Back in 2011, Mast Brothers had opened their hip chocolate-making facility and were in the process of expanding to a space where people could watch the bean-to-bar chocolate making and hang out in a community area. I pilgrimaged to Mast Brothers where I was delighted to see the bars wrapped by hand and locally made machinery.
There were things that sounded too good to be true. But I drank the hot chocolate anyway.
Fast forward to 2015: the chocolate has crumbled
A blogger analyzed the timing and evolution of Mast Brothers chocolate, concluding that much of the company’s story has more yarn spinning than chocolate spinning. The multi-part expose reveals something many chocolate professionals had already suspected.
Here’s a taste of what can happen when you stretch the truth (or outright lie)
- Dallas Food 4-part analysis: Mast Brothers: What Lies Behind the Beards (Part 1, Taste/Texture)
- Quartz: How the Mast Brothers fooled the world into paying $10 a bar for crappy hipster chocolate
- Vanity Fair: Celebrity Hipster Chocolatiers Reportedly Sold Remelted Commercial Chocolate
- Slate: Why Chocolate Experts Think the Mast Brothers Are Frauds
- The Chocolate Life – Discussion among chocolate professionals
The Mast Brothers in 2011 (by Susie Wyshak)
Will their brand withstand the press? Only time will tell.
If you’re looking for good chocolate
Start with the Good Food Awards chocolate award winners list.
weren’t these guys awarded one of those Chase grants?