Here at 3CUPS, we consider many aspects of a product before deciding to sell it.  We, like our customers, value quality products from small farmers and producers with amazing stories.  Usually, and luckily for us, these people that cajole delicious wine from rocky soil in Languedoc, or painstakingly sort ripe coffee cherries from their brash, unripe compatriots in Bolivia, also happen to be awesome, kind people that take pride in their work and love doing it.  Well, we are happy to report that we have found yet another small company that is creating delicious, hand-crafted products, and do so with a smile.  

This time, it’s Mast Brothers Chocolate from Brooklyn, NY.  These guys have recognized that in recent years, the chocolate industry has faced some of the same challenges that have plagued the wine and coffee industries: the commoditization of these products has led to bland, inferior examples that are not environmentally sustainable, and do not honor the individuality and quality of these agricultural goods.

The Mast brothers receive fermented cocoa beans from a few choice cocoa estates in Madagascar, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, etc. to their Brooklyn location, where they do all of the roasting, winnowing, grinding, molding, and packaging.  They make single-origin chocolate bars, blends, and certain other delicious chocolate bars like Fleur de Sel and Serrano Pepper.  We are so excited to be selling them here, since Mast Brothers Chocolate only sells their products to a few retailers outside of New York City, and we are the only purveyor with them in the Triangle Area.  

Just as important as their beautiful chocolate bars (which are wrapped in thick papers designed by their friends and family) is their kindness.  I was lucky enough to stop by their tasting room this spring to sample some of their chocolate bars, chat up the chocolate makers, see some of their operations, and take an annoying amount of pictures.  On this particular sunny afternoon, people milled in and out of the shop, and the chocolate makers’ energy and passion for their products were contagious.  It was so great to know that these delicious chocolate bars (which are my favorite, I must admit) are produced by caring, warm, funny people.

Your mission? Come to 3CUPS and pick up a few of these bars! Your family and friends will be overjoyed and appreciative! Plus, you can feel good knowing that you are supporting a great company with a great mission.  And if you have a few minutes, check out this video from Mast Brothers.  It will make you want to drop everything and visit them.