Hirsute brothers Michael and Rick Mast might feel the love from local businesses and visitors to their Williamsburg factory, but chocolate industry folks think their chocolate downright stinks. An investigation by Slate found that though the Mast products are "sold at hundreds of independently owned shops and big-name grocery stores around the world, almost every specialty chocolate store refuses to carry the brand." So why does the chocolate appeal to the masses but not pass muster with the professionals?
Chocolate experts and shop owners took issue with the chocolate's flavor and texture, implying that "Mast's Brooklyn location, hipster image, and beautiful packaging" distract the average palate into thinking they're eating a superior product. One shop owner said the Mast products had a chalky texture while a chocolate educator and judge found the bars stale or moldy. "If you were to ask the world's top chocolate reviewers to rate bars, Mast Brothers would hit in the bottom 5 percentile," author and judge Clay Gordon told Slate. "There are defects in every bar, and the chocolate is bad." Yikes.
For their part, the Brothers Mast say their decision not to join the chocolate clique left them ostracized by the industry. "We are a dangerous company because we are outsiders to the chocolate industry, never leaning on industry norms," explained Rick Mast. "We have achieved incredible success without paying the self-proclaimed industry chocolate experts that you have cited a penny for their 'expertise.'" Mast also noted the "thousands" of visitors their Williamsburg shop hosted every week. Haters gonna hate.
