Bean to Barstool

We recently wrapped up our four-episode series called Collaboration for Chocolate Makers, which looked at different collaboration ideas for craft chocolate companies. Today, we’re looking at a case study of a specific kind of creative collaboration within the industry to pick apart how it worked, and how you can apply it at your own chocolate operation.

Estelle Tracy of 37 Chocolates is a chocolate educator whose has been a guest on...

Welcome to Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, where we spend about 5 minutes on a specific topic in craft beer, craft chocolate, or artisan drinks. Today we're talking with Jason Brewer and Zac Boehnke of Wandering Monsters Brewing in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jason and Zac share the most important thing they've learned when working with cacao and other flavor ingredients, and the storytelling that's possible with these beers. Enj...

This is the fourth and final part in a series called Collaboration for Chocolate Makers. In the series, we walk through different types of possible collaborations and how craft chocolate makers should go about them.

In this episode, we talk about ideas for creative, outside-the-box collaborations—Partnerships with businesses or community entities that you might not think about as options but can really lead to some cool storytelling...

Bean to Barstool Redux: Vintage but still relevant conversations from the archives without all the extra narration. Just classic interviews from really cool people in craft chocolate, craft beer, and other food and beverage fields.

In this edition, is a chocolate educator who uses chocolate as a way to travel the world, recalling places she’s been and imagining ones she hasn’t, and helping others to do the same. All that’s required ...

Welcome to Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, where we spend about 5 minutes on a specific topic in craft beer, craft chocolate, or artisan drinks. Today we're talking with Liang Wang of Kessho Chocolate in Austin, Texas. Liang shares the meaning behind the name Kessho, as well as the thought that goes into their wrapper artwork and mold design. Enjoy!

You can listen to the entire episode this clip is from here.

Check out David's...

This is the third in a four-part bonus series called Collaborations for Chocolate Makers. In the series, we'll walk through different types of possible collaborations and how craft chocolate makers should go about them.

Today we’re going to talk about an opportunity for collaboration that I think is wildly underutilized in craft chocolate: Craft chocolate makers collaborating on products with other craft chocolate makers. 

In th...

My friends Scott Fielder & Chris Crowe have spent the past few years publicly documenting their quest to pass the Master Cicerone exam. In late 2025, Scott Fielder became just the 29th Master Cicerone in the world. Chris, his best friend and partner in this process, came close to doing the same, and is more determined than ever to pass the exam in 2026. 

I sat down with Scott and Chris recently to talk about how their pursuit of...

Elmer Pineda and his family grow cacao and make tree to bar chocolate in the mountains of Honduras. Taking their company name from the Volcanic crater lake where their chocolate factory is located, Yojoa Chocolate makes classic two-ingredient bars, as well as a range of inclusion bars that celebrate the agricultural bounty of their corner of the world. When I connected with Elmer over Zoom recently, a tropical rain storm was drench...

This is the second in a four-part bonus series called Collaborations for Chocolate Makers. In the series, we'll walk through different types of possible collaborations and how craft chocolate makers should go about them.

You can check out the first episode in the series here, or read it in blog form here.

In this second episode, we're talking all about craft chocolate collaborations with breweries, distilleries, wineries, a...

Mike King at Encore Coffee and Chocolate in Kansas City is currently making some of the best coffee-infused craft chocolate bars on the market. I’ve had the chance to talk with Mike at the Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival the past couple years, and we were finally able to connect for a conversation for Bean to Barstool a couple weeks ago. 

We talk all about the overlap between these worlds, what he’s learned about each from the othe...

Back in the first episode of 2026, I shares some things I think craft chocolate can learn from craft beer. One of those lessons (and, upon reflection, one of the only positive ones) was to collaborate expansively. While craft chocolate makers periodically partner with breweries and coffee roasters, the avenues for collaboration in the industry remain pretty limited. That's a shame, because collaboration offers amazing opportun...

Today we're talking with Jason Brewer and Zac Boehnke of Wandering Monsters Brewing in Cincinnati, Ohio. While they brew a wide variety of beers well, they're best known for excellent adjunct stouts like Viator Obscura: Triple Chocolate, which has medaled at both Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup.

In this episode, Jason and Zac talk about how they approach brewing with cacao nibs, vanilla, and other ingredien...

Bean to Barstool Redux: Vintage but still relevant conversations from the archives without all the extra narration. Just classic interviews from really cool people in craft chocolate, craft beer, and other food and beverage fields.

In this edition, we hear from Emily Stone, founder of Uncommon Cacao, who supplies cacao for hundreds of bean to bar chocolate makers and, indirectly through their bean to bar partners, quite a few craft ...

Welcome to Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, where we spend about 5 minutes on a specific topic in craft beer, craft chocolate, or artisan drinks. Today we're looking back at one of the first deep dives I ever did on pairing beer and chocolate for Bean to Barstool. Enjoy!

You can listen to the entire episode this clip is from here.

Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer...

This month, London Coe of Peace on Fifth in Dayton, Ohio, will celebrate the tenth annual Global Black Chocolate Makers Month. It's an opportunity to promote the work of Black craft chocolate makers from outside the U.S., and introduce tasters here to makers and, in some case, ingredients they might not be familiar with.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen and London discuss the importance of Global Black Chocolat...

Bean to Barstool Redux: Vintage but still relevant conversations from the archives without all the extra narration. Just classic interviews from really cool people in craft chocolate, craft beer, and other food and beverage fields.

In this edition, we hear from Kjartan Gíslason, a co-founder of Omnom Chocolate in Reykjavik, Iceland. Omnom is known not only for their delicious and creative bean to bar chocolate, but for the colorful ...

Ale Sharpton, a legendary beer writer from Atlanta celebrating his 30th year in the craft beer industry in 2026, is back with the latest version of his Piano Keys chocolate vanilla imperial stout collab, this time with Creature Comforts. The beer celebrates diversity in the brewing industry, both in terms of flavors and the people brewing and enjoying them. The beer uses Ecuadorian cacao nibs from Condor Chocolate, three different ...

"Language and food are the two vehicles that can help people understand each other better."

That's Liang Wang, co-founder and chocolate maker at KESSHŌ Chocolate in Austin, Texas. KESSHŌ makes craft chocolate bars inspired by Asian cuisine and ingredients. These bars open up worlds to the curious taster that might otherwise have remained closed.

I met Liang in person for the first time at the Midwest Craft Chocolate Fe...

In this quick bonus episode, host David Nilsen talks with Jake Potter, founder and chocolate maker at Red Rock Chocolate in Utah. They talk about the upcoming inaugural Red Rock Region Chocolate and Fine Foods Festival in Hurricane, Utah, discussing vendors, classes, and other things to expect at the fest.

You can get all the details about the festival here, and follow the festival on Instagram here.

Check out David's book Pairi...