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Come see us Saturday, January 23 from 5:30-8:30pm at the Forward Movement Training Center in Meridian, Idaho! There will be chocolate tastings including beer and wine, and live music in a family friendly environment. Tickets are $15 and are available at todieforchocolatefestival.com or by calling 208-866-0489. Proceeds benefit the Eagle Garden Rotary Club. Hope to see you there!

by Amber Johnson

If you’ve ever considered planting a tree and growing your own cocoa, you might want to consider the best environment for growing cocoa. Unless you live within 10 degrees north or south of the equator, you would probably be better off buying pre-grown cocoa.

Cocoa beans grow in countries around the world but the three main regions are West Africa, South America and Asia. There are different types of cocoa trees which all grow under different conditions and therefore have slightly different results.

The best place for growing cocoa is within 10 degrees of the equator because the climate is steady, ranging from 18 to 32 degrees celsius. Rain is one of the most important fac...

by Amber Johnson

A common saying from my middle school years is “you can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?” Even though we don’t really say it anymore, I feel like it still applies. People always talk about how good they are or how much they want to make a difference. Some even come up with ideas, but their actions never seem to back up their words. And that frustrates me.

Many people talk about the problems this world has and then sit back and wait for others to solve them. They’re not going to just disappear on their own. At Dream Chocolate, we really are trying to make a dent in the list of problems in this world. One way we practice this is through job traini...

by Amber Johnson

I once saw a fridge magnet that said “man cannot live on chocolate alone…but woman can.” My mom always laughs at this saying, it is funny after all, but I think it’s funny because it’s partially true. Now, of course, not ALL women love chocolate and there are men who really do, but in general, women tend to like chocolate more than men.

According to an article published by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, women like chocolate more than men because of women’s cycle of estrogen and progesterone. The Guardian claims that women like chocolate more because their taste buds tend to be more sensitive toward bitter flavors. Research also indica...

by Amber Johnson

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder what baseball would be like if the batter got out on the first strike instead of the third. The innings would be over in a flash. Hardly anyone would score. It’s a good thing baseball gives second and third chances. If only the rest of the world worked like that.

At Dream Chocolate, we believe in second chances. We work with the State of Idaho to provide people with second chances through the prison work release program. This program allows trusted prisoners to work during their imprisonment. The prisoners leave only for their work shift where they can earn money while serving their sentence.

This program does a lot for prisoners. ...

by Amber Johnson

Before you buy a house it’s important to have an inspector check the house to make sure it’s in good shape and worth your investment. Shouldn’t it be as important, if not more, to take similar precautions with what we eat? If we’re going to put something in our body it’s important to know what’s really in there. There is more to a cocoa bean than meets the eye and misconceptions about chocolate run rampant.

I feel like I keep raving about all the great antioxidants in chocolate but I’ve never really explained what antioxidants do. According to dictionary.com, an antioxidant is “any substance that inhibits oxidation, as a substan...

by Amber Johnson

Back when the Aztecs ruled their empire they treated themselves to what they called xocoatl, which was a bitter drink they made from cacao beans. We’ve come a long way since then, making sweet hot cocoa and chocolates. Through the ages chocolate, like countless other foods, has been processed so it is “better”. The problem is that chocolate, especially sweetened, is not healthy. It is full of fats and sugars. In a world where we strive to enjoy a healthy lifestyle, it is hard to find a tasty treat that is still good for you. Well, it turns out maybe the ancient Aztecs could teach us a lesson about tasty treats.

The Aztecs drank xocoatl without sweetening and...

by Amber Johnson

Growing up, I was taught that labels aren’t important. You don’t have to get the fancy brand of clothes, accessories or food to get your money’s worth. Though it was true that labels don’t make or break me, it turns out they do matter. Environment-friendly products are all the rage these days and companies are fully aware of that trend; therefore, natural and organic labels are showing up all over the place. Many people do not know that there is a difference between natural and organic products–an important difference.

The organic label has more to do with the growing process of cocoa beans. According to U.S. regulations, a product qualifies as o...

Dream Chocolate supports the labeling of Non-GMO’s and Kay strives to ensure his products do not contain any GMOs. To learn more about GMO’s see Are GMO’s Safe to Eat? by Mary Messenburg at Vooluu.com.

by Amber Johnson

You know that saying don’t judge a book by its cover? Well, it’s true. Often when you get to know more about someone or something you find out characteristics and facts about them that are surprising. The more I learn about chocolate the more surprises I find. The latest shocker: white chocolate is not technically chocolate! It doesn’t have the ingredients that define a food as chocolate. That led me to thinking, what is white chocolate made of if it doesn’t have any chocolate in it?
In the chocolate making process, after the cocoa beans are dried and shelled, what’s left of them is the part inside the shell, known as the nib. The nibs are groun...