Emily Stone of Uncommon Cacao (Ep. 45)
“Uncommon cacao is telling the story of the power of connection.”
In this episode we talk with Emily Stone, the founder and CEO of Uncommon Cacao, a group of Transparent Trade cacao operations with offices in the U.S. and Europe and operations at numerous cacao origins. Uncommon supplies cacao for hundreds of bean to bar chocolate makers and, indirectly through their bean to bar partners, quite a few craft breweries as well. Emily is passionate about the people and stories behind these cacao origins, and here we talk about those origins, what led Emily to start Uncommon, and the importance of full, two-way transparency in the cacao supply chain.
Chocolate makers mentioned in this episode include Ritual, Taza, Dick Taylor, Dandelion, Raaka, French Broad, Ratza, Videri, and Ethereal Confections.
If you want to learn more about Uncommon Cacao, you can visit their website. They just released their annual transparency report here if you wish to read it. You can also follow them on Instagram.
The music for this episode is from the song “200 Miles” by my dear friend, indie folk musician Anna ps. You can find out more about Anna’s music in the show notes or at her website annapsmusic.com, where you can also get in touch to book her to play at your brewery, cafe, or other establishment.
Guests:
Emily Stone is the Founder and CEO of Uncommon Cacao, a group of Transparent Trade cacao operations including Maya Mountain Cacao (Belize), Cacao Verapaz (Guatemala), and Uncommon offices in the U.S. and Europe. Emily spent 2010-2017 living in Belize and Guatemala developing the specialty cacao value chain operations and working directly with producers. Now based in the U.S., Emily leads Uncommon Cacao's work supplying delicious, high quality, transparently-sourced cacao from 12+ countries for hundreds of craft and premium chocolate makers globally. Emily is an Ashoka Fellow and Unreasonable Fellow, and a recipient of the FCIA Recognition of Excellence in Outstanding Contribution at Origin in Sustainability of Fine Chocolate.