Organized by industry consultant Curtis Vreeland, the first Next Generation Chocolatier Competition was held two years ago in an attempt to seek out up and coming chocolatiers who hadn’t yet achieved national recognition in some form or another. This year’s competition relaxed the rules for entry and saw many established chocolatiers provide work for judging including several chocolatiers who participated in the first competition.

Sponsored in part by World Tea Expo, Tea Magazine, Ito En, and the specialty tea company Harney and Sons, the theme for this year’s competition was tea-infused chocolates ...