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Where to Buy Chocolate in Ghana: A Directory in Progress
It’s been just over a year since I moved to Accra, and since the publication of Cocoa, my book on industry politics. I’ve spent that time re-immersing in Ghana’s cocoa environment—a lot has changed...
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“I am a cocoa farmer”: Daniel Aboagye, Western Region, Ghana
About the series One of my favorite writing projects is my series, “I am a cocoa farmer,” for ConfectioneryNews. When I moved to Ghana a few years ago, I knew I had an opportunity to bring readers a...
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Chocolate Bar None: Why I eat any chocolate
Part of my collection of chocolate wrappers, the work of many years of buying & eating A friend in the chocolate industry once told me he wanted to make a bar that he would call “Pure Evil.” The...
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A false dichotomy: Artisan vs. mass-market chocolate
I eat chocolate every day. If my breakfast is oatmeal, I add a handful of chocolate chips (most recently: Callebaut Single Origin Sao Thomé 70%). During the day, I snack on bars from a wooden crate in...
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Forgotten labor: Moving cocoa from farm to factory
A few months ago, at the height of Ghana’s main harvest, I spent two days watching the loading and unloading of cocoa. I installed myself on the cocoa bean-bags that lined the patio of a district depot...
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The cocoa system is not broken
In my previous post on forgotten labor, I shared evidence that, regardless of premiums, the work of moving cocoa across Ghana is physically grueling. But demonstrating that tough labor moves even...
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A guest perspective: Ayn Riggs, Slave Free Chocolate
In Chocolate Bar None, I explore why I buy and eat any chocolate that I enjoy, regardless of ethical or environmental considerations. While I am confident in the research methods and findings that led...
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Boycott multinationals, punish farmers
—– Read this post in Portuguese, thanks to Chocólatras Online @chocolatrason —– If any emotion motivates me to write Chocolate Bar None, I hope it’s compassion for vulnerable people working in West...
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“It is an answered prayer”: A Ghanaian cocoa farmer speaks about...
The day I published my previous post, on why boycotting multinational chocolate companies has the potential to harm cocoa farmers, I traveled to the town of Assin Fosu in Ghana’s Central Region to...
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Eyeglasses for Cocoa Farmers
Do you wear eyeglasses? I do. I have been near-sighted since I was seven. Sitting in my second-grade classroom, I felt scared because I could no longer see the letters that the teacher was writing on...
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