the source of the power, the beans to an end

when a bearded man talks, you listen. you do so for many reasons but mainly because of his beard. the same way samson had hair on his head for a reason, the bearded man draws power from his facial hair. now, if the beards are red and the two man are artisan chocolate makers, we can safely assume they run while waiting for their beans to roast. everyone, meet the mast brothers.

their story is simple. a guy named steve devries generated something in the fine chocolate world called the small batch movement, implementing traditional yet simple bean to bar making. he passed the bug on and soon basements all around filled with cocoa smell and artisan chocolate makers. two of the apprentices that he mentored were rick and michael mast and what they did from that moment on is solely their credit and adventure.

once they learned how to make chocolate, they became quite interested in, wait for it, the source. they wanted single-origin cocoa to have perfect control on taste. their chocolate is made only from cocoa beans and organic sugar. no additives, no flavors, no nothing. they import their beans from south america, straight from the producers, with no middle man, and the cocoa comes into the brooklyn harbor on a schooner. they are the first new york business to bring in cargo like this since 1939, and this is because they do not want to contribute to the industrialization of food. they wanted source control, they got source control.

add impeccable packaging, each bar is hand wrapped, a patented way of grinding developed by an aerospace engineer friend and the fact that each process of making the chocolate is considered over on the skill of tasting and you have the greatest chocolate story since willy wonka.

now,  the story of the chocolate bar is at the beginning. it will rise and there is no reason not to expect artisan chocolate makers in every city in a couple of years. just like bread, cheese and other such amazing food, if done with skill and care, we will re-learn to eat and savor it. but like any industry that is niche and small, the bar of the chocolate bar (yes, i came up with that word play all by myself) is very high right now, but soon, with the spread of cocoa beans, it will not always remain so. there is no way that all new chocolatiers will have the beards of the mast brothers, or their sense of adventure and perfectionism. some will definitely be less good.

but what makes the mast brothers great in their niche is what is laking in our big businesses. the source. when was the last time you took so much consideration and time to manage your source, whatever that is? when was the last time you spent time down at your source providers, understand their ways and means? when was the last time you went the long way, brought in a schooner, to have your source delivered the proper way? when was the last time you took your already made product back to the ones that provide your source for them to taste, see, experience what their source had made come into being? and this way understand how they can improve it, and improve it for you. m? when? do you even know what your source is?

i say go and grow a beard, and while it grows, think about this.