About The Science Of Chocolate
(previously known as Bean To Bar World)
Mission
To elevate your satisfaction with chocolate beyond your expectations! Offering expert-level knowledge to all, and allowing you to make wiser and more enlightened choices when it comes to all things chocolate.
The only website with an objective, research-based focus on chocolate tasting, chocolate making, science, and history. Eschewing the industry bias and nonsense.
Cacao flowers and immature pods. Image by Geoseph.
Values
+ Thinkers over Followers
Oftentimes, the industry creators and those doing the actual work (chocolate makers, researchers, the growers, and related businesses) become overshadowed by the critics, the tasters, the judges, the awards, and the social media influencers who often have no actual chocolate or cacao expertise or skills. This leads to a more shallow view of fine chocolate where the blind is leading the blind, and you’re encouraged simply to follow, like, and subscribe.
At The Science Of Chocolate, the goal is to do the opposite. To look at the world of chocolate objectively and critically. I showcase the creators, the makers, the researchers, and offer you all the facts from evidence-based books, peer-reviewed research, and real world industry experience. This encourages you to think for yourself and make decisions based on what you know, not simply parrot what you are told. The result is a deeper appreciation of what matters, of whom matters, and a more satisfying relationship with chocolate overall.
+ Celebrate Craftsmanship
Quality craftsmanship is dying in the food industry, along with food sovereignty and creativity. The chocolate industry itself continues to be swallowed by big multinational companies taking over everything from cacao farms to chocolate makers and any facet of the industry they can get their hands on (lab-grown chocolate is another example).
Great chocolate doesn't come out of nowhere. Great chocolate is made by great people. Chocolate was invented by the people of South and Central America thousands of years ago. People today who continue on the tradition of well crafted chocolate are to be encouraged and supported. Chocolate is not simply fuel, but is a product which satisfies our minds through flavour and creativity that spans both time and culture.
This is why I showcase small independent bean-to-bar makers and entrepreneurs in my online shop. These are makers who focus on ethical cacao sourcing (above fair-trade standards) and quality ingredients. From this desire to help the chocolate creators is also why I developed the bean-to-bar map, locates chocolate entrepreneurs in the world who make chocolate from scratch, using ethical sourced cacao, and building more sustainable and human relationships with all those involved. The real solution to big chocolate!
+ Treating Others With Dignity
The chocolate world is no stranger to scandal. The food industry in general is an industry that no doubt takes advantage of all sorts of people around the world, particularly those who grow the food and ingredients. And chocolate is no exception. Child and slave labour in the cacao fields of West Africa but also around the world has been an issue for years. Bureaucracy and greedy business in the manufacturing and retail sectors. And even in the niche of fine/craft "bean-to-bar" chocolate where people preach about ethics and "community" there is a great deal of bullying and choking one's peers for self-promotion and greed, often the case in the cut-throat fine food industries. Although there are many problems within the chocolate industry, there are many solutions.
This is why I encourage all of us to treat each other with dignity and basic human respect. I expect that at all my events, classes, and dealings online and in-person. There is far too much disrespect around us that we can't control, so let's make sure respect finds its way in situations we can control. Be kind and loving to your fellow human.
+ What Does SOC offer?
The Science Of Chocolate is a portal for quality chocolate education. Here you can book or join in-person and virtual tastings, kitchen classes, chocolate tutoring, workshops, and events to help you experience chocolate in a whole new way.
There is also a growing online shop with a curated collection of fine chocolate products, accessories, decor, and learning tools. Everything for those who wish to make chocolate part of their world!
+ About The Chocolate Here
The chocolate sold in the online shop and used in the tastings is made by independant chocolate makers who use fine cacao that surpasses fair-trade standards. Fairtrade is not synonymous with quality. The cacao sourced for this chocolate is not only higher quality, but sourced directly or transparently by each maker.
+ Where do you ship?
Online shop orders ship across USA, Canada, and beyond to many countries worldwide.
Kits for virtual events ship across USA and Canada.
Please visit the shipping page for more shipping information.
About Geoseph
CHOCOLATE SOMMELIER · MASTER CHOCOLATIER · CHOCOLATE MAKER · INSTRUCTOR
Educating on Chocolate since 2008
Making fine chocolate approachable and satisfying.
I’m the guy behind everything you see on this website. People constantly ask me how I ended up here. The truth is, I have wondered that myself. If you can believe it, I didn’t even enjoy chocolate very much growing up, especially dark chocolate. Perhaps it was my Southern Italian heritage that made me obsessed with food. Maybe it was my curious mind that adored nature wanted to understand the world around me. Or perhaps my desire to create with my hands be it art or well-crafted products. I would say what brought me here was simply following my passions: food, biology, and art, because working with chocolate encompasses all three of these passions for me.
My studies
An image I took of a cocoa bean up close with an electron Microscrope. Image by Geoseph.
I graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science where I focused on biology and animal sciences, but touched on fine arts as well. My passion for being in the kitchen drew me to pastry school where I honed in on my skills in the kitchen. It was there where I came across a job posting for a chocolate sommelier assistant, and after taking on the position in 2008 I was forever dedicated to chocolate. My desire to work with my hands, and my curious mind that drew me into biology and science offers a unique perspective to chocolate. I appreciate and respect the craft, while also the desire to understand how it all works. This has shaped my approach to be eschew much of the nonsense in the industry and focus really on what matters most: the skills and the knowledge.
Developing my curriculum
My time in Wellington, NZ with a miniature chocolate Wellington Fountain.
Since there were no chocolate sommelier courses or chocolate schools when I began, I had to teach myself about all things chocolate. My approach was through what I knew best - biology and research. For years I read every text book and research article concerning chocolate that I could get my fingers on. Little did I know that I was actually developing my own chocolate curriculum. Keeping this information to myself seemed wasteful, so eventually I took it upon myself to better educate the public on chocolate through building my website, posting free information online, and hosting countless chocolate tastings, chocolatier, and chocolate making classes over the years. I was already passionate about understanding chocolate, but like anything you love, it’s always more fun sharing it with others.
Chocolatier to chocolate maker
On CBC Vancouver. Click here to watch/read media publications.
In 2007 I discovered fine chocolate, and became a chocolate sommelier assistant in Toronto. 2009 I moved to Vancouver and worked as a chocolatier for many years creating products, developing recipes, designing new creations, and training others. Over the years I have worked at places such as Chocolate Arts, Thomas Haas Patisserie, Wellington Chocolate Factory, Mon Paris Patisserie, and more.
In 2017 I began focusing even more on public chocolate tastings, classes, markets, and even started up a Vancouver chocolate meetup.
Handmade bonbon by Geoseph. See more of my chocolatier work and gallery here.
This is also when I developed the very first bean-to-bar map. A tool used to help consumers locate small ethical craft chocolate makers around the world - also known as “craft” or “bean-to-bar” chocolate makers. Around this time I started making my own chocolate from the bean, and hosted bean-to-bar master classes. I created the bean-to-bar compass, a unique tasting tool that helps beginners improve their chocolate tasting capabilities and appreciate bean-to-bar chocolate. In 2020 the bean-to-bar map became an app, and I also went virtual with my tastings, lessons, and shop.
In Recent Years
My previous chocolate tasting room in British Columbia.
Today I’m educating through virtual and in-person tastings and kitchen classes. I curate a collection of unique products from around the world, develop my own recipes, and grow the Learning Center and Bean To Bar Map App. I also offer both virtual and in-person tutoring lessons and private chocolate events.
My previous chocolate tasting room in Ontario.
One of my goals is to combat the fear and insecurity people feel around chocolate. Whether tasting, tempering, or making chocolate, many people feel very inadequate and reluctant to ask for help. My work has helped many businesses, consultants, chocolate tasters and judges, or at-home chefs who simply want to learn and enjoy chocolate more. Chocolate is a beautiful medium to work with and appreciate, and it’s my goal to hep you appreciate this through a practical, fact-based, and objective approach.
I do move around a lot, like a leaf in the wind, but currently I reside in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Where chocolate will take me next is to be determined…
The Original Bean To Bar Map
While hosting my tastings, people would often ask where they can locate the makers of the incredible chocolate they tasted. It was (and is) a real challenge for people to locate makers.
I looked online to see if any bean-to-bar map existed that I could refer them to, but unfortunately none did. So I took on what felt like an impossible undertaking, and in 2017 began creating the very first map dedicated to bean-to-bar chocolate makers. I eventually added other categories such as cacao distributors, growers, equipment manufactures, and researchers. Eventually this map became an app with the help of a bean-to-bar friend, and here we are! An incredible tool that is free for everyone to use, share, and connect to.
The original map was a desktop version, which you can still access here.
If you appreciate this tool please share it with as many people as you can. The app is free to use, and free to be hosted on. You can download some free pdf marketing literature and help people discover makers! And should you feel the desire, you’re welcome to donate to help with my time and effort in growing and updating the app. Your generosity is always appreciated. A passion project from my heart to your fingertips, for the sake of bean-to-bar chocolate!
