All language subtitles for American.Made.S03E08.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC.2.0.H264-ARCHIVED-CEsubs

We have taken confectionery and
chocolate making to another level by

piece beautiful, hand -painted,
decorated.

We want people to kind of take a pause
when they get a box of our chocolates

before they start eating them. We go
through about 20 to 24 tons of chocolate

year. So this is it all melted.

It's a very sensorial experience on the
visuals of what we do.

Now, behind that, we put just as much
effort into how these chocolates taste,

into the ingredients that we've
painstakingly sourced from around the

the years.

So we often refer to our craft and what
we do, and it's not just cooking.

We are creating edible pieces of art.

So this is a mold that's been airbrushed
and painted, ready to go out to the

production floor and go to the next step
of the chocolate -making process, which

would be to actually form the shell.

So we'll actually use colored cocoa
butter, and we'll paint the molds, and

once that's done, we'll fill these molds
with chocolate, we'll create a shell,

and then we'll fill it with whatever
particular filling we're going to do.

And then at the end of this process, you
end up with a really beautiful bonbon

that would look something like that.

really vivid, that's really shiny.

So when you open that box, you almost
don't even want to eat them.

I didn't set out to be a chocolatier. I
didn't set out to open a chocolate

company. It was never a childhood dream
of mine.

I actually wanted to be a chef.

I wanted to own restaurants.

You know, and I thought that's the
direction that I would go, and it's the

I started going down in college. And
once I graduated from college, I went

on into it, you know, worked with a lot
of really great famous chefs around the

country. So now we've got to create the
shell that's going to hold the filling.

I got thrown into the pastry kitchen at
one of my jobs.

And we do that by just flooding the mold
with chocolate.

You know, he said, look, work in the
pastry kitchen for a while, you know,

we'll move you over to the savory side.

And it was such a well -known, reputable
chef that I didn't want to pass up the

opportunity to be able to work for them.

And I never went back to cooking savory
food after that.

Constantly flowing, it's held at a very
specific temperature for us.

Temperatures and humidity are super
important. They have a lot of effects on

chocolate, so we are very careful to
control that. There was a precision to

That is a little different than savory
cooking, right? In baking and chocolate

making, it's a science. It's exact.

One degree up or down makes a massive
difference in the final outcome of a

product. There's a lot that can go wrong
in chocolate making. You've got to be

so precise. And I think that fed into my
personality of being detail -oriented.

A lot of our fillings are pretty loose,
runny caramels.

So we try to get...

A very even, thin shell that's going to
create a better eating experience for

the bonbon. I fell in love with the fact
that chocolate could be worked with,

you know, like an art medium, like maybe
a painter does with paints or clay.

This is probably going to take about 20
minutes for it to set up, and then it's

going to be ready for us to fill.

Perfect. I was working as a pastry chef,
and we would make chocolates and small

things to send out at the end of the
meal. And customers started asking if

could buy them. And that's literally
when the light bulb went off.

And I was like, oh, I could do this for
a living. Only this. Only make

chocolates. So this would be a caramel
that we've infused with fresh lemon

and lemon zest to get a really good
lemon flavor.

Six months later, Christopher Bravo
Chocolates was born in 2003.

And I started in a 400 -square -foot
room above a restaurant. I thought I

be there for five or six years. I didn't
anticipate what would happen. But in

2004, we won a chocolate competition in
New York. So once we filled them with

the caramel or ganache or the filling or
whatever we're putting inside, they

have to set overnight to crystallize so
we can actually come back and seal this

bonbon up. We call it capping. This will
become the bottom.

That really started this upward
trajectory.

ultimately picked up by oprah magazine
so i was on the phone all day long

orders and then making chocolate at
night to fulfill those orders and ship

out that allowed us to move down the
street to a bigger facility and within a

year and a half being in there We were
already outgrowing that space.

Because we've done the right tempering
process on it, it's already starting to

set. In about 10 minutes, these will be
ready to flip out. So in 2006, we opened

up our existing retail store where we
are now.

The building was 3 ,700 square feet, and
we thought we would never fill that

space.

We produced everything here.

Lo and behold, you know, in three to
four years, we were bursting at the

And then after that, it was just...

holding on by the seat of our pants,
trying to keep up. So this is kind of

moment of truth, right?

If we've done everything correct, right?
We've painted, temperatures are good,

we've molded right, we've filled it
right.

We ended up opening our second refill
store out in San Francisco in 2008.

And that's what we're looking for,
really shiny, clean, beautiful -looking

bonbons.

So this is a two -layer one that we do.
We have a cookie praline and a vanilla

bean ganache.

We used to think, you know, when we made
a batch of flavor and we would pack up,

you know, 100 boxes of chocolates, we
used to think that was pretty stellar.

Like, wow, we just boxed 100 chocolates
and sold them, you know, the day we

boxed them.

And now it's in the thousands.

We like customers coming into our stores
because we're able to tell the full

story. They get the full experience of
walking into a really cool design space,

seeing all the chocolates on the
counter, experiencing in a way that you

if you just get a box shipped to you.
But that's great.

They're still delicious.

But it's a whole other level in here
when we're serving hot chocolate and

and they're able to take their time and
pick out their chocolates and really

have a different interaction with our
brand.

Welcome to the Kakao Experience.

My name is Ethan. I'll be doing the
presentation for you today. The Kakao

Experience was started by Chris to have
a place to educate people about where

chocolate comes from, some history about
it, where it's grown, how it's grown on

the farms it harvested, and then
ultimately how we turn it into chocolate

we get to enjoy.

Cacao has essentially been around
forever, and it's been really important

Mesoamerican cultures of Central and
South America for over 5 ,000 years.

would have taken the beans and ground
them on a stone, similar to this one,

chilies and spices and vanilla and corn
and mixed it with water and consumed it

that way. Into the 1500s, that's when
the Spanish started to explore, and they

got introduced to cacao through the
indigenous cultures, and they took it

to Spain, where they did start adding
the addition of sugar and honey to it

make it more palatable.

Chocolate houses started popping up,
kind of predecessors of modern -day

shops. Then into the 1700s, that's when
milk chocolate was invented and also the

first production of chocolate bars were
being made. Twelve years into the

business, we were focused so intently on
creating these confections that we kind

of stopped and were like, well.

What is this stuff we're working with,
right? Where does it come from? Cacao is

a tropical plant, and it grows all the
way around the Earth along the equator,

about 20 degrees north and south. In the
1700s, they tried to find other places

that it would grow, and they found they
grew really well on the Ivory Coast in

Africa. Kind of back then, it really
wasn't heard of for a chocolatier like

to go to a chocolate farm in Central
America or South America or Africa.

So all these pictures were taken by
Chris on his travels, except for this

where he's there.

cutting a pod out of a tree.

So we started going to the farms where
we know our chocolate comes from to meet

the farmers, to see the fruit in the
field.

We really wanted to have a deep
understanding of where it comes from,

grown. The plant itself is really
interesting because in the wild it's

to 35 feet tall.

When the fruits fully ripen, they never
fall from the tree. So if you do want

them out of your tree, you have to chop
them out with a machete. I always like

to make sure that people understand how
difficult it is to do this.

Behind the looks, behind that artistic
aspect of our product, we put just as

much time and effort into how we source
ingredients.

We seek out the world's best chocolate.

No compromises there.

This is a proprietary blend unique to
us, and the reason we wanted to

something that's unique to our brand is
we do a lot of different flavors with

this chocolate.

So we wanted something that was going to
be big enough and bold enough to stand

up to hundreds of different flavor
combinations.

Use natural flavors and not extracts.
This is where we actually make all the

caramel and all the fillings. And that's
just a big part of, I think, the

success of our business is sticking to
those.

guidelines and and never wavering from
that one of the most expensive

ingredients that we use are real vanilla
beans there's times when those are on

par like per ounce just as expensive as
like real silver so this is a actual

vanilla bean it's a member of the orchid
family The real flavor comes when you

split this pod open and there's these
little seeds in there. So we scrape that

out and that's what we infuse into the
caramel for this particular bonbon

flavor. We choose to make everything.

We don't buy our caramel from somebody
else. We make it ourselves because we

control the flavor and the process and
the texture.

Caramel is one of the few things that I
go by sight.

smell and sound.

As it gets quieter and quieter, that
means the caramelization level is

higher and higher. You'll actually start
getting some of that kind of smoky,

burnt aroma going here shortly.

It's definitely taking on a more amber
color here. Smells like we're pretty

there.

We're slowly adding the hot cream that's
been infused with vanilla bean into the

caramelized sugar. It's called
deglazing. We work really hard. We've

these flavors to work by using natural
ingredients, and you get an authentic

flavor. But you can see all of the
vanilla bean specs in there. I think

know, like, we have customers that have
been buying our product for 22 years

since the day we opened.

Temper them with a little bit of
chocolate, and then we'll let them sit

overnight. And then tomorrow, these will
be ready to go into our filling into a

bonbon. We owe it to them to continue
that tradition, even as we grow and get

bigger and bigger and bigger every year.

We're still never going to cut corners.
So good.

This is my adventure vehicle.

The sprinter van that I built out, and
the sole purpose of it was to take me to

some amazing fly fishing destinations in
the mountain.

But I've got a full -on kitchen,
refrigerator, freezer.

This case carries most of the rods I
fish with, anywhere from a three -weight

six -weight in different strengths and
flexes, different tapers, different

reels, different lines.

I can pretty much, out of this one case,
fish anywhere in the United States.

Tying flies, though, the details of
that, I think my training in chocolate

making, doing things on a very small
scale over and over and over again have

really helped me in that world.

You know, when I'm on the river, I'm
thinking about nothing other than that

that I'm fishing to.

How am I going to get in a position to
be able to cast to them? What are the

currents doing?

Everything has to happen perfectly in
this natural world that I'm inserting

myself into.

When I got out and started fly fishing,
I realized that was a big part of my

life that was missing.

Getting away from the TV, getting away
from the cities and slowing down a bit.

It's changed the trajectory of my life
in the best way possible.

Because that's the vehicle that got me
out into nature and wanting to connect

with the natural world.

The similarities between chocolate and
fly fishing that have culminated to me,

the attention to detail, how precise you
need to be in casting, right? I got to

get this.

fly six inches in front of this fish in
a certain current. And the concentration

it takes is really what I love about
both arts.

I see it in a lot of other chocolate
makers that they're not paying

Anybody can pay attention once and make
a good batch of chocolates, but to do

it... hundreds of thousands of times and
still have that focus and attention.

I had that in me, and now my staff has
that because they've watched me do it

over and over and over.

And I can see it in the product. If we
haven't paid attention to every single

step of the process, it's going to be
very apparent to me in the final

and we're just not going to.

Be proud of that and put that product
out.

So this is a very, very special
collection to me, the fly fishing

that we did to pay homage to my love of
fly fishing.

So this is called a transfer sheet, and
what it is is colored cocoa butter

that's been silk screened onto a sheet
of acetate.

So when we run the filling of the bonbon
through the enrobing machine, which is

essentially a waterfall of chocolate, we
get a little thin coating on it, and

then we can place this on, and the
gentle heat from the chocolate melts

and once it sets up, you pull it off and
it leaves the design behind.

So I created this collection with four
different types of trout patterns and

then four different flies.

The fly fishing geeks out there, they'll
recognize that this is the life cycle

of a mayfly.

I'm probably just as big of a nerd of
fly fishing as I am about chocolate.

We often refer to what we do as an art,
a craft.

We create new designs, new flavors, and
painstakingly paint.

So it's very much a labor of love for
us.

You do somewhat.

Have to work quickly doing this. The
chocolate sets up really quick. It's not

easy thing.

We don't take shortcuts. We actually
take the long road.

We're all hand applied. Yep.

And that's been our mantra from day one.
You can see all these incredible

flavors that we've got going on here.
Ready to go now into the packaging.

This is one of our signature flavors.
It's a lime and vanilla bean infused

caramel. If you scale things.

Things change. You have to make some
sacrifices. Maybe it's on texture. Maybe

it's on flavor.

This is our fresh lemon. A fresh lemon
marmalade that we make in -house. We

juice our own lemons.

And then a white chocolate lemon
-infused ganache.

It's not about producing as much as we
possibly can.

Our batch sizes are pretty close to the
same as when I started the company.

This is a flavor we've done for a long
time, passion fruit. We've just figured

out how to reproduce more batches.

Halloween -themed flavors.

Candy corn, chocolate chip, toasted
vanilla.

Our staff basically doubles in the
holiday season.

Two shifts a day, staggering.

It's pretty awesome to stand back and
watch that.

It's still grown to a point that I never
thought possible.

Once everything's finished, gets to
packaging, the final step is to build

beautiful boxes for our customers.

So not only am I the accidental
chocolatier, I call myself the reluctant

businessman as well.

I've had to kind of get my MBA over the
last 22 years and make every mistake

under the sun to learn.

I often reflect on that and think, gosh,
if I only had my MBA or understood

business going into this, you know,
things could have been maybe a little

smoother sleeping on my... office floor
during Christmas, you know, because I

was afraid to go home and miss
production and fail to deliver to our

what we set out to do.

But I don't think we would be the same
company. I don't think we would have the

same soul.

I think those things shape a company. I
think that gets in our DNA, and the rest

of the team and staff see me doing that,
and they want to work that hard and

care that much about the product that
we're putting out.

So these are going in a very particular
order, nymphal stage, the emerger, the

adult done. And then once that mayfly
lays its eggs, falls back into the

and that's called the spinner stage.

It could have been a lot easier. I just
think our company would have been a lot

different had we not had that kind of
process of figuring it out on our own.

We worked so hard to create these
beautiful and delicious bonbons that the

packaging has to match that experience.

You know, traditionally growing up, you
would think of really fine, high -end

chocolate of coming out of France or
Belgium or Switzerland. And it's true,

there is fantastic chocolate makers
there. But why can't we do that in the

United States?

Why can't we be known for making some of
the best chocolates and finest

confections in the world in the United
States? Well, we can, and we do.

Unboxing the chocolates, you know, you
kind of build up this anticipation of

like, oh, what's inside there?

We make chocolates, we make experiences,
and it's different than candy.

Candy you kind of consume mindlessly,
right? You pick up a candy bar at the

station, you just eat it, it's something
you don't really think about, throw the

wrapper away.

Our product, our confections, our
chocolates, you consume more mindfully,

that it makes you think about what
things can be, what can chocolate be.

We hope you don't just pop it in your
mouth and...

That's the end of it. We really think
that you can sit down with our product

have a moment of your day that's just
really special.

These will go over to shipping, and
they'll get packed up and shipped out to

customer.

I want to be remembered, hopefully, as
someone who's given a lot of joy to

people's lives.

We love that our product is part of...

people's Christmas celebrations and
Valentine's and birthdays.

We've had a lot of great anecdotal
stories over the years from customers.

Our product is so special to them
because it was part of very special

their life.

And I hope that we continue to do that,
and that's what we're remembered for.