First I want to thank all the beta testers that made it out to meet me a couple weeks ago.  It was great to see some new faces and hear people's comments.  I got some really useful feedback from them and will be incorporating it into future batches.  I definitely still have to work on my tempering.

As a result of the tempering, some of the chocolate pieces were tempered better than others.  All those who experienced "grainy" or "powdery" texture, or noticed bloom on their bars know what poorly-tempered chocolate can be like.

On a more positive note, the feedback on the flavor of the chocolate was overwhelmingly great!  This is the most important factor in choosing chocolate, and for good reason.  You can melt poorly-tempered chocolate and incorporate it into something or re-temper it, but you can't make it taste much different than it already does.

I've registered the business with the state (now I can pay sales tax, woohoo!) and am in the process of getting all the logistics of getting the appropriate health licensing in place.  In the mean time, I will be working on some packaging design.  The design I threw together was mostly functional, and not very pretty.  I will write more about packaging design in the future, and I'd love any input you have to offer.

If you haven't seen the first draft label (which you would have seen if you followed @BrechinChoc on Twitter), you can see a photo here.  The photo on the front is intended to feature local art.  You can submit your local artwork for possible inclusion on future labels to the new Brechin Chocolate Label Submissions Flickr pool.

I don't think I'm alone in saying that I had a great time at the Flatlander Fund auction last week.  Thanks again to all the volunteers who helped out and, of course, all the generous businesses who donated food and items to be auctioned off.  At the auction I met some of the people who have already signed up for the beta program, and talked with many people who were excited to hear about what I'm doing.

It's looking like things are moving ahead with me being able to get equipment to start working on developing my skills and trying things out.  I hope to have it before Christmas, and the beta program might begin as early as January.  I'll get in touch with everyone who's signed up when that happens, so make sure you're on the list!  Just fill in your name and email on the right side of the page.

Welcome to the new home of Brechin Chocolate!  My name is Jason Brechin and I'm starting a bean-to-bar chocolate making business right here in Central Illinois.

You may have heard a similar story before.  That time it was Daniel Schreiber, who launched the wildly successful Flatlander Chocolate with the help of some initial investments through a Kickstarter project called Theobroma Cacao.  I was one of his early supporters, documenting much of his rise to success.  Dan taught me a lot about chocolate, kindling a deep appreciation for what good chocolate can be.  His sudden passing in July 2010 was a shock to all of us in the community.

His inspiration touched many people, and I want to move forward and inspire others.  I'll be taking a similar path to Dan's, building my own portfolio of artisanal chocolate bars, growing into a larger operation when the time is right.  It's just going to be samples and experiments for a while, but my goal is to have my own presence at the farmers' market in 2011, with retail distribution following that.

I can't do this without you, though.  I'm going to have a Beta Tester program to help figure out what works best.  You (assuming you're a Beta Tester) will have an early chance to try new flavors and new products.  If this sounds like something you're interested in, sign up to hear how you can be a part of it.