RATIO COCOA ROASTERS TO BRING SPECIALTY CHOCOLATE TO MICE2019
Ratio Cocoa Roasters are a bean-to-bar specialty chocolate roastery and cafe, operating out of Brunswick. MICE recently had a chance to catch up with owner and chocolate maker Debbie Makin, who tells us more about the world of specialty chocolate.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the concept behind Ratio?
A: My vice is chocolate and my passion is travel. Melbourne is the capital of specialty coffee and the industry has done a fantastic job of educating the public a lot over the years on what direct trade, single origin and ethical sourcing means. The chocolate industry is quite far behind in this concept worldwide but I started to see a trend on my travels of specialty coffee cafes selling specialty chocolate. I wanted to replicate this in Melbourne and that is how Ratio began.
Q: How does Ratio differ to your typical chocolate experience?
We only use a few ingredients to make our chocolate and have an open-to-the-public glass factory in Brunswick where we run behind the scenes tours. Our processes, ingredients and traceability are all out on display. We hope to build the public’s understanding of chocolate versus confectionery and ethical purchasing in this industry.
Q: As a cocoa roaster, what excites you about exhibiting at MICE?
A: Coffee people are use to geeking out about coffee. I love teaching coffee geeks about specialty chocolate as there are so many similarities. It’s great to see people’s reactions when they smell the different origins of cacao and taste the different flavour notes.
Q: What is your ideal holiday destination when you’re not busy with cocoa roasting?
A: I’m originally a zoologist so anywhere with animals but a personal fave is the east coast of South Africa – amazing cheap food, great wildlife, beaches, diving and fantastic friendly locals.
Make sure you drop by stand #5 to try out some of Ratio’s delicious specialty chocolate at MICE2019! Click here to purchase tickets.