Brad Kintzer: A Chief Chocolate Maker Talks About His Dream Job

Brad Kintzer is the Chief Chocolate Maker at TCHO Chocolate, based in Berkeley, California. Prior to joining TCHO, Brad was chocolate maker and product developer at U.S. bean-to-bar chocolate pioneer, Scharffen Berger, acquired by The Hershey Company in 2005. Previous to his 20 years of chocolate making, Brad studied tropical botany and environmental studies at the University of Vermont, and spent months working on cacao plantations throughout Latin America to better understand the origins of chocolate flavor. At TCHO since 2009, Brad and his team are focused on innovating in every aspect of chocolate making; from cocoa genetics, fermentation and roasting, to creating unique and tasty chocolate products for market. Brad volunteers on the board of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA) and also the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund (HCP).

 In this episode we discuss:

• How Brad’s interest in botany became an obsession with the cacao plant
• Brad’s first job at a chocolate factory
• His first job as a chocolate maker at Scharffen Berger in San Francisco
• Landing a job as Chief Chocolate Maker at TCHO in Berkeley, CA
• How TCHO partners with cacao farmers to produce better chocolate
• How TCHO transitioned to 100 percent plant-based
• Brad’s favorite source for cacao beans
• His thoughts about eliminating heavy metal contamination in dark chocolate
• And much, much more!

 

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