## **Welcome & Thank You To All New ChocolateLife Members!** Since its founding in January 2008, TheChocolateLife has counted members from over 160 countries on every continent except Antarctica. In August there were new international member sign-ups from France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Romania Seychelles, Sweden, and the UK. New members in the US hail from Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. _**A special** thanks to all new and continuing **Premium** and **Lifetime** members of TheChocolateLife! — Clay, CocoaOtaku and Chief Chocolate Correspondent_ ### This post is for subscribers only Become a member to get access to all content Subscribe now

## **Welcome & Thank You To All New ChocolateLife Members!** Since its founding in January 2008, TheChocolateLife has counted members from over 160 countries on every continent except Antarctica. In July there were new international member sign-ups from Denmark, Germany, Honduras, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, and Sweden. New members in the US live in California, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Wyoming. _**A special** thanks to all new and continuing **Premium** and **Lifetime** members of TheChocolateLife! — Clay, CocoaOtaku and Chief Chocolate Correspondent_ ### This post is for subscribers only Become a member to get access to all content Subscribe now

## **Welcome & Thank You To All New ChocolateLife Members!** Since its founding in January 2008, #TheChocolateLife has counted members from over 160 countries on every continent (except Antarctica). In June there were new international member sign-ups from Belgium, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Slovenia, South Africa, and Sweden. New members in the US live in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Utah, the (US) Virgin Islands, and Wisconsin. _**A special** thanks to all new and continuing **Premium** and **Lifetime** members of TheChocolateLife! _ ### This post is for subscribers only Become a member to get access to all content Subscribe now

Episode 87 of #PodSaveChocolate is a deep-dive look at my ChocolateLife from the early days of chocophile.com to the present.

## **Welcome & Thank You To All New ChocolateLife Members!** Since its founding in January 2008, #TheChocolateLife has counted members from over 160 countries on every continent (except Antarctica). In May, there were new international member sign-ups from the Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and Türkiye; as well as new members in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Utah in the US. > _This month’s member newsletter contains special members-only offers. Become a Free member to see them._ _**A special** thanks to all new and continuing **Premium** and **Lifetime** members of TheChocolateLife! _ ### This post is for subscribers only Become a member to get access to all content Subscribe now

🗓️ This stream begins at 10:00 ****MST**** (10:00 P****D**** T, 11:00 M****D**** T, 12:00 C****D**** T, 1:00 pm E****D**** T) on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026. Links below to watch LIVE and to view the archived episode. This ****YOUTUBE**** link is shareable. Watch and comment LIVE or view the archived episode! Subscribe (free!) to the @PodSaveChocolate YouTube channel, like this video, comment, and ****share**** this episode to help grow the #PSC community. Participate/Watch on YouTube This ****LINKEDIN**** link is shareable. Watch and comment LIVE or view the archived episode on LinkedIn. Join my network on LinkedIn to receive notifications and to refer business to each other. Participate/Watch on LinkedIn This ****FACEBOOK**** link is shareable Watch and comment LIVE or view the archived episode on ****TheChocolateLife page**** on Facebook (for 30 days, then watch the archive on YouTube). Follow TheChocolateLife on Facebook to receive notifications and catch up on other content. Participate/Watch on Facebook * * * ## **Episode 206 Overview** In the beginning: About TheChocolateLifeWhether you are new to TheChocolateLife or a long-time member, this post contains the official, abbreviated history of the site. [ Updated May 15, 2026 ]The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon The first site snapshot by the Archive.org Wayback Machine was on June 2nd, 25 years ago. **Prologue** 📆 What the heck __is__ TheChocolateLife, anyway? **_Before_** the beginning: Everything I have done since 1996 has led, not necessarily in a straight line, to where I am today. While June 2nd, 2001, is the oldest evidence of my debut as a professional chocolate critic, my chocolate journey began in the south of France in February 1994. That is when I accidentally discovered Bonnat single-origin chocolate. (Coincidentally, that was ten years after Maison Bonnat introduced their original single-origin bar line for the 100th anniversary of their beginning to manufacture chocolate. The family history in pastry, cocoa, and more stretches back to the 1750s.) About a month later, I had an entrepreneurial epiphany: I realized that while there were professional critics for just about everything you can think of, there were no _professional_ critics whose focus was on chocolate. So I decided to become the first. I had no idea what I needed to learn, who I could learn it from, where I could go to learn, I didn’t even know what it meant to be a professional chocolate critic. But I trusted my intuition, based on experience, that I had five to ten years to figure it out before the market caught up with my insight. 📆 A short detour to discuss some highlights of my journey between 1983 and 2001. – Joining my first high-tech startup (1983) – Writing for trade journals (1984 – present) – Attending TED 2 – Consulting clients (IBM, Agfa, Time Warner, Silicon Graphics ...) – Working for the first HD video company in the US (1991-1992) – Co-founder of Enfish Technologies (1993) – MILIA (1994-1998) – My first book ... on HD video production (1995-96) – My first copy of __The True History of Chocolate__ – Scharffen Berger launches – Traveling to Voiron to meet Stéphane Bonnat (1998) – Being introduced to Cluizel Nuanciers (1998) – Working with Pierrick Chouard (1999 – 2003) The first time I stepped out in public as a chocolate critic was at the 2001 Summer Fancy Food Show. There, I met Gary Guittard, who listened to my thoughts about where the market was going, encouraging me to continue. I also met Freddy Schilling, one of the co-founders of Dagoba Chocolate. These meetings, and others, gave me the confidence to continue. 📆 Key experiences between 2001 and 2005: – My last high-tech startup and full-time job (9/2001-6/2002). – Establishing continuity with Guittard and others. – Writing for Chocolatier Magazine – Working the World Pastry Forum and Team Championships – Trips to Ecuador in 2003 and 2005 📆 The importance of writing and publishing __Discover Chocolate,__ not understanding that it was __not__ the book that specialty chocolate needed. **Status check:** All of the above, and countless other experiences, set the foundation for what I want to do – with your help – over the next decade. (That’s right, I have set myself a goal for 2035, and am actively working to make it happen.) * * * 25th Anniversary Lifetime Membership offer To help me celebrate my 25th anniversary, I hope you will consider becoming a _****Lifetime****_ Member! ****This offer is**** _****only****_****available May 25 – June 30, 2026.**** Learn More About Lifetime Membership! **Looking to the future:** 💡 Taking care of old business, __my own 9th step.__ 💡 My 25th Anniversary Celebration Tasting Event Save the date: Thursday, November 5th Coincides with the Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival Featuring Craft Chocolat Challenge winners 💡 Writing the book I _****should****_ have written back in 2006/2007 but didn’t understand its importance, relative to craft beer, specialty chocolate, cheese, related fermented foods and beverages. 💡 Accelerating the data collection projects to make it possible to grasp a better understanding of the economic and social impact that specialty chocolate and cocoa have made – __and will continue to make.__ 💡 Establishing an NGO __designed from the ground up to address the key structural and governance issues that make it impossible__ for FCIA, World Cocoa Foundation, ICI, CFI, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, VOICE Network, et al, to deliver meaningful, lasting change in the worlds of chocolate and cocoa: The Specialty Chocolate and Cocoa Alliance International (SCCAI – pronounced “sky”). * * * ### **Future PodSaveChocolate Episodes** Most of the episodes in June will explore key moments in my journey and how they have influenced the future directions I want to take. I encourage everyone to join me for the June News/AMA episode on Tuesday, June 9th with questions for me to answer LIVE! 🗓️ Tuesday, June 9th June News & AMA (about chocolate or cocoa) * * * ### **#PodSaveChocolate and #TheChocolateLifeLIVE Archives** **To read an archived post** and find the links to watch archived episodes, click on one of the bookmark cards below. Pod Save Chocolate Calendar and ArchiveNews, views, and conversations on topics in cocoa and chocolate streamed live to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. #PodSaveChocolate!The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon#TheChocolateLifeLIVE ArchiveNews, views, and conversations on topics in cocoa and chocolate streamed live to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon ⁉️ After a year-long+ experiment, the audio-only versions of PodSaveChocolate episodes have been taken down after an end-of-year review. There were not enough listens to continue uploading episodes and paying for hosting. * * * ### **Episode Hashtags** #cocoa #cacao #cacau #chocolate #chocolat #craftchocolate #PodSaveChoc #PSC #LaVidaCocoa #TheChocolateLife