Meet Liane Pensack-Rinehart | Chocolatier & Owner of Colorado Cocoa Pod

We had the good fortune of connecting with Liane Pensack-Rinehart and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Liane, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I initially started out in engineering, and was a Software Engineer for 5 years before going back to pastry school to get a degree in Baking & Pastry Arts, so it wasn’t my first career, but it is a career that I have found to be more suited to my talents. I have always been crafty, thanks to my late Mother, who used to always have some sort of craft at every event when I was growing up. She definitely encouraged my artistic side by teaching me scrapbooking, baking, and even candy making during the holidays. I used to start all these side crafts, and I’d get really into it for a few months, but then lose interest or not have enough time, but with chocolate, I realized, not only am I really good at it, but it’s a medium that I can use both my artistic and engineering brains. After 2 years of making bonbons, I’m still not tired of it, in fact, there is so much more I know I can learn and improve on, and because there are so many flavors I have yet to make, the artistic side of me never gets bored.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is expressed in the form of handcrafted chocolate bonbons that are delicious, beautiful, but never too pretty to eat! I am most proud of and known for my 12pc Zodiac Animal Bonbon Collection. This collection consists of 12 different flavors of chocolates & designs that represent the Chinese Zodiac Animals. What sets me apart from other chocolatiers, is that many of my flavors are Asian-inspired, and my bonbons aren’t overly sweet. Instead they are packed with flavor. I include flavors such as Raspberry Matcha (Snake), Caramel Black Sesame (Rat), Milk Tea (Horse), and Lychee (Pig), but also more classic flavors like Sea Salt Caramel Gold (Ram) & Cookies ‘n Cream (Dog), combining my Asian-American heritage.

It hasn’t all been easy to get to where I am today. When I decided to go back to school and continue my education for a Baking & Pastry Arts degree, I went from working full-time to part-time, which was pretty stressful, since this was my first career and I didn’t know what exactly I was going to be doing after pastry school. But Chocolates & Confections was my first class, and I fell in love with it! I learned so much about real chocolate, and became somewhat of a chocolate ‘snob’, but it wasn’t until I had to decide what to do for my internship that I realized moulded bonbons was the perfect niche for me both creatively and professionally. After interning and working for this small chocolate shop for a few months, I was let go since they were going downhill and couldn’t afford to stay open anymore. Around that same time, my Mom was diagnosed with cancer, so in a way, being let go was a blessing in disguise, as it allowed me to go back home to help take care of my Mom.

With the encouragement of my husband, I then decided to start my own chocolate bonbon business instead of working for someone else, because it would give me the flexibility to travel when I needed to. So in the spring of 2019, I started Colorado Cocoa Pod. I spent the first year working on recipes, and building my social media account, selling to friends and family, while trying to learn everything I could about chocolate. About a year later, when I was planning on doing shows and pop-ups Covid hit, and everything shut down. Needless to say that wasn’t in my plans, but I was fortunate enough that I didn’t have a storefront I had to worry about, and instead focused on trying to help other small businesses by promoting them on my Instagram. This led to me starting my Chocolate Chats, an Instagram Live series where I talk to other chocolatiers around the world about their chocolate business, goals, and background. From doing these live chats, I’ve made a lot of friends who I can troubleshoot chocolate problems with, and have helped build a really close community.

My Mom passed away in November of 2020, right when I was really starting to get back into making bonbons full-time. This led me to take a few more months off to help my family out. It wasn’t easy, but chocolate gave me an outlet to grieve. It helped take my mind off the stressful things that I couldn’t control going on around me, because it was something I could control. I am super thankful to my family for allowing me to continue working through the holidays. I think we were all grieving in our own way, and wanted it to be more like a “normal” day, rather than thinking about the holidays without my Mom.

There is so much about chocolate that I want to learn and improve on, but I have learned that it is a craft that I am really good at, and it brings me so much joy when making chocolates for others. I want people to know that I am a one-woman show, meaning, not only do I make all of the bonbons, but I also do all the dishes, packing and printing of labels for shipping, as well as deliveries. So when you decide to support Colorado Cocoa Pod, you’re supporting my dream, and I am grateful for that support!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Most of my friends are really into beer, and Colorado has some of the best micro-breweries according to my husband, so we would probably take our dogs and hit up a few dog-friendly breweries and if they have a food truck, then that’s even better! Their trip wouldn’t be complete without a few dessert places like mochi donuts from Third Culture Bakery, or checking out some pop-ups and getting cupcakes from Not Yo Mama’s Cupcakes. If it was during the winter, we would also probably hit up Copper Mountain to go snowboarding, and renting a place in the mountains.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate this Shoutout to my wonderfully supportive husband Nathan and my crafty Mom was sadly passed away too soon this past November from cancer. Nathan is the one who encouraged me and told me it was ok to start my own business, he has put up with many of my late night chocolate making, and so many dishes. My Mom was so proud of me when she saw my bonbon creations, and she was always encouraging and telling me how artistic and creative they were. She was so strong, and I get her need to share beautiful things with others from her. Of course I wouldn’t be here without praising God. He is the one I give the most credit to for showing me my path, and putting all these supportive people in my life, and for that I am forever grateful.

Website: https://coloradococoapod.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradococoapod/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoCocoaPod

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/colorado-cocoa-pod-denver?osq=colorado+cocoa+pod

Other: https://g.page/colorado-cocoa-pod?share

Image Credits
Kendra V Photography Liane Pensack-Rinehart