FoodLove 12: Sue from The Cocoa Forge

Meet Sue from The Cocoa Forge, a former chocolatier and now a maker of sublime, world-class chocolate that expresses the terroir so perfectly. With one taste of a bar, a chocolate lover can travel to Ecuador, the Philippines, or any number of other countries in which she has established relationships with cocoa grove farmers/stewards. In what is an amazing commitment to the environment, Sue will soon be bringing cocoa beans by sailboat back into her hometown harbor.

In this episode, Sue speaks of the alchemy of chocolate-making and gives us insights into the precision and care for details that give her chocolate nuanced flavor, artistic and ecologically-minded packaging, and indulgent satisfaction that might lead to obsession similar to a fine bottle of wine. (I would personally rather receive her chocolate than most any bottle of wine for any special occasion.) You can order her chocolate online and subscribe to the upcoming Chocolate Faucet for a monthly fix of the featured chocolate bars or sampling tiles.

Sue is a treasure in Port Townsend and a model for how one can bring a “food of the gods”—theobroma into the world in a sustainable and holistic way. Her chocolate represents deep care for the environment, global relationships with real people, the cocoa bean harvest and storage, the understory of tropical forests, and superlative quality. How she does this in harmony with nature is such a perfect example of the Tao of food.