Motorcycle Chocolate Making - The Chocolate Refiner goes to Costa Rica

Jay premier chocolate Refiner

At indi chocolate, we get to meet some pretty amazing people from around the world with different missions surrounding chocolate, whether it be making chocolate at the origin location, or in their hometowns across the world.

The Chocolate Refiner has allowed small batch chocolate making to grow around the world. Jay Holecek is a great example of a chocolate visionary, he is in Costa Rica now working with cacao farmers. He is helping them learn the techniques and bringing them the equipment so that they can also become chocolate makers. Using small batch equipment like the Chocolate Refiner he has made chocolate making in origin countries a much more realistic possibility.

Jay has developed methods to teach farmers how to make chocolate using equipment that he carries on his motorcycle. He plans on going to Belize, Nicaragua and Panama with his motorcycle micro-chocolate factory.

"I share the vision of empowered farmers through knowledge and equipment at the source. I think it's the most powerful way to shift the "commodity" trade to a "community" trade. And we all win (with great tasting chocolate) when the land and farmers are taken care of first."

"I've developed a small chocolate factory that I can take on my motorcycle to any farm and make chocolates. I hope to identify a handful of farmers that I could set up with this micro factory in their communities on a permanent basis and track how they use and benefit from them."