Madeline Weeks

My journey began on a tour to Scharffen Berger chocolate factory where I first began to appreciate the flavor, sourcing, and history of chocolate. In college I studied the anthropology of chocolate, comparing ritual and ethnobotany of cacao in Mesoamerica to modern Mexican society. Outside of academic research, I have worked on the industry side as a liquid chocolate barrista in a Palo Alto European Chocolatier and bean-to-bar production apprentice at Dandelion in San Francisco.

Coffee is similar to chocolate, though in many senses far advanced in the world trade economy. I am currently studying the socio-economic benefits of shade-grown coffee in the region of Veracruz, Mexico on a Fulbright-García Robles research grant.

Chocolate and coffee stand at the intersection of cultural heritage, biodiversity conservation, and the well-being of countless small growers around the world. In linking producers to consumers, we can start to link chocolate and coffee to happiness.