Fine chocolates now appreciated by connoisseurs as a luxury product
As with wines and coffees, fine chocolates are growing in sophistication and complexity
Whether chocolate evokesremembrance of Willie Wonka and his Chocolate Factory, an indelible Valentine's Day or of Juliette Binoche feeding Johnny Depp in the film , the substance's magic is universal. In fact, the magic stems back to its very root - cacao beans were once used as a currency and considered to be a gift from the gods themselves.
Today, the finest chocolate is once again returning to its rightful place of utter splendour - a finesse and distinction on par with the finest wines and whiskies. For most of its history - which spans more than 4,000 years - chocolate was enjoyed as a bitter indulgence, rather than in its latter day sweet incarnation. The ancient Mesoamericans fermented cacao beans in the tropical rainforests of Central America and awakened the idea of chocolate as a mythical mood enhancer catered to sacred Aztec, Mayan and Olmec ceremonies.
Verily, chocolate only grows in the world's equatorial belt. "It's a tropical thing," says Rob Crisostomo, owner of chocolate expert brand Casco Commodities in Manila. But the trajectory of chocolate is, of course, an interesting tale filled with mystique, wonder and adventure.
The Dutch and Spanish traders originally brought in cacao in Europe as a commodity, and Spanish gallants also brought plantain materials in 1600s to the Philippines. Today, Ivory Coast is by far the biggest producer of cacao. Ghana is the next biggest producer and then Indonesia is the third largest.
"There is an alkaline process created to treat cacao," Crisostomo explains, adding: "Wet beans are fermented in a hard wood box topped with banana leaves to keep the heat to around 50 degrees. Micro-organisms then cause fermentation where they eat the sugars and convert them to ethanol and phytic acid - this creates the chocolate flavour over five to six days."
After fermentation, it's the roasting process in a convection oven where the shell expands. It is then de-shelled and ground into a paste - the cacao liquor. "This is what we call pure roasted ground beans and its traditionally done in discs or tableas," Crisostomo says. These discs are exported around the world ready for the master craftsman chocolatiers to create their magnum opus.
As with wines and coffees, there are varietals that proffer special taste profiles. "We refer to it as lineage," Crisostomo says. "Criollo - white beans from Aztec/ Americas - is known for its beautiful aromatics and is being used by niche companies, thus it only makes up 5 per cent of the market."
Then there are what Crisostomo calls the brown or violet forastero beans from the Amazon and Brazil. "These are more common as they are easier to grow and more of a commodity as the big brands use them," he says. Lastly, Crisostomo mentions the very common trinitario, which he refers to as a "natural cross-bred" bean that is often used.
