Tom's Podcast

TOM’S PODCAST #56:  AN EXPERIMENT IN TASTING CHOCOLATE

In today's podcast, I start with one of Chopin's Mazurkas, a dance form that, put to music, recreated his love for his native country, Poland.  Chocolate is my mazurka, as I learned to love chocolate at an early age and now here I am at 54 running my own chocolate store in Southern France and an American non-profit dedicated to making the African cocoa-growing village a chocolate-producing village.

In this podcast, I talk about a powerful tool used by the food industry to determine a customer's potential response to a food.  Called a hedonic test, it reveals a customer's preference.  In this case, I have my customers taste two chocolate squares, one made from a Nestlé dark chocolate and the other from the factory in N'Douci, Côte d'Ivoire.
 
 As always, we are looking to help African cocoa farmers become African chocolate makers.  Join the revolution by donating to the cause!

1.   Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org and click on the Donate button.     -OR- 

2.  Send a check to: Donations, PH&F, 1298 Warren Road, Cambria, CA 93428. 

LISTEN:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1057903/14435370

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org

It’s been a while.  Seems like things just get more complicated by the day.  First, toward the end of September, Jacq N’Guessan and I flew to Côte d’Ivoire.  Jacq is the manager of the local radio and he and I meet weekly regarding communications with the three villages where we have established the three chocolate mini-factories.  Right now, we are focusing on N’Douci which is receiving a cocoa butter press and cocoa powder grinder from China any day now.

This afternoon, I’m recording a brief history of chocolate in Africa—that is, how the cocoa bean even got there.  It’s in French, as it’s part of a series of material that Jacq will be broadcasting.  So the subject of today’s podcast is the history of chocolate in Africa, translated into English.  And of course, I had to correct the Google translation here and there.

Before I start, I’d just like to say Seasons Greetings to all of you who have listened in the past.  You will note the picture of the gingerbread house which I made for my business in downtown Cordes.  On December 26, I will donate the house to the local retirement home.  And after they enjoy it for a while, they will chop it into pieces and give the bits to the children who come to visit their grandparents.

 I hope you enjoy this very informative episode.  Tom Neuhaus

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org

In this podcast, we start by considering the current environmentally caused crisis in the chocolate industry.  If the cocoa farmer is to survive this crisis, the need for participating in more of the value chain has never been more critical.  To do this, the farmer needs to focus more on quality rather than just quantity.  That is, the farmer needs to apply scientific principles to make flavor beans rather than bulk beans.
 
 Three steps lead to optimum quality: fermentation, drying, and triage,and these steps are the focus of this podcast and of Project Hope and Fairness ’s mission for 2024.
 
 I hope you enjoy this very informative episode.  Tom Neuhaus


 As always, we are looking to help African cocoa farmers become African chocolate makers.  Join the revolution by donating to the cause!

1.   Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org and click on the Donate button.     -OR- 

2.  Send a check to: Donations, PH&F, 1298 Warren Road, Cambria, CA 93428. 

LISTEN--->  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1057903/15002097

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Today's podcast begins with a history of how the cocoa tree made its way to West Africa, which now produces over 65% of the world's cocoa beans.  We then consider the primary barrier that keeps the West African cocoa farmer poor--the division between city and country which inhibits the farmer from making a decent living.  Finally, I finish with some of the progress we're making in developing an international market for village-made chocolate. 
 
 As always, we are looking to help African cocoa farmers become African chocolate makers.  Join the revolution by donating to the cause!

1.   Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org and click on the Donate button.     -OR- 

2.  Send a check to: Donations, PH&F, 1298 Warren Road, Cambria, CA 93428. 

LISTEN---> https://www.buzzsprout.com/1057903/14764060

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org

In today's podcast, I compare music and food.  I  start with Chopin's Prelude #8, in F# Minor and we learn a little about complexity.  I talk about how vibrations are processed via the eardrum, cochlea, auditory nerve, and auditory cortex.  We then transition to food, whose enjoyment is a function of partly flavors, tastes, and. texture.  We learn about perinasal and retronasal flavors, about the four types of papillae on the tongue, and about texture.  We also talk about chocolate, the king of food pleasure, whose quality is a function of crystal types.  Finally, I talk about the three villages where we have built chocolate factories.  I finish the podcast with a foray back into the world of music;  we hear my rendition of Bach's F#minor prelude.  Bach is the father of classical and the contrast with Chopin is considerable.
 
 As always, we are looking to help African cocoa farmers become African chocolate makers.  Join the revolution by donating to the cause!

1.   Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org and click on the Donate button.     -OR- 

2.  Send a check to: Donations, PH&F, 1298 Warren Road, Cambria, CA 93428.

LISTEN:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1057903/14435370

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org

On December 12th, Dr. Peggy Papathakis and I, Tom Neuhaus, did an interview at a local radio station, KVEC, here in San Luis Obispo, California.  The host of the show was Dave Congalton, one of the most popular interviewers on the Central Coast.

The interview was entitled, “Learn the Bittersweet Truth About Chocolate.”  This was my third or fourth time on the Dave Congalton Show and Peggy and I did the interview to promote our mini-fundraiser which is taking place tomorrow, Friday, December 15th.  It will be held at the House of Bread, located at 1025 Farmhouse Lane, across from the entrance to the airport on Broad Street.  The event will happen from 4 to 6 PM.  We hope you can join us!  There’s lots of chocolate for sale in exchange for a donation to our worthy cause, which is to help cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire make a decent living.

As always, we are looking to help African cocoa farmers become African chocolate makers.  Join the revolution by donating to the cause!

1.   Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org and click on the Donate button.     

-OR- 

2.  Send a check to: Donations, PH&F, 1298 Warren Road, Cambria, CA 93428. 

LISTEN TO INTERVIEW:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1057903/14148969

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org

In preparation for this podcast I spent 6 days in the CocoaTown booth at the 2023 Salon du Chocolat in Paris talking chocolate, literally to thousands of people.  I sold our Village Chocolates bars, I sold chocolates from my store in Cordes sur Ciel, and for this podcast I interviewed six leaders in the bean-to-bar business.  These include:  

• Mrs. Andal Balu of CocoaTown, a pioneer in adapting the Indian wet grinder to small volume chocolate making;  
• Mr. Maxime Elegbede, a banker turned chocolatier who buys beans from Benin cocoa growers and turns them into beautifully packaged and luscious tasting chocolate bars; 
• Mr. Ndeh Dieudonné, the Managing Director of SOCTRACAO, a Cameroonian company established to help men and women get into the chocolate making business; 
• Mr. Neil Kelsall,  the Director of Marketing for Madagascar Chocolate;  
• Chef Michael Poole of Hot Chocolat, who makes custom chocolates as corporate gifts; 
• and finally Mr. Alain D’Aboville, author of Cacao Source, a book about the bean-to-bar movement

As always, we are looking to help African cocoa farmers become African chocolate makers.  Join the revolution!

1.   Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org and click on the Donate button.     -OR- 

2.  Send a check to: Donations, PH&F, 1298 Warren Road, Cambria, CA 93428. 

3.  TO LISTEN TO PODCAST—> https://www.buzzsprout.com/1057903/13912637

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org

In this podcast, we learn about the history of our relationship with a town of 2,000 inhabitants, Pezoan.  I interview Evariste, who introduced me to the village back in 2005.   I interview Bob Peak, who has an amusing anecdote on our relationship with the Pezoan’s chief.  I talk with Anna and Katie Nakayama.  Anna,  a former student of mine, raised over $2,000 in her church to help us purchase dryness meters for four villages;  Pezoan got one of them.  I finish the podcast with an interview of Servando, the president of SCAP, the cooperative that he founded thanks to the support of Project Hope and Fairness.  SCAP has produced over 1,400 African ChocoFudgeBars, which have sold well in three cities as well as surrounding villages.

We need to raise $50,000 to expand Servando’s project so that he can produce chocolate from cooperative members’ own beans.  The money will pay for a second building to house a roaster, a cracker/winnower, and a melangeur.

 Thanks so much for your past generosity.  I hope you enjoy the podcast and feel open to helping us accomplish our mission, which is to make cocoa farmers chocolate producers.  To donate,
   
 1.   Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org and click on the Donate button.     -OR- 

2.  Send a check to: Donations, PH&F, 1298 Warren Road, Cambria, CA 93428. 

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org

In this podcast, Peggie Bates, a PH&F board member, and I visit the three PH&F villages.  In the first, N'Douci, we establish our third chocolate-producing mini-factory.  This includes hooking up and troubleshooting all the machinery.  And we make a batch of about 35 pounds of chocolate and mold and wrap a few dozen bars and disks.

We also visit the two other already established cooperatives in Depa and Pezoan and exchange news with them as well as work with them on filling out financial forms that will make our job ensuring accountability easier.

We agreed to sign an MOU with TechnoServe, a worldwide non-profit to present "Chocolat des Villages" or Village Chocolates, and we agreed to return in September or October to present our plan to the CCC, the branch of the Ivoirian government that oversees the sales of coffee and cocoa.  The goal is also to partner with a large chocolate company that would help develop the village chocolate brand and solve some of the big problems that a small non-profit cannot solve--cost of transportation and import of finished product.
 
As you listen, I believe you will recognize that we have made remarkable progress and that the donations we have received have gone a long way toward accomplishing our goal or bringing Ivoirian cocoa farmers up the value chain so they can live better lives. 
 
 Thanks so much for your past generosity.  To help us make progress, please donate...
  
 1.   Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org and click on the Donate button.     -OR- 

2.  Send a check to: Donations, PH&F, 1298 Warren Road, Cambria, CA 93428. 

Tom Neuhaus, [email protected]

TO LISTEN TO PODCAST—>

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org

In this podcast, I describe Le Comptoir du Cacao, a chocolate café that features products made with the chocolate we are importing into France.  These include chocolate bars, crystallized cocoa beans , truffle assortments.  On the comptoir or counter are displayed pastries, one of which, palmiers, I describe in some detail.

I finish by mentioning the upcoming trip to Côte d'Ivoire where we will set up our third mini chocolate factory.  In fact, podcast #46 will be audio clips from our trip!  Very exciting!

Please remember that changing the chocolate industry takes considerable effort and that effort is propelled forward with money.  We have just purchased $45,000 worth of machinery and we're going to spend about $10,000 just going there.

Thanks so much for your past generosity.  To help us make progress, please donate...

TO DONATE:
 
1.  Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org and click on the Donate button.    -OR- 
2.  Send a check to: Donations, PH&F, 1298 Warren Road,   Cambria, CA 93428. 

Tom Neuhaus, [email protected] 

Write to me at [email protected]

To learn more, visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org