The MPR piece below was originally intended to be a Marketplace piece. Here is the Marketplace version. Marketplace: Betting on premium chocolate lovers

I was lucky enough to be on MPR again a couple of weeks ago. This was during the week when my father came out from Massachusetts to help me install my dehumidification system. Needless to say, that machine was much harder to install than I had anticipated. MPR: Not even a slow economy can keep people from their chocolate

These are some pictures from a trip to the Dominican Republic I took this spring to evaluate and purchase machines. 

	Cacao tree
	An opened under ripe cacao pod.
	Fermentation box filled with beans in a cascading box fermentary. The beans will be rotated through a series of 3 boxes, one every 48 hours. This is the basic fermentation methodology that comprises most of the better co-ops and exporters.
	Next the beans are dried slowly on elevated beds or concrete patios. In this case a solar dryer, which looks a lot like a greenhouse with vents in the top and sides. The beans must be turned every 15-20 minutes constantly for around 6-8 days to make the best quality product. Failing to do this part properly can lead to a variety of problems.
	Melangeur-broyeur in all its rough glory. A set of two rollers of about 800 lbs. roll over a warmed granite pan that rotates. This gently crushes the roasted and winnowed cocoa nibs. It also mixes sugar as it is incorporated. I will be repainting, installing a new drive system, and developing a new heating method for the pan.
	Longitudunal Conche. This needs some serious work. This machine follows the original design of the conche developed by Rudi Lindt in 1879. This is the mechanism that created the eating chocolate that we think of today when we think of chocolate. Prior to 1879 most chocolate was consumed in the form of drinking chocolate 4 steel troughs with rounded ends. In each pot a granite roller reciprocates back and forth over a granite base, changing the flavor and texture of the chocolate through aeration, heating, and shearing. This is considered by many to be the best machine for making chocolate. I have been cutting the granite bases out with a huge 14 inch diamond cut off saw normally used for road construction. I will be modernizing and automating the drive and heating, as well as cleaning, sandblasting, welding, installing new stones, repainting, installing new bearings, building new sides, etc. Lots of fun.

We received mentions in two recent L.A. Times articles! Article One: Think chocolate can't get any better? These Willy Wonkas beg to differ - The latest wave of cocoa hunters is seizing control, from bean to bar Article Two: Chocolate made in America

WCCO Television, the Twin Cities affiliate of CBS, recently featured Colin Gasko of Rogue Chocolatier in a story aired on Feb 14, 2008 - Valentine's Day. "What Makes Chocolate so Delicious?" Watch the video at wcco.com.

Desiree Cooper and Marc Sanchez from American Public Media's Weekend America interview Colin Gasko of Rogue Chocolatier. Aired on Feb 9, 2008. Listen to the show.

City Pages: The Smallest Chocolate Factory in the World by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl Published Dec 19, 2007

Gourmet Magazine has picked up Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl's story and published it. The Smallest Chocolate Factory in the World by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl Published Jan 15, 2008