Ep 50.1: Ning-Geng Ong (Founder, Chocolate Concierge & Culture Cacao)
Part 1 of STIMY's episode with Ning-Geng Ong - a farmer, chocolate marker, flavour fanatic and founder of Chocolate Concierge & Culture Cacao, where he makes incredible single-origin Malaysian chocolate. In this episode, Ning shares his journey from majoring in physics and computer science, to founding a business in chocolate making. In particular, what it is like working with the indigenous community (including stories involving tigers, a durian thief and a murder!). Highlights: 2:31: Loving the outdoors (the dangers of being a boy scout!) 5:52: Backpacking in Europe 6:59: Doing programming work 11:53: Diving into the world of fermentation 17:37: Why chocolate making stood out 21:39: Cocoa seeds taste like.. Unicorn milk?! 24:26: Obsessing over creating Malaysian single origin flavour 25:08: Chocolate-making process 26:33: Creating the universe 27:08: Why Ning struggled to find reliable cocoa beans 30:13: Starting Culture Cacao 32:11: Living with the Semai community 38:38: Tigers 40:15: Durian thief! 44:17: Not having a contractual arrangement with the indigenous community 49:08: Struggling to get cocoa beans from the indigenous community 50:52: Giving up? Stay tuned for PART 2 of Ning's episode, coming out this Wednesday! 📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/50-1 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605