This is the second in a four-part series called Collaborations for Chocolate Makers. In this episode, we're talking all about craft chocolate collaborations with breweries, distilleries, wineries, and other beverages alcohol producers. We discuss the benefits of the collaborations, potential product ideas, how to approach potential collab partners in this space, and things to consider beforehand.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen talks with Mike King of Encore Coffee and Chocolate about the overlap between these worlds, what he’s learned about each from the other, how sourcing and roasting and flavor formulation differs between them, and how he creates the delicious coffee infused bars like Cafe Mocha, Vanilla Latte, and Caramel Macchiato in his Coffee House Series. 

This is the first in a four-part series called Collaborations for Chocolate Makers. In this episode, we’re looking at why craft chocolate makers should consider collaborating with other businesses and what to consider before beginning a collab partnership.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, London Coe and David Nilsen discuss the importance of Global Black Chocolate Makers Month, what we gain when we have tasting experiences that push us outside our comfort zones, and the makers she'll be promoting throughout February.

In this episode, host David Nilsen talks with KESSHŌ Chocolate co-founder and chocolate maker Liang Wang about her Asian-inspired craft chocolate bars, and how flavor can help us bridge cultural divides.

In our first episode for 2026, we're looking at 9 lessons craft chocolate can learn from craft beer. Most of these, honestly, are lessons craft beer has learned (or, actually, is still learning) the hard way, and craft chocolate businesses and the industry as a whole can learn from beer's mistakes and missteps. I also discuss my stance on the use of AI in craft chocolate)

In this episode, host David Nilsen talks with Professor Robyn Araiza about her innovative Chemistry of Chocolate class, and how chocolate and the sensory process can be used in an educational setting to make a complicated subject more approachable. We also hear from Jorge Torres about his own experience as a student in the class.

In this episode, David Nilsen previews the second annual Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival, and talks with organizer Barb Genuario, sponsor Cocoa Supply's CEO Leila Carvajal Erker, chocolate maker Tandy Peterson of Embers Chocolate, and educator London Coe of Peace on Fifth about what to expect at this year's fest and what makes this festival so unique. 

In this episode, host David Nilsen and cacao agronomist Sarah Bharath discuss cacao farming, cacao fermentation, and the tension between the economic need for efficiency and the deeper need for patience and complexity.

In this episode, host David Nilsen and cacao agronomist Sarah Bharath discuss cacao farming, cacao fermentation, and the tension between the economic need for efficiency and the deeper need for patience and complexity.

In this episode, host David Nilsen talks with Angi at ChocolateSpiel about how and why she uses chocolate as a canvas for color, as well as pairing chocolate with beer, cider, wine, coffee, tea, and cocktails. 

In this episode, chocolate pairing expert Estelle Tracy walks us through making various loose leaf teas and pairing them with craft chocolate. Along the way, she explains what tea is and the basics of different common types of good tea.

Today we hear from Dorothy Neary, one of the founders and chocolate makers at NearyNogs Chocolate in Northern Ireland. In this clip, Dorothy talks about the influence of Irish music on much of her chocolate making and shares the stories behind a few specific examples.

In this episode, we talk with Christopher Nobles of Piety & Desire Chocolate in New Orleans, Louisiana. We talk about the flavors of New Orleans, the city’s personality, and how it all makes its way into his chocolate, including bars made with local beer and rum.

In this episode, we talk with Greg & T from Front Porch Chocolate in Montana. They've crafted many of their excellent inclusion bars—Including Chai Rose, Fig & Cherry, and Strawberry Lemon—with beer pairing in mind, and here we talk with them about the concepts behind their bars and the beer pairings they've designed for each. 

In this episode we talk with Estelle Tracy. For our 100th full length episode of Bean to Barstool, we're talking with an old friend and supporter of the pod, Estelle Tracy. Estelle leads chocolate tastings and pairings through her business, 37 Chocolates, and in this episode we're tasting and pairing the adventurous bars from her new curated collection. Which wines and beers do we pair with a bar inspired by Beijing lamb skewers? How about the always challenging 100% cacao bar, or a bar loaded with chili pepper? Listen in as we have a fun time coming up with pairings  for these unusual bars.

The inaugural Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival in Rushville, Indiana, will be a celebration of craft chocolate, cacao, and the farmers who grow and harvest it. In this preview, David Nilsen talks with organizer Barb Genuario and Leila Carvajal Erker of sponsor Cocoa Supply.

In this episode, David Nilsen talks with Monica Rogan of Goodnow Farms Chocolate about her collaborations with Boston Harbor Distillery and Downeast Cider, the compatibility of coffee and cacao, developing unique flavor concepts for inclusion bars, and she finds the right profile to let single origin beans sing.

In this episode we talk with Franz Zeimetz of Lost Origin Coffee Lab and Casa Bruja brewery and Jaime Pérez of Bocao chocolate, all from Panama. We discuss the state of craft chocolate, craft beer, and coffee in Panama, and a series of experiments and collaborations they've pursued between these three worlds. Franz has used raw cacao fruit from Jaime in a mixed-fermentation Saison, and is experimenting with various cacao and coffee fermentations.

While I mostly pair craft chocolate with craft beer here at Bean to Barstool, there's a world of great beverages out there for pairing with great chocolate. My good friend Shay Pal seems to have paired bars with most of them through her adventurous tasting and traveling. In this episode, Shay and I discuss how she approaches pairing with craft chocolate, how she avoids getting overwhelmed by the choices in front of her, and how she selects which spirit, wine, coffee, or cocktail to pair with any given bar.