Bean to bonbon
My bean to bonbon journey
When I started making chocolate I really didn't know anything about the ethics involved in sourcing my cocoa, so I started of using a well known Belgian cocoa mass.
A bean to bar chocolate maker, Frank Laws, opened my eyes to the exploitation, slavery and child labour that many cocoa farmers are subjected to for the sake of high profits and low chocolate bar prices. This especially included the growers of the cocoa I was using. I don't believe a bar of chocolate is worth any kind of suffering so I started down the road to ethically sourced bean to bar production.​
The origins I use
Colombia
This is the cocoa I use the most of.
It is a "Fino de Aroma" cocoa, this denomination is an International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) classification, which describes an especially exquisite aroma and flavour. Between 6 and 7% of the world’s cocoa is classified as cacao Fino De Aroma.
It comes from the Huila region of Colombia
Solomon Islands
The volcanic island Guadalcanal provides this incredible cocoa. It has a fantastically fruity flavour with hardly any bitterness at all.
Trying it for the first time was a revelation.
I keep thinking I should stop using it because it's so expensive, but the flavour keeps changing my mind.
Dominican Republic
The Duarte province
I don't get all these types of cocoa as actual beans though. I find it very difficult to find cocoa that has nutritional information and is low enough in carbohydrates, while being devoid of slavery & child labour, at a price I can accommodate and still tasting amazing. Because of this I use cocoa that I purchase as beans, as cocoa nibs or as cocoa mass.
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I never have all the origins available at the same time because the supply can be a bit hit and miss and my capacity isn't massive, but mostly it's because of cashflow issues on my end coupled with large minimum order quantities. Basically I can't afford to buy a 20kg bag of cocoa nibs most days, let alone a 60kg bag of beans.
Why is bean to bar important?
Roasting is the part of the process where most of the flavour development is possible for the chocolate maker.
Once the cocoa has left the farm where it is grown, fermented and dried, the most pivotal step is the roasting.