and left me with a fresh perspective, crazy excited to help bring a (delicious) piece of Ecuador to the USA…

This spring, Creo Chocolate, a family-owned bean-to-bar chocolate company, took me to South America in order to meet with the farmers who grow their chocolate and bring back this story to the US. Not only is this an awesome project, but the family I got to work with is one of the most genuine and hardworking that I know.

Dream. Come. True.

Not only did we learn about different types of chocolate and how they are grown and harvested, but we made friends, even among those with whom we had limited (if any) verbal communication.
Now, the journey is coming to Portland! This fall, Creo Chocolate plans to open a new kind of bean-to-bar workshop, where every step of their process—from the Ecuadorian chocolate bean to the Creo Chocolate bar—will be set up so that visitors can watch the handcrafting unfold. The unique chocolate workshop is scheduled to open in the fall of 2014, bringing to life the family’s dream of supporting communities and “handcrafting a bean-to-bar experience.”

There are at least half a dozen videos that will come out of this trip, but the first is finally live to share with y’all!

Check out CreoChocolate.com to stay updated on the progress of what this incredible family is doing for Portland and communities around the world!