For the Love of Chocolate

By Kathryn Schuett


They say that people do crazy things for love.
For Frederick Schilling, the creator of Dagoba Organic Chocolate, his love of cacao has led him into rainforests around the world, braving spider bites and uncharted territory, in search of the ultimate “edible gold.”

It’s this love that continually drives him to find new innovative ways to deliver the magical and sacred powers of chocolate, from launching close to 30 different varieties of chocolate bars to creating a chocolate-based apothecary line and even a chocolate soap bar, made with real cacao.

And this love for chocolate goes deep, encompassing fair trade practices and numerous sustainability programs to protect the revered places that are home to his beloved cacao. These efforts have led to honors such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Leadership Award and the 2005 Socially Responsible Business Award.

The passion for what he calls “pure chocolate perfection” can be tasted in each creation. In only six years, the chocolatier has won numerous awards including 2005 Tastemaker Award from Food and Wine, “Best Flavored Organic Chocolate” TIME Magazine, “Best Dark Chocolate,” San Francisco Chronicle, 2004 and “World’s Best Chocolate” CNN/MONEY, 2003.

All this grabbed the attention of The Hershey Company and in 2006 Schilling accepted an offer to become part of their subsidiary Artisan Confections Company, which also owns specialty chocolate companies Scharffenberger Chocolate Maker and Joseph Schmidt. Throughout all this, Schilling and his cacao crew have remained a small, hands-on company committed to “the art of chocolate alchemy,” or transforming the finest cacao, “the prima materia,” into edible gold, all the while maintaining a strong commitment to sustainability and biodiversity.

The Art of Chocolate Alchemy: The Evolution
Ironically, Schilling didn’t even like chocolate as a child. The sugary, over-processed, mass-produced versions did nothing to excite him. But one day while working as a chef in Boulder, Colorado, he tried a European artisan chocolate and it was love at first bite. As he learned more about the Aztec’s reverence for what they called “theobroma cacao,” or “the food of the gods,” Schilling, a former religion studies major, became even more intrigued with this sacred bean. However, as he researched the marketplace, he noticed that all chocolate was the same with the exception of a few hazelnuts or almond here and there.

“The world of cacao and how it translates to finished chocolate is truly limitless. That is one of the reasons I love it. An issue I had with chocolate makers in the past is that they came to a point of complacency in their offerings and there was nothing new and exciting. I wanted to stir things up a bit and bring some freshness to the market,” Schilling said.

And stir things up he did. His first creation was “Chai,” chocolate infused with chai tea spices and crystallized ginger. After friends and family tried it, they all were saying, “Wow, you have got to do something with this.” Soon Schilling quit his job and was mixing, pouring and hand-wrapping chocolate every waking hour, living on a diet of rice, beans and chocolate. More “infusions” followed including “Roseberry,” made with rosehips and raspberries, “Lavender” and “Xocolatl,” one of their most popular bars, which pays homage to the ancient Aztec drink made with cinnamon and chili pepper. Some of his more recent cacao concoctions are “Ginger-Lemon” and “Seeds,” made with hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds with a hint of Balinese salt.

No matter what’s added, there is always one key ingredient: organic, fair trade chocolate sourced from the most renowned cacao regions. Dagoba was one of the first chocolatiers to use strictly organic cacao and organic ingredients throughout all their product lines.

One of Schilling’s first booms came in 2001 at his first trade show when editors from Food and Wine asked him to send samples. Next thing he knew Dagoba was named “Best Organic Chocolate Bar” and he was staying up till 2 a.m. filling orders. His mother would fly to wrap bars and as more orders poured in, more family members joined the effort including sisters, aunts, uncles and extended family. His father, who had just retired to Vegas after 25 years of working for IBM, joined the team as the CFO while Schilling’s mother went from wrapper to head of global sales.

As Dagoba grew, the company ended up moving from Boulder to Ashland, Ore., going from a 1500-square-foot facility to one that is 18,000 square feet. The product line continued to grow as well and is now being sold throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Cultivating the Chocolate Connoisseur
As Schilling scoured the world from Costa Rica to Madagascar for the best organic cacao, he noticed that like wine, the flavor of chocolate varied depending on where it was grown. This inspired him to produce the first-ever line of single origin bars. To help chocolate connoisseurs develop an appreciation for the nuances in these varieties and others, Schilling offers a tasting kit on Dagoba’s website for personal use or “tasting parties.” This tool even suggests food and wine pairing to accompany Dagoba’s chocolates.

“This makes it easier for people to assimilate what’s happening on their palette and expand their knowledge and understanding of cacao,” Schilling noted. “Wine and coffee definitely went through their gentrification periods and I do believe chocolate is just on the forefront of this trend.”

Like a fine wine, Schilling believes that a fine chocolate’s subtleties should be savored, taking in the aroma, the mouthfeel, the intensity, overtones and undertones. As consumers’ palettes become more sophisticated, they are opting for higher percentages of dark chocolate rather than the sugary versions, much like the natural progression of a wine connoisseur to go from sweeter to drier wines. For the ultimate purist, Dagoba recently introduced their first 100 percent cacao bar. “Nibs,” or simply roasted cacao pieces, are also becoming popular either eaten on their own, or incorporated into baked goods. World renowned chefs are incorporating these, as well as culinary versions of Dagoba’s chocolate and cocoa powder, into their gourmet desert menus.

The Chocolate Rx
Yet another trend that Dagoba is at the forefront of is the connection between chocolate and health. Since the days of the Aztecs, cacao has been believed to enhance wellness of body and mind. Thousands of years later science is now proving this belief and many are touting the benefits of what was once thought of as merely an indulgence. Dagoba has taken these benefits even further with their “Apothecary” line launched this year.

This combination of cacao and beneficial botanicals was something Schilling had dreamed of from the beginning and now after years of development, Dagoba has created five 74 percent cacao bars and six sugar-free, alcohol free cacao elixirs. Each of these contain a botanical blend with a rich history of healing powers—from ginko to promote clarity of mind to red raspberry leaf and blessed thisle to balance female hormonal cycles.

The Quest For Cacao
As Dagoba has grown, sourcing has been an adventure, and most certainly a challenge. “There is a hunt involved, a little Indiana Jones, a lot of ant and spider bites and long days of bouncing up and down in 4x4s traveling down winding dirt roads,” Schilling said. “It may sound exciting and romantic, but it’s actually very hard work. A lot of traveling, which isn’t easy on the body and psyche. Yet, for me the hardships are worth the thrill of finding cacao that I resonate with.”

However, the growing demand for high quality cacao is creating an increasingly competitive market. Schilling told of a Venezuelan farm he had contracted with for three times world market price who then turned around and sold the cacao to another company who offered even more money. “In these situations contracts go out the window,” he said. “Companies are willing to pay crazy prices for certain sources. It’s getting kinda surreal, actually. I don’t know how long these inflated prices will last. I’m all about paying fair prices for good cacao, but what is happening right now is definitely one for the history books.”

To ensure supply, Schilling establishes relationships with the farmers and is always on the hunt for new sources and even possibly ancient ones. “Part of the adventure of sourcing is seeking out old varietals that exist back on some forgotten farm or Aztec garden. Ancient strains that the Maya and Aztec planted are out there somewhere and there’s a handful of us who’d like to seek these out and dream of propagating them again,” he said.

Growth and the Hershey Buy Out
Schilling has always wanted to make a big impact within the cacao culture both creatively and environmentally. “Staying boutique is nice for image, but it wasn’t my mission to be small, artisan and cute,” he said. “I wanted to have an impact and being small doesn’t give you the ability to truly transform what’s happening on the ground level at orgin. The more cacao I use, the more positive impact I can have on farmers lives and rainforest
conservation.”

You can’t get much bigger in the chocolate world than The Hershey Company so when they came knocking on Dagoba’s door, Schilling saw an opportunity. “I flip-flopped on the decision to sell more than a fish out of water, yet ultimately it came down to maximizing Dagoba’s impact,” he said. “I still have emotions around it and I’d be inhuman if I didn’t, but I felt that in order to continue with the ideals that started this company, integrating into a larger architecture was the fastest way to maximize our positive impact in the world. Everyone needs love and I want to spread the ‘Dagoba Love’ to as many people as possible.”

With roughly 50 employees, Dagoba remains a small business that runs much like it did in the early days. “We’re still very much a hands on manufacturer; hand stirring inclusions into the chocolate before depositing; hand depositing the food service bricks,” said Schilling. “We continue to guide the movements and offer our advice, which our people at Hershey are really great about. They want to preserve the brand and are making sure the growth and expansion of the brand contains the original seeds. They may scratch their head or roll their eyes at my perspective, yet they respect it and listen. I have a lot of respect for the people we work with at Hershey.”

One of his concerns though is that with Hershey as the parent company customers will assume that Dagoba’s efforts will be dismantled or just used as green-washing. “This isn’t the case,” he said, “I feel that my work has just begun. I hope our customers realize that our ability to have positive influence on the environment has just increased substantially, not decreased.”

Schilling feels that Hershey will continue to support Dagoba’s efforts because they understand the brand. “If they change our commitment and actions, they compromise the brand and the consumers will see it. They’re smarter than that. If they want to keep us as leaders in the industry, then they simply need to support us in our efforts,” Schilling said.

“There are challenges and tribulations in life and they exist in the new relationship. There can be no light without the dark. Without the night there would be no morning dew to refresh the soil, plants and air. Yet, with mutual respect we work together and move toward our greatest potential of doing good,” Schilling said.

That’s all any of us can hope to do.