About Us and Dark Chocolate
- Multiply the positive impact of the “bean-to-bar” chocolate movement through learning experiences that promote a life philosophy that benefits the world.
- Since I was a kid, I have been a fan and passionate about chocolate. At first, as it happens with almost everyone, I liked anything that people called “chocolate.” Without additional knowledge, I enjoyed dark chocolate bars used for baking. They were produced in Venezuela, and they were used mostly for desserts. The taste of the bar was cacao and sugar, nothing else, which was what I liked. Later, I discovered dark chocolates produced with a higher cacao content, resulting from beans of single-origin and 100% Venezuelan… I did nothing else but eat them! One day I ran into gourmet chocolates while walking by the city of Siena, Italy. I was hooked by the package, and by reading, it was made with 100% cacao from Chuao, a place famous worldwide for high-quality beans.
There began my quest to know and taste the best chocolates in the world, with the same or better quality. During this search, I realized that it is hard to find a place, physical or virtual, where you can enjoy ALL the experience of gourmet chocolate. That includes: tasting, knowing its characteristics, reading its story, which cacao did they use, or even understanding and learning more.
Finally, along with Daniel, my brother, and other family members, we started to give this CLUB a shape. Explore the connection between chocolate eaters, fans, producers, connoisseurs, and anyone who is curious or wants to enjoy a finely produced chocolate. As in the world of wine, the idea is that we explore together the gourmet chocolates, from the ground and the tree. Also, the origin of the cacao beans, to what you think, taste, and feel in your mouth when savoring it. We want to create “a one-stop-shop” when you think about bean to bar, gourmet, or artisan chocolates.
We are very interested in highlighting the benefits that cacao and chocolate have for your health. In Club ChoKolate you will find everything related to this exciting subject. We honestly believe that consuming cacao and real chocolate is beneficial to your body.
At last, without cacao, there is no chocolate. For that reason, it is of great importance to make known and support the ones who produce chocolate in a socially and environmentally responsible way, preserving high-quality cacao and bean-to-bar chocolates, so that we can continue enjoying this delicacy from the gods.
Through Club ChoKolate, we will learn about fine chocolate, know more about this fascinating world, and share our experiences. We will find the best chocolate bar for you.
Now, let’s enjoy good chocolate!
Ramón E. Martínez - Chief Dark Chocolate Officer
CEO and Co-Founder
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Ramón - Co-Founder and Chief Dark Chocolate Officer Ramón was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He is a Doctor, graduated from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, specialized in endocrinology in New York, United States of America. He holds certifications by the Boards of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Internal Medicine, and Geriatrics. He currently works in a community health center in Miami, providing specialized services for patients with little access to medical care. His love for chocolate started a long time ago when he ate baking dark chocolate bars. Gradually he began to realize that most of the products on sale and named as chocolate are in fact “candies” and have a pretty low content of cacao. Now, Ramón eats real dark chocolate, and to eat a good one has become a sort of daily ritual in which he tries to explore each bar with all his senses. Each time he has the opportunity, he makes tastings and searches for courses to specialize and improve his knowledge and experience in the world of chocolate. In fact, he participated in the first “Cacao Grader Intensive” course lead by FCCI in 2016. All this has led him to try to spread this culture of “gourmet chocolate” to as many people as possible. Ramón thinks that more people should know what a real chocolate is, and he is interested in promoting the benefits of cacao as the main ingredient of chocolate. Club ChoKolate is the realization of this idea that Ramón has had for many years, and finally, he managed to co-create.
Ramón E. Martínez - Chief Dark Chocolate Office
CEO and Co-Founder
Fabiana - Also born in Caracas - Venezuela is a pediatrician and mother of two children. She loves cooking and her passion and daily struggle are to provide her family with the best nutrition possible and teach her patients to do what she practices at home. Since early childhood, she was surrounded by savory, nutritive, and good quality foods. Her mother would not let her eat sweets since she was always concerned about her health. However, this was not an obstacle for Fabiana to eat her favorite foods. Since she was the first of many grandchildren she always got away with sharing her grandfathers’ chocolates and sometime she would “steal” them to enjoy. This was her most precious secret. As a teenager, she did not like dark chocolate: bitter, unsweet. She was really looking for something to sweeten her life. One day, a friend gave her a dark chocolate bar and told her: “dark chocolate is like life, bitter but worthy! Since then, Fabiana changed the way she looked and savor dark chocolate. Today, she found that dark chocolate and cacao are few of the best allies in her kitchen and office in the fight against excess sugar and obesity.
Fabiana - Chief of Dark Chocolate Logistics
Daniel - Born in Caracas, Venezuela. He studied Mass Communication and started working on the radio since he was very young; then on TV, and he also ended up working in theater. Even though he lives in the country of the best cacao of the world, he never paid attention to high-quality chocolate; he was one of those who thought, “I don’t like dark chocolate.” With time, exploring for ways to improve his eating habits and by recommendation of his doctor, he started to eat dark chocolate. However, when he first tried a gourmet chocolate that he liked, Daniel understood that dark chocolate was to his liking, he just had to find the right one. Since then, he preaches chocolate and cannot stop recommending the ones that amaze him. Each time he can attend a tasting or course to know a little more about the fascinating world of chocolate and cocoa, he does not miss it.
Co-Founder and Chief of Dark Chocolate Communications -
Knowledge: We want to share our knowledge through meaningful experiences and be part of those that share our beliefs. Those are the ones that improve the world.
Accessible: “If it is good for my health and the environment, then everyone should know about it.”
Healthy Lifestyle: “We want to be healthy so we can enjoy life and also help others to take care of themselves by making informed decisions.”
Sustainability: “We ensure that our suppliers take care of the environment, and we take care of them.”
