Johnson buys his beans through Uncommon Cacao – an organization that practices transparent trade and strives to better the lives of cacao farmers and their communities .
In a bit of whimsy , Johnson , named his chocolate Kevbot Chocolate , using a robot on his product imaging .
It was there that he started working on agricultural programs and eventually began work with Sustainable Harvest International , an environmental conservation organization .
“ Getting involved in outdoor community-based resource issues like cacao farming and sustainable
agriculture was interesting to me ,” Johnson said .
“ Kind of like we have apple trees in our yards , they have cacao trees around their houses ,” he continued , discussing the landscape in which he worked . “ So , I saw how it was being traditionally made , and what it meant culturally . I also saw the challenges they had with bringing cacao to market .”
It was also during his time that he became inspired to one day begin making his own chocolate .
“ I loved chocolate when I was a kid . I could never eat enough of it ,” he recalled . “ I don ’ t know how old I was , but I was young , and we made a road trip up to Pennsylvania to the Hershey factory . It was amazing to me .”
Now that he is home in Monroe County , Johnson explained he enjoys connecting the region that he loves to the people of West Virginia through chocolate .
According to Johnson , he sources his cacao beans from Central America , Haiti and the Dominican Republic through Uncommon Cacao – an organization that practices transparent trade and strives to better the lives of cacao farmers and their communities .
Once cacao is harvested , local farmers must then ferment the beans before they are ready to ship , Johnson explained . Then , they make the trip to his southern West Virginia kitchen .
“ It ’ s always exciting to get new beans . I always open the box and inspect them . Bean selection is an important part of ensuring that your product is high-quality ,” he further explained . “ After that I will do test batches to see what roast brings out the unique flavor of those beans the best . Once I have decided that I have a good recipe , I will do a production run .”
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