Great book that delves in the process of making chocolate, bean to bar as the name suggests. I thought the beverage pairings was a nice addition.

Yum yum! Very informative. I really enjoyed reading this book and learning. Highly recommend this book for all chocolate lovers. I enjoyed learning about pairing chocolate with drinks as well.

For me, chocolate has always been a favourite. That was the reason why I took think books for review. I wanted to know how the chocolate came into being, how it’s made and the deep dark secrets about it. I have to say this book certainly surprised me. It was thoroughly enjoyable. There was a detailed description of the history of chocolates, and how it’s made. I like the way the book was written, with illustrations that can help anyone new to chocolates understand the process of how it’s made. There was also a lot about the different ways and types of chocolate making. I clearly understood everything about chocolates. (I understood so much, that now I can give a class on chocolates now.) I really recommend this book for anyone interested in chocolates.

This book is an in depth history of and provides information about the world of chocolate making. Bean to Bar covers the origins, the history and the makers of chocolate around the world. I found the many facts fascinating. The pictures were just glorious!

There were also many tips and recipes. This is a great book for learning so much more about the wonderful treat so many of us love.

* Thank you to Megan Giller, Storey Publishing and Netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Craft chocolate! Fascinating book detailing chocolate making all the way from the cacao plant to tempering chocolate. Delectable ideas...Grownup Peanut Butter & Jelly truffles, imagine! Add blue cheese, rose petals, gingerbread, quinoa, whatever you come up with! Mouthwatering creations!

I tried to read this book but it was already archived, only three days after the publication date. Bummer!.

The world of American chocolate. What is the difference between fair trade and direct trade? Recipes from some of America,s favorite chocolatiers from Alice Medrich to Christina Tosi.

Bean-to-Bar Chocolate was a fascinating look into the world of chocolate. I learned more than I ever thought there was to know.

Bestill my beating heart! This book is so loaded with temptation it could easily lead me astray and be the ruin of me.

Okay, so it's a book about chocolate and more than a few of my friends know I'm partial to both books and chocolate so maybe this was an obvious combination for me but oh my, this is good. Giller makes reference to the artisan chocolate world having similarities with the craft beer and coffee cultures (admittedly, both also favourites of mine) and she delivers a book that would do any artisan industry proud. It could easily be about beer, coffee, bread, wine... Any focused area where people are creating with love and passion. Any mainstream product with a grow craft industry.

This book offers up an overview of the entire chocolate industry, but with a, rather obvious from the title, focus on the bean-to-bar manufacturers. The mass-production giants really only get a mention as a comparison, but it's not done dismissively. That's where a lot of these things can fall down, those easy attacks on the multinationals and such. The truth is many of us find the finer things in life through the easily accessible options. And due to the huge contrast, I can enjoy a bar of Dairy Milk in a completely different way to an expensive truffle from a quiet Belgian chocolatier. Although after this book perhaps I should revise the latter to an American bean-to-bar delicacy.

We get some history of chocolate in general, but again there's a focus on the recent innovations in artisan American chocolate. Individuals are highlighted, their companies are profiled, and their products discussed. It's a tribute to the people pushing their craft and it makes everything so enticing. I could barely read a page without wanting to note down a new company to look up. I wanted to stop and try every chocolate as it was mentioned, but to do so would take hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, and months of patience. And this book is as compulsive as chocolate. Once I settled into reading I wanted to keep going on and on. Glorious photos made my mouth water, but the words are what make this such a pleasure to read. It's not a love letter to chocolate, but a recognition of the love that these chocolatiers put into their work.

Not that the chocolate itself gets ignored. Far from it. I want to learn the pairing section by heart so I know exactly which tea or coffee to drink with my latest chocolate find. I want to study the map and learn the notes of the various countries. It's a guide to finding the best chocolate and understanding how to enjoy it as much as possible. There are even recipes too. I could've lived without them, which surprised me. I think it's partly how interesting the rest of the book was and partly that the recipes aren't as diverse as I might have hoped. I am confident I can make many kinds of chocolate truffle, but there was nothing especially out of the ordinary. They're mainly about using quality chocolate and handling it well instead of offering up something more exotic like a chocolate sauce for venison or such. So you get some good advice in general, but it could've been delivered more as tips than recipes.

Overall though, this is a glorious celebration of chocolate and the people dedicated to it. You really do see everything from bean to bar, and beyond - there are even items on the packaging! It's comprehensive without being dense, it's welcoming and invites you to join in this celebration of chocolate. It's as smooth and luxurious as the very product it talks about - and just like quality chocolate, it's worth treating yourself to this book.

This was an interesting little book chocked full of great info, tips, tricks, and recipes about the most fantastic food in the world...CHOCOLATE. It was well laid out and full of yummy photos and fun graphics. It is divided into the following chapters ( From the Bean, A Sense of Place, Tasting and Eating, Chocolate Snobs, and Labeling and the Art of Design.)

I wouldn't say it was the most riveting of books, but if you are looking at trying your hand at artisan chocolate making then this would be a good book to add to your collection.

Bean-to-Bar Chocolate is a glimpse into the surprising new trend that's hopefully coming to an area near you soon: craft chocolate. Like beer and coffee, Megan Giller believes chocolate is getting ready to have its artisan moment. Small companies or individuals experimenting with making their own chocolate- flavors, consistencies, etc. Like with coffee, much of the focus seems to be not only on making interesting flavors, but working closely with the farmers growing the plants.

Generously sprinkled throughout the book are recipes ranging from "easy" to "advanced" for you to try at home from some of the master chefs in the chocolate world. Many of them looked not only doable for a non-chef like me, but also quite delicious!

One of my favorite parts of the book was a section at the end "The History of the World in Chocolate". While I would have loved more about the early history chocolate played among people, that wasn't the focus of this book. The section however, gave some interesting highlights (Mesoamericans domesticated and drank chocolate more than 38 centuries ago!) on humans and chocolate, and there was a brief "Etymology of Chocolate" on some of the original words and meanings of the word itself. Giller includes a useful glossary of chocolate terms (we finally get a useful definition of what the chocolate percentage on labels means), as well as short lists of chocolate co-opts, farmers, and bean-to-bar chocolate makers America for those interested in tasting what they're reading about.

Beautiful photographs combined with Giller's casual, conversational style of writing and enthusiastic, unapologetic love of all things chocolate make makes Bean-to-Bar Chocolate not only educational but fun to read. Anyone interested in the story of chocolate, small scale industries, and learning about the process of going from the cacao tree to the chocolate bar will enjoy this book.

I am not the biggest chocolate fan in the world but this book definitely sells me on chocolate. A great exploration of the world of chocolate. A must for all public libraries and chocolate lovers. The photos also made me hungry.

A great book to read about making of chocolate from beans and the recipes using chocolate........

Love Chocolate? Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America’s Craft Chocolate Revolution: The Origins, the Makers, and the Mind-Blowing Flavors, by Megan Giller, is one book that you’ll definitely want to add to your collection. Not only does this excellent cookbook contain wonderful chocolate recipes, it includes the history of chocolate, modern chocolate trends, how chocolate is made, and helps such as how to temper chocolate, how to melt chocolate, and the differences between cacao and cocoa. There are also chapters on prominent craft chocolate makers across the country. There is even a page listing some of the most unique additions to craft chocolate, such as pepper, coconut milk, blue cheese, and jerk seasoning, to name a few.

Some of the chapters in this cookbook include colorful illustrations, and there are colored photographs of the recipes. The book is well-organized, and the prose is intelligently written and easy to understand.

Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America’s Craft Chocolate Revolution: The Origins, the Makers, and the Mind-Blowing Flavors has something for every chocoholic, and will provide hours of fascinating reading, as well as excellent, easy-to-follow decadent recipes for truffles, chocolate beverages, specialties such as Devil Dogs, an incredibly delicious Truffle Torte, and Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies (a personal favorite). This cookbook includes several chocolate bark recipes, a glossary of chocolate words, and a list of bean-to-bar chocolate makers in the United States. There are recipes for decadent brownies, and Cocoa Nib Ice Cream, and Chocolate Sorbet. Giller has chosen to include what may seem like a small amount of recipes, but the recipes she includes are recipes everyone will actually want to prepare, and recipes that turn out as pictured.

If you love chocolate, and want to know more about it, as well as prepare delicious chocolate creations, this is the cookbook for you.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Everything I've ever wanted to know about my favorite thing in the whole wide world: chocolate! If you've ever stopped in the middle of a chocolate binge to wonder: where does chocolate actually come from? Then I highly recommend this book. You get a good sense to just how much work goes into creating chocolate, and you appreciate it much more than you did before.

Remember, people: climate change is creating problems for the chocolate industry. If we don't do something, we may face the worst possible scenario....chocolate shortages. We may end up in a world with no chocolate at all. Just writing those words makes my heart hurt.

Chocolate!

I never thought reading about the history and the journey of chocolate would be so entertaining. Giller goes into great detail about many aspects of this amazing food, including the process of making chocolate from bean to bar (as the title indicates), and also supplies delicious recipes. The cocoa tea, grown up peanut butter and jelly truffles, and Champurrado drinking chocolate recipes are particularly interesting!

Who doesn't like chocolate? Learning how those freaky realms pods with the white interiors become our favorite candy is fascinating. Learn what goes into making your favorite food ( mine anyway), and the people who make it possible, from the growers and harvesters to the chefs and scientists who make the end product recognized around the world. Includes recipes if you want to make your own goodies

Thank you to Netgalley, Storey Publishing LLC, and Megan Giller for the chance to read and review this ARC;

How does one even begin to explain the magic and depth of knowledge contained within this tome of glory? If you are a chocolate lover, run, don't walk and get yourself a copy of this book. It has amazing in-depth knowledge about the roots of chocolate, where it's come from, how its made, how it's changed through the ages.

The pictures alone will leave you feeling decadently craving and satisfied by the richness of the chocolate available in the world. Much like wine pairings, chocolate pairing pages are scattered, glorious and well detailed, with amazing art (all sorts of pairings, my favorite was the blue cheese set!). There will, also, be art processes on what goes into all you know about chocolate being made, and the differences of types of things you don't think about (such as hot chocolate vs. drinking chocolate, etc).

I am in utter adoration of this book and can't wait to be owning one!

Chocolate, most people like it and like it a lot. This book has it all--the history of chocolate and the recipes.

Fun, clever and interesting book. For curious people, whether or not one adores chocolate, this is an interesting, fun read.