Cacao Magazine - Issue Three

cacao Telling the Stories Behind Good Chocolate

#WomenInChocolate Photo-essay Women of the Kallari Association in Ecuador

Whisky & Chocolate Pairing Tips from a Professional

Meet the Maker Interview with FjĂĽk and Pod Chocolate

Welcome to

Issue Three When we chose the theme for this issue many months ago, we never would have believed we would be writing this letter amidst the first global pandemic in our lifetime. But throughout this turbulent and difficult period that we’re yet to see the end of, the message we wanted to share with you is as relevant and important as ever before. We cannot face these times alone, and we cannot overcome them without the strength and the power of women.

There are women everywhere in chocolate, we see them all the time in adverts with their eyes rolled back as they lick their lips. But we don’t think enough people see the farmers carefully cultivating cacao, the makers experimenting, the traders and campaigners and law changers; the business owners founding successful, sustainable, and delicious chocolate companies all over the world.

We wanted to say a huge thank you to all of the amazing women who inspired and helped us to create this magazine and somebody who we can’t thank enough is Lauren Heineck, founder of WKND Chocolate and the creator of the #womeninchocolate hashtag. We are so proud to fill our pages with women who continue to inspire, inform, connect and uplift others, whatever life throws their way.

This issue is dedicated to every single Woman in Chocolate, but it’s also for everybody who takes the time to read it. So whatever your gender, whatever your passion or purpose, we thank you for being here, and as always, hope you enjoy reading this edition as much as we had making it.

Lukas T. Reinhardt & Ruby Willow Founders of Cacao Magazine

cacao

www.readcacao.com team@readcacao.com IG: @readcacao Co-Founder & Creative Director Lukas T. Reinhardt Co-Founder & Editor in Chief Ruby Willow Assistant Editor Mila Wood Front Cover Artist Wadim Petunin Issue Sponsor Canadian Chocoholic Issue Three Summer 2020 ISSN 2631-8873 Printed in Berlin by Medialis.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Cacao Magazine.

Contributors This magazine wouldn’t be possible without the brilliant writers, illustrators and photographers who we so dearly rely on.

A huge thank you to all of our contributors:

Kim Wilson

Lauren Heineck

Michelle RenĂŠe Baldovin

Maria Maiskaya

Cyndi Clement

Estela Duque

Oonagh Browne

Victoria Cooksey

Carmen Magali Eraso Adarme

Nicole Hewat

Diana Yates

Megan Giller

Paula Calleja

Jordan Cohayney

Sue Quinn

Romany Pope

Jeanne Donkoh

Eduardo Morales

Emily Stone

R. M. Peluso

Corinne Joachim-Sanon-Symietz

Anna Bazyl

Dennise Valencia

Moji Aina

Hanbin Paek

Agurtxane Concellon

Petra Arias

Siv Hereid

10

Bean

12 – 23

52

Sponsor: Canadian Chocoholic

52 – 55

Femmes de Virunga: The Power of Chocolate

Canadian Chocoholic: The Chocolate Goldsmith

24 – 31

56 – 65

Women: The Secret Ingredient for a Living Wage

32 – 51

Photo-essay: Las Mujeres de Cacao

The Peace Crop: When Women Come Together

66 – 67

Recipe: Pasta with Gorgonzola, Walnuts, Rosemary, and Chocolate

68 Bar

70 – 83

Where is a Woman’s Place, in chocolate?

84 – 89

Baking with Single-Origin Chocolate

90 – 95

Chocolate Landscapes: Painting with Cacao

96 – 101

118

Meet the Makers

102 – 111

How to Host a Cacao Ceremony

112 – 117

Whiskey & Chocolate

118 – 125

Interview: Meet the Makers: Nigeria to Norway

Column: Poison Your Lover With Chocolate, and Other Advice From 17th Century Witches

Contents

Section

Bean The financial, environmental and societal impact on women in cacao growing communities.

The Power of Chocolate

Femmes de Virunga The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is home to the Virunga National Park, one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth and Africa’s oldest national park. Critically endangered animals roam freely over the diverse habitats, from the swamplands and savannahs to mountains and volcanoes.

It is within the surrounding buffer zone, however, where women and cacao are flourishing.

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If you Google “Virunga” you will get a dramatic mix of good and evil, beauty and horror, rich and poor. All are prevalent, but it is what one makes of it. In the face of extreme adversity, the spirit and courage of the people who live there remains, a theory tested now as much as ever before whilst the world fights COVID-19. A challenge that has caused shockwaves throughout the globe, but for the people who have already been up against ethnic wars, centuries of foreign usurpation and Ebola, it is yet another hurdle to overcome alongside poverty, climate change and gender inequality.

In the park’s bordering countryside and beyond, life for women is especially hard. Collecting water, gathering firewood, making and caring for children is their life’s work - with little respite or opportunity for much else. I​n a place where girls’ education is as undervalued as much as their abuse is ignored, there is a movement stirring. Through growing and harvesting fine cacao, through working together and leading teams of hundreds, and through playing an active role in the supply chain of fine chocolate, the women of Virunga are demanding peace and prosperity where it has been absent for far too long.

Every Great Park Needs a Great Buffer The Virunga National Park was first founded and named ‘Park Albert’ in 1925, with the primary goal of protecting the endangered mountain gorillas that live across the Virunga Massif. In 1979, it was renamed Virunga National Park and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sadly, by 1994 it was labelled an Endangered Heritage site, due to environmental damage fuelled by conflict, refugees settling amongst the park borders, and poachers and rebel groups posing a threat to the park and its protected species. Over the years, despite the brave and fearless rangers who dedicate their lives to protecting the park’s animals, many have been killed in a series of horrifying incidents carried out by local militia.

The Oscar-nominated 2014 documentary “Virunga” tells a vivid and emotional story of these complex interests that have included mass gorilla killings and culminated in, as recently as the 24th of April 2020, the death of dozens of heroic rangers. The rangers are the police forces charged to protect national parks. Their mandate ends at the borders of the park

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a regenerative consumer society

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and their success in keeping the native environment intact depends on what happens outside of the park, in what is aptly called the buffer zone.

Buffer zones create a barrier between protected areas and the communities and developments beyond them. The UN says they may not be “sites of active biodiversity conservation, but their establishment provides an additional layer of protection to existing areas of biodiversity importance,” and that, “they are often fundamental to achieving conservation of those areas.” Ideally, they are controlled or managed landscapes that shield nature from people in a responsible and mutually beneficial way. Cacao is known as one of the world’s most powerful buffer crops, since it allows for rainforests and people to thrive simultaneously.

To put into perspective what Congo and the world stands to lose if the park is not protected, the WWF states that “Virunga National Park is home to no less than 627 herbaceous plant species, 126 species of creeper and 107 different species of tree. Of these species, 92 are endemic to the region. The park also boasts 218 different species of mammal, 706 bird species, 109 species of reptile and 78 different amphibian species. It is the only national park to feature 3 different species of great ape: the mountain gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and the chimpanzee. Poaching aside, the biggest threat to the survival of such rich biodiversity is the destruction of its habitat through deforestation and forest degradation.”

In 2013 the WWF estimated Virunga’s economic value at US $48.9 million a year. In a stable situation conducive to economic growth and tourism, they determined the park’s annual value could be higher than US $1.1 billion per year and, including existing positions, it could be the source of more than 45,000 jobs.

Building a Regenerative Consumer Society Few forests in the world have seen such immense pressure on them as the Virunga landscape. Decades of war throughout Congo and its neighbouring countries have caused the displacement of millions of people in and around Virunga park, and most of them rely on subsistence farming as a source of

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both income and food. Unsustainable farming practices have led to a spike in deforestation and a gradual encroachment on the park. Coffee was one of the main cash crops grown within Virunga’s buffer zone for several decades, due to the fertile soil and ideal growing conditions. However, plant disease was increasingly damaging the regional coffee plants and destroying the harvest that so many farmers desperately relied upon.

Hilde de Beule, who is an agronomist and expert in sustainable agriculture, was working in the region at the time. She was always interested in the idea of introducing agroforestry grown cacao as a crop alternative to coffee for the people of eastern DRC. This dream became a reality when she met Philipp Kauffmann in 2008, who had recently founded the conservation chocolate company, Original Beans. Philipp was already a seasoned environmental activist from a 220-yearold family of nature conservationists. He had a vision for a “regenerative consumer society,” which he realised he could accomplish through the production of chocolate.

A partnership was established and they began by training the local farmers to sustainably grow, maintain, and harvest cacao trees. By 2009, the first batch of single origin cacao from the war-torn DRC was flown to Europe and made into chocolate. An independent study in 2012 revealed that within just three years, over 13,000 farmers had become trained and certified cacao producers. These farmers’ incomes had doubled from US $500 to $1000 a year. Additionally, one million trees had been planted and deforestation rates within and around the park had been halved.

One Bar: One Tree Replanting trees and conserving biodiversity has been a guiding principle for Original Beans from the start. They’ve developed a ‘one bar: one tree’ programme, which means growing a tree for every bar sold, a tree that consumers can track with a code on the packaging of their bar. To date, they have grown over two million trees, and in 2015 they became a 100% climate positive company.

Original Beans currently operate 26 tree nurseries in addition to various community-driven forest conservation projects across Africa and Latin America, with a focus on sourcing and preserving rare cacao varieties. With each 100g of chocolate

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or couverture they produce they drawdown more than the equivalent amount of CO​2 in their cacao forests.

In an interview with Jenny Linford for the UK chocolate blog​ www.chocolatier.co.uk, Philipp explained, “the interesting thing about the chocolate industry is that it has a direct relationship to some of the poorest people in the world. These people have direct access to, and control over, one of the world’s most precious resources on our planet, which are tropical rainforests. Chocolate is a very charismatic product with direct access to these issues of poverty and deforestation. We have a tremendous opportunity to change the paradigm of what chocolate is, how cacao is produced – this is an industry which needs a substantial, fundamental change.”

Strong Women Make Strong Chocolate Philipp and his global Bean Team know that to protect biodiversity, communities need to be protected too, and that includes women. Chantal Marijnissen, Head of Unit for Environment, Natural Resources and Water at The Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development at the European Commission, outlined that “environmental projects will only work if we make sure we provide security for the populations around the parks, reduce the impact of the militia on the local populations, and create jobs.”

Hilde, who in the meantime had become leader of Original Bean’s African Bean Team, realised that the key to protecting Virunga National Park was to empower women. And so she set course on a new project, the ​Femmes de Virunga. Despite Congo being one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman, the Femmes de Virunga project became the world’s first women-led cacao cooperative in 2016. To date, hundreds of women, who, like their bars, are known as Femmes de Virunga, have joined together to plant a quarter of a million cacao trees and 40,000 shade crops. Resulting in successfully maintaining the buffer-zone and purifying the air, all whilst growing delicious-tasting and financially beneficial cacao.

Hilde described, in a video published by Original Beans in 2014, how “women are in a weak and dependent position and are

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often the first victims when political unrest takes place. With this work that we’re currently doing we hope to strengthen the position of these women within the family and within the larger community by involving them in cocoa-growing, and sharing the know-how on cultivation and processing.”

The women of Virunga are paid a fixed premium price for their cacao, provided with literacy courses, ongoing Ebola protection, and leadership training. Through their dedication and Original Bean’s training, they have become masters at growing, fermenting and drying these fully traceable, certified organic beans. Beans which are then turned into worldclass chocolate, sold and loved all over the world. As essential as these projects are, and as inspiring as their ethics may be, people don’t buy chocolate because it does good, they buy it because it tastes good. And Original Beans have that sorted, too. Their chocolate tastes so good that they’ve won countless awards and it’s used by some of the world’s most well renowned chefs, including Massimo Bottura, Claire Smyth, and Jamie Oliver.

The Femmes de Virunga project has successfully demonstrated that environmental conservation doesn’t have to come at the cost of economic growth. Equipping female farmers with the skills to sustainably grow fine cacao has not only provided them with greater financial and social freedom, however, it’s strengthened the buffer-zone around the park for years to come. Perhaps the spirit of the Femmes de Virunga echoes even more powerfully now at a time in which we want to step out of the COVID-19 crisis and resume protecting our own families, livelihoods and the world at large.

As consumers, our job is simple. By supporting and eating sustainable chocolate we can directly influence the conservation of the world’s natural resources whilst positively changing the lives of the women that live there. Peace and prosperity should be possible for women wherever in the world they are, and so should great tasting chocolate that doesn’t damage the earth. Who would have thought that the answer could be found by wrapping them together in a bar of chocolate?

To support Original Beans and the strong women of Virunga visit: www.originalbeans.com/femmes-de-virunga-congo/ You can also donate to the Virunga National Park and become an integral part of the effort to save one of the Earth’s most special treasures at: www.virunga.org/donate

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strong women make strong chocolate

Women: The Secret Ingredient for a Living Wage Words by Kim Wilson

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A

sk anyone working in community development and they’ll tell you – communities thrive when you get money in the hands of women. They invest wisely in education, healthcare and nutrition, things that have an impact today and for the next generation. When we (Good King) started this journey, our goal was to advocate for a living wage for farmers. I had no idea the secret ingredient would come in the form of women.

Real Implications of Less than a Living Wage Talking economics is one thing, understanding its personal impact is completely another. Let me try to paint a picture: when income is not available in rural cacao farming communities, it is generally the men who go to cities to find work. When men leave for the cities, fathers are absent, family structures often fall apart under the pressure of separation, and rural women and children are left with devastatingly few income-producing options.

People with few options are not typically looking for high-risk, high-reward growth opportunities – they are trying to survive and find stability. While the specifics and personal stories vary widely, one fact remains: a significantly discounted and immediate payment is often far more appealing than the risk of getting either a higher payment or nothing at all. This is the reality in which most cacao-growing communities enter the sales “negotiation”. Until now, I (as a cacao buyer and chocolate lover), have been all too happy to benefit from that deal.

When Doubling Yields is not Enough

bility Partnership with working group meetings.

The most influential industry players in Southeast Asia were strategising on how to dramatically and sustainably increase income for cacao farmers. Sights were set on the whopping goal of doubling yields and improving post-harvest quality. Likely, this is still one of the fastest and most effective ways to increase farmer and community income. Yet, at that time, rumour had it that farmers were earning one-quarter of a living wage. I thought to myself, “even *if* we succeed, best case, they’re now halfway to a living wage…” There is so much more work to be done.

Borrowing Tools from Coffee and Wine On top of doubling yields, higher prices and premiums certainly help too. However, price premiums rarely, if ever, cover the wild volatility (70% variance) the cocoa commodity market has experienced in the past five years. In this case, cocoa can learn from some of its neighbouring industries.

Coffee: The 4th wave, namely the creators of Guilder Café and Junior’s Roasted Coffee in Portland, are conversing about and insisting upon covering the cost of production. This is great, since we would not pay our own employees less than minimum wage, so we should extend this thinking to our suppliers too. At Good King, we revisit this topic annually with our partners.

Wine: Similarly, long-term price contracts were commonplace in my wine days and seem necessary for a tree crop that takes five years to bear fruit and yields for decades. As buyers, we cannot de-risk the impact of pests and

In 2013, while in Indonesia, I had the privilege of attending the Cocoa Sustaina-

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weather on yields, but certainly, we can bear the brunt of market price fluctuations, especially when consumer price and consumption patterns are relatively stable.

That said, like wine and coffee, there’s much more to be done from farm-to-bar. How can growing communities enjoy more than 3% of the value of that rich and dreamy chocolate pie?

The Great Divide Once upon a time, chocolate was prized as a nutritional and invigorating drink in the regions where it was grown. It took until the 1500s for the Spanish to “discover” it in Central and South America and introduce it to Europe. It would be a few centuries more before the industrial revolution would produce chocolate as we now know it. However, cacao can only be grown in equatorial regions and the newly-hungry consumers did not reside there. So, European colonisers planted it in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Suddenly, cocoa was being grown in areas where it had no cultural significance and no value as a food source. We, as buyers, hold little value for work we do not understand or cannot see, from people that we do not know. Likewise, as sellers, we have little passion to carry out difficult manual labour for a product we do not understand, for people we do not know. And here began the great divide.

From 6-Degrees to 2-Degrees As I write this, amidst the first global pandemic in 50 years, it is clear that our world is small and intricately connected. It is easy to stay disconnected from the plight of millions of smallholder farmers when they are 5 to 6 degrees removed from my social circles. However, for companies like us who are trading directly, we are now talking about becoming the link between friends of friends. When my friends recount stories about their friends, I listen more, I strive to understand more and I feel connected and invested in the friend’s story and success. Like other chocolate makers trading directly and investing heavily in growing communities, we long for our friends on both sides of the world to know and value one another.

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Chocolate is Not (Always) the Answer As I spent time getting to know my new friends in cacao farming communities, I searched for ways to restore income-earning steps from cacao to their local area. It does not take a genius to realise farming communities are unlikely to place very high in a business school’s competitive matrix for launching a best-selling, global chocolate brand. Even if they: • • • •

found a solution for unreliable electricity and water overcame confounding local and international food regulations created a beautiful temper in a wet & warm tropical climate shipped their chocolate in refrigerated containers all the way to its final destination

Each of these seem near impossible. Even if they could overcome each of these obstacles, it would be unwise to compete with their capital-rich, multinational customers. Making chocolate themselves might not be the answer.

Goodbye Sweet and Smooth Imagine with me, for a moment, eating an exquisite chocolate bar. Consider the heady aroma, the sweetness that hits your tongue, the creamy smoothness that melts in your mouth. It is lovely.

Chocolate forces me to pause for a moment – to be fully present with it. Is this the fullness of its personality, or did this “food of the gods” have more possibilities to be discovered?

After months spent in various farming communities, I knew there was more to this super seed. I became focused on creating a crunchy, less-sugary, healthy snack from whole, peeled cacao beans. It could be fully produced by the farming communities and, crucially, it did not melt. The snack craze was, and still is, insatiable, particularly in the US, where all-natural, shelf-stable crunchy snacks from wasabi peas to trail mixes were taking grocery store shelves by storm. Why not cacao? In theory, it appeared to be a win-win for farming communities and the chocolate industry by: creating demand for less desirable, small cacao beans dramatically improving post-harvest fermentation and drying (because each bean is eaten individually) with an immediate feedback loop expanding consumption through a new, natural, crunchy and healthy treat that was more likely to appeal to on-the-go snackers Would this theory work in practice?

Unintended Consequences: In a Good Way In 2014, the week before my third trip to a cacao growing community, an acquaintance prayed for my journey and for me. He said he saw me working with women. I told him that would defi-

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The Power of Partnership

nitely be a miracle from God. I had met just one female cacao farmer prior to this, and I had also attended a conference with hundreds of farmers where the speaker corrected himself after addressing us as “ladies and gentleman” because I was the only lady in the room.

Upon arrival in Indonesia, I met with the leaders of the cacao co-op, Koptan Masagena, and asked if I could do an experiment processing cacao beans to create a healthy snack food. I requested 4 to 5 people who might be able to help me. Over the following days, five women showed up. Despite the advanced notice, I have to admit I was stunned. We had just crossed the chasm from farming to food production - and in most rural cultures around the world, men are in the fields and women are in the kitchen. Although this is of course a stereotype, it is one that has proven to be true in each cacao-growing community I have visited.

Occasionally, men turned up on production days because they had heard about the work opportunity. Eventually, they all stopped returning because, simply put, their throughput and quality were not on par with the women’s!

As women became our primary partners for creating snacking cacao in farming communities, the lightbulb went off. The advent of Spain’s discovery of cacao and the industrial revolution had not just created a chasm between growing and consuming nations, or even farming and food production, but also between men and women.

While the women appeared to be expendable in this new world, both genders lost out. As we restore value-added steps to farming communities, we also unleash the dynamic partnerships and creative potential that has been lost for centuries.

It has been a privilege to see these male-female partnerships unfold. In Indonesia, the next generation is filled with strong, capable and enterprising women. These women had already been instrumental in quality assurance, accounting and traceability for the co-op. Now, they partner with men to create two lines of business beyond selling cacao beans from Rainforest Alliance certified farms for export. They create colourfully wrapped, small-batch milk and sweet chocolates for local and domestic sales, and they also run chocolate cafes that serve as popular public gathering spaces in their communities.

Similarly, our introduction and subsequent partnership with COAGRICSAL, a fair trade and organic agricultural co-operative in Honduras, had been precisely because the predominantly male leaders of the co-op had been actively searching for ways to empower and gainfully employ more women in their coffee, cacao and allspice farm-

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ing community. You will find women leading nearly every part of the post-harvest process, from fermentation and quality assurance, to producing chocolate liquor for export, and making couverture, bars and bonbons for regional sales – all in their newly-minted chocolate factory.

In both cases, the co-ops have not only seized the opportunity to diversify and earn between five to eight times more income from the cacao they are already growing, but they have also enabled their neighbours to be able to taste and appreciate local chocolate for the first time. In both cases, the women have crafted new recipes and products to appeal to their own cultures. For instance, in Indonesia, they introduced sweet, iced milk chocolate drinks and deep-fried bananas drizzled in chocolate sauce. In Honduras, the women created treats ranging from brightly-coloured passion fruit bonbons to cinnamon-spiced snacking cacao.

Like Any Good Marriage Partnership between men and women requires incredible communication, mutual consideration and sacrifice. In most cacao-growing communities, the balance of power has leaned heavily towards men for generations. So, it will take them making what may initially be perceived as unequal sacrifices for the greater good. As any happily married man or woman will tell you, the sacrifices are well worth the costs so that the family can thrive. Here are a few things I have learned from the men and women in our partner communities, on how to enter this new era: Overcome Transportation Challenges: most women do not have their own mode of transport. We have observed our partners locating production near public transportation routes, providing safe and reliable transportation for the women, or bringing the means of production to their local community. While in Honduras, I have also benefited from the men with cars making regular stops each day to pick up their female co-workers and me on their route to work.

Offer flexible work schedules: women still carry the majority of childcare and home responsibilities they had before they started working outside the home. Multi-generational families need time and space to acclimatise to a new normal.

These needs can be accommodated through offering shorter hours, flexible shifts and seasonal work, or creating space for children onsite. Any of these initiatives can result in a more dedicated and loyal female workforce.

Invest in their homes: on a related note, families are more likely to support women working outside the home if they also reap the benefit.

Recently, we approached our women co-workers in Honduras and asked about their priorities in regards to reinvesting a portion of our revenue into their local community. Much to my (and the co-op’s) surprise, the women chose to invest in home improvement projects. Pouring cement, repairing sinks or expanding structures were their highest priorities. These investments yield great returns for women - they enable the safety, security and health of their families, are a tangible reminder of their financial contribution, and help the household to run more smoothly.

Invest holistically in their entrepreneurial activities: as I mentioned previously, if women are focused on survival and finding stability, they are unlikely to look to high-risk, high-reward ventures. Whether they are part of the elite 2% of women-led, venture-backed enterprises, or are part of the smaller percentage of women-led enterprises in rural farming communities, the principles remain the same: investment, training, open doors and support from their community often determine the difference between success and failure.

How To Support Women in Growing Communities If you are more than two degrees away from cacao, or other, farming communities and not quite ready to turn your life upside down to build your

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own supply chain (if you are – call me!), there are still plenty of small changes you can make in your daily consumption that have a huge impact. Here are a few practical tips: Tree-to-bar and farm-to-bar: these descriptors are good indicators that products are made in growing communities and are therefore more likely to employ women. I greatly admire and appreciate: Les Chocolateries Askanya in Haiti and Belu Cacao in El Salvador.

Direct trade or single origin: looking beyond fair trade, organic or certified products, brands espousing direct trade or traceability principles are more likely to include women as well. This is because these communities typically have more precise post-harvest practices, quality standards and traceability systems that provide great opportunities for women. In addition to Good King, who partners with co-ops in Honduras and Indonesia, K’UL partners with women’s cooperatives in Peru and the Dominican Republic, and Askinosie trades directly with women-led farmer groups for their Tanzania and Amazonia origins. Though we have not tried them yet, I am eagerly anticipating RokBar – a completely women-made and women-owned brand, based in Amsterdam, who work with an association of women in Peru and beyond.

Artisan, small-batch and handmade: while not a guarantee, these terms increase the likelihood that women are working behind the scenes. This is true even beyond cacao. For example, all of Good King’s US-based and direct trade suppliers of dried fruit and nuts for our trail mixes are led by, or heavily employ, women.

Women-owned and women-led businesses investing in women: these are still the minority in the craft chocolate industry, but they are growing every day. To learn more, I highly recommend listening to Well Tempered, a podcast

by Lauren Heineck, start following the hashtag #womeninchocolate, and enjoy chocolates that are produced by Cru and Luisa Abram.

Kim Wilson is Co-Founder of Good King based in Seattle, WA, USA. Good King is a woman-owned, social purpose corporation partnering directly with cacao farming communities (primarily women) to create crunchy, lightly caramelised snacking cacao out of whole, peeled cacao beans.

It offers award-winning snacking cacao, direct trade fruit and nut mixes, and unroasted, peeled cacao beans and cacao butter for craft chocolate makers.

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Las Mujeres de Cacao

A glimpse into chocolate and the lives of the women farmers who make it possible. This photographic essay features women from the Kallari Association, a farmer’s cooperative based in the Amazon region of Ecuador.

Words & Photography by Michelle RenĂŠe Baldovin

C

hocolate is one of the world’s most beloved foods with an industry that is worth over US $1 billion worldwide. The majority of cacao production takes place on small family farms, usually less than ten hectares in size. Cacao farmers receive the smallest portion of profits within the chain of production, and women are even further marginalised.

Within cacao-producing communities, women are often the primary workers of the land and are leaders on tasks that are crucial to the production of chocolate. The work they do often goes unrecognised and uncelebrated, and within families it can be seen as an extension of their household work.

Not only do women farmers have to overcome the typical challenges of being a smallholder farmer, such as the demanding physical labour, crop diseases that decimate harvests, and low income due to low prices of cacao, but they face additional challenges too. These include the pressure to function under multiple roles, such as taking the lead on unpaid and underappreciated household chores, like caring for children and elderly, maintaining the household, preparing meals and washing clothes.

Women are often seen as the wives of the cacao farmers, as opposed to the farmers themselves. In general, women who do not own their land are less likely to control the finances generated from farm revenue, despite contributing more than half of the labour. In this case, women would rarely be responsible for the transportation of crops to market or in the final sale, leaving the control of income in the hands of the men. Women will often be paid less or not at all, and receive less recognition and compensation, despite their hard work and contributions. Additionally, women are less likely to participate in technical training or to be present at cooperative meetings, due to extra responsibilities and societal beliefs regarding women’s roles.

By being involved in a cooperative, there are many

benefits for farmers. Specifically for women, it gives them more opportunities for leadership and better access to resources that might be more difficult to obtain without cooperative support.

In Ecuador, farmer-owned cooperatives like the Kallari Association grow cacao and process the beans into award-winning chocolate. Behind the chocolate that we all love, are women who are involved in every step of the way: from planting, pruning and caring for the trees, grafting desired varieties, combating fungal and insect pests, to the harvesting and sales. Furthermore, women from these cooperatives are involved in the post-harvest processes, as well as in leadership roles, as representatives and leaders for their communities, and within the administration in the main office. Women from these Amazonian communities are present at the cooperative’s annual decision-making meeting - they do all of this while simultaneously caring for family nutrition, health, and completing household chores.

Kallari is 100% Kichwa farmer-owned. The Kichwas are an indigenous group in Ecuador and Kichwa farmers grow cacao and other plants using traditional and diverse systems of agroforestry. This means that the farmers plant trees that will grow among the forest rather than clearing the land for a monoculture style of agriculture. This way of farming aligns with Kichwa culture, which consists of deeply respecting the earth.

This photographic essay represents a small percentage of the women from the communities involved in the Kallari Association. It aims to create a visual appreciation for the role of women as leaders in the supply chain of cacao cultivation and chocolate production. It is a celebration of women cacao farmers and their crucial role within the chocolate supply chain.

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Farmer Doña Lupita holds freshly harvested medicinal plants from her land. In addition to cacao, her farm flourishes with guayusa, a small tree that is used to make an energy-based tea, as well as vanilla, coffee, and various medicinal plants. Plants that are intended for agriculture grow among forest trees and other native plants.

Doña Lupita, like many women in this region, has a deep understanding of the land, the soil, the plants, and the harvest. Here, women hold ancestral knowledge of the uses of the culinary and medicinal plants that grow on their land, as they are generally the ones who are responsible for the health and nutrition of their family. Unlike many women, Doña Lupita owns her family’s land with the title in her name. Doña Lupita and her family have farmed this land for generations and she is well-known in the region for growing guayusa and is the president of a guayusa cooperative.

Farmer DoĂąa Magdelena harvests cacao on her farm, which is so remote that the only way to get to it is to travel along the river by canoe. DoĂąa Magdelena and her husband, Don Ceasar, travel weekly with their bags of freshly-harvested cacao to sell to the cooperative, who will then ferment and dry the beans.

Chocolate is produced from the fruit that grows on the Theobroma cacao tree. It takes on average three to five years for one tree to produce fruit, and a graft-

ed tree will produce more quickly than a tree grown from seed. There are many varieties of cacao trees, some of which are high-yielding, such as the CCN-51 variety, and others which are low-yielding, such as the Nacional variety. CCN-51 was bred specifically for high productivity and is typically grown using a monoculture style of agriculture. This variety can be very attractive for farmers because of its disease resistance and high productivity, but it is considered by some to have a less complex flavour profile.

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Cacao flowers grow in clusters along parts of the trunk of the Theobroma cacao tree. One tree will produce thousands of flowers, but only a small percentage will be pollinated and grow into mature pods. The flowers are primarily pollinated by tiny flies, known as midges. A cacao pod develops from a fertilised flower and takes up to six months to mature. It will grow directly from the trunk, just like the flowers, a characteristic known as “cauliflory.�

The cacao pods come in a wide range of colours, including green, yellow and red. Each pod contains roughly 30 to 50 cacao beans, which are covered in a soft white pulp. The pulp tastes nothing like finished chocolate but has a sweet and tangy flavour. It

is these beans (actually seeds!), that after being harvested and processed out of the pods, will eventually be fermented, dried, roasted, and ground into chocolate. When pods are ripe and ready to be harvested, they will change from shades of green, to bright yellows and reds, depending on the variety.

Theobroma cacao trees can sometimes become infected with fungal diseases that turn the pods black with white mould on the outside. Farmers can lose up to 50% of their crop to this disease, a real obstacle when they are already struggling to make a living.

Some cooperatives, like Kallari, will provide technical assistance to help deal with diseases.

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Mother and daughter farmers and landowners, DoĂąa Cristina and DoĂąa Marisol, look for and harvest ripe cacao. Between the two of them, they have roughly 80 years of cacao farming experience.

To harvest cacao, Kichwa women use traditional hand-woven baskets as well as wheelbarrows, as they trek through the forest looking for ripe cacao pods. This work is strenuous and as the baskets and wheelbarrows fill up they become extremely heavy. There is no machinery to help the process, so cacao is harvested completely by hand, using machetes or shears.

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When baskets and wheelbarrows are full, cacao pods are emptied into a pile in a central location and are returned to later, to be opened. The opening of the pods is hard work but also a social occasion, as many family members gather to help. The farmers send their harvest to Kallari’s collection centre to be fermented, dried, and sorted by size, before being transformed into chocolate. Cacao is sold fresh by farmers to the cooperative and is referred to as ‘baba’. The beans ferment in wooden boxes and then dry in the sun before roasting.

Initially, payment for cacao was made primarily to men, but women who are members of Kallari have successfully lobbied the cooperative to receive payment themselves. The reason being is that the women are more likely to reinvest the money into the farm, and purchase food, school uniforms for their children, and other necessities.

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Since women mainly hold the responsibility of caring for the children, this domestic role often intersects with farm work. Despite the arduous work which is typically done in hot and rainy conditions, women often balance caring for their children while simultaneously working the land.

It can be difficult for women to be present at cooperative meetings due to various barriers, such as domestic chores, transportation, money, or restrictions placed on them by their husbands. Within Kallari, women are community representatives and work within the administration. They are present and active in the decision-making processes that happen at the cooperative’s annual meeting.

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Women have an active and crucial role in all aspects of the chocolate supply chain while also serving as community leaders, administrators, mothers, grandmothers, and caretakers for the elderly. They are keepers of ancestral knowledge of the land, plants, and culture. Women cacao farmers are resilient in the face of significant obstacles, continuing to work the land to produce the fruit that will ultimately satisfy our craving for chocolate. Women are strong and active leaders with agency, striving to make a living from one of the most sought-after exports in the world.

Michelle RenĂŠe Baldovin is a photographer with an appreciation of food and farming that began during an experience working on a tropical fruit and edible flower farm in 2009.

This interest grew to include cacao, coffee, and the experiences of women as farmers, leading her to Honduras, Ecuador, and Guatemala.

Canadian Chocoholic the chocolate goldsmith

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or many, one unique and creative career path is a challenge enough, but Cyndi Clement is a chocolatier, taster, goldsmith and the founder of the artisan jewellery company, Canadian Chocoholic. Her one-of-a-kind pieces range from handcrafted jewellery to screen-printed textiles, and by combining her two passions, she is on a mission to create beautifully unique pieces for true chocolate lovers. We caught up with Cyndi to find out more about her theobroma inspired line, how she went from chocolate to jewellery, to being

a master at both, and why Canadian Chocoholic is the place to buy all of your non-melting, everlasting chocolate gifts.

Her collection is made by hand using traditional jewellery making techniques. Cyndi works with gold, sterling silver, and bronze for a range of effects.

Cacao is at the forefront of each design, and she even uses real Qantu cacao beans. Each order comes packaged with beautiful recycled paper which she makes from the wrappers of chocolate bars.

Some of our favourite pieces include the delicate, hand-sawn cacao pod necklaces and intricate silver beans. These beans are moulded using real Peruvian beans and shipped with a bar of Qantu 70% dark chocolate. The beautiful and bright enamelled cacao leaf earrings are fired several times in a kiln in order to develop depth in colour.

Cyndi explained to us, “[I] created this jewellery line so that I had a piece of chocolate with me always. I wanted to wear some jewellery that showed my love of chocolate. I wanted something that was classic, elegant, simple and beautiful that would start

conversations with people, and my pieces definitely do that. My experience working as a chocolatier was helpful when designing the detailed pieces; my training in tasting chocolate has only helped to grow my knowledge of bean-to-bar and cacao.�

Cyndi travels globally to expand her knowledge of all things cacao, attending chocolate festivals, judging in award ceremonies and exploring cacao origins. Luckily for us she always returns to Ottawa with buckets of chocolate inspiration, ready to be transformed from tree to workbench.

Where did your love for crafts come from?

Being an artist in my 20’s made me appreciate small-batch, handmade, hard work, and high-quality. Those are still things I look for when making any purchase, and I love supporting other artists, makers and thinkers.

Do you think there are any similarities in the crafts of making chocolate and making jewellery?

The jewellery-making process is as picky as making chocolate. First, there is the raw material, and while chocolate makers gather cacao beans, I’m gathering silver (which is almost always recycled) and then with both there’s a long set of steps that together lead to a beautifully finished product.

There are definitely near misses, over-fires (especially true for enamelling when five extra seconds in the kiln can create a different colour for the finished piece), and lots of beauty along the way. My dirty hands tell a story of hard work and patience in the long process that results in such beauty, and it’s always worth it.

Do you have a favourite piece in your collection?

My personal favourite piece is the Cacao Pod necklace. There are 100 limited edition pieces of this, and each one is completely unique.

There is no pattern. I freehand each one and they are all different.

When I designed this piece I didn’t think it would be as much work as it was, and let me tell you, creating 100 of them was a labour of love. I have three of them that I wear regularly and I love each pod, with their different number of beans, different shapes, and uniqueness.

For the chance to grab one of these limited edition pods or another of Cyndi’s cacao creations go to www.canadianchocoholic.ca or stay up to date with her cacao adventures on Instagram at: @canadianchocoholic This issue has kindly been sponsored by Canadian Chocoholic.

The Peace Crop When Women Come Together.

Words by Ruby Willow Illustrated by Paula Calleja

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very chocolate bar begins its journey somewhere within the Cacao Belt, 20 degrees either side of the equator. Countries in this area grow much of the world’s food and two which are known specifically for their cacao production are Colombia and the Solomon Islands.

Concealed within many luscious cacao plantations are things we often prefer not to think about. Slavery, poverty, drug wars, domestic violence and sexual abuse, are all problems which the farming families responsible for some of our favourite chocolate bars might have faced. As is true for much of the world, when a community

struggles, it is the women who bear the brunt of these issues.

I wanted to explore the impact fine chocolate has on countries where women are known to face severe adversity, and whether simply buying better chocolate could make a tangible difference to a woman’s life.

I was lucky enough to speak to two incredible ladies who are changing the lives of their community, one woman at a time, and the women who are supporting their mission from thousands of miles away. This is a story of what happens when women come together.

Coca to Cocoa The Women, Peace and Security Index ranks 167 countries throughout the world on women’s equality in their homes, communities and societies. Colombia is at the low position of 104 on this list. Contributing to this are a series of internal conflicts and drug wars. Over time, Colombia has become a worldwide symbol for illicit drug cultivation. Regular families who have been physically or financially pushed into farming coca, the base ingredient of cocaine, live a life built on uncertainty, crime and violence.

For the thousands of families who live on the fringes of society, women’s rights are rarely prioritised.These families live in financial instability, with staggeringly low education rates that turn into equally as poor employment prospects. Dangerous cocaine cartels rule here - imagine living in constant fear of armed police turning up to set BEAN | 56

fire to your entire livelihood, or your husband being killed for being on the wrong side at the wrong time, and it is easy to see why coca farming is not an industry where women thrive.

In an attempt to change this depressing narrative for Colombian farmers, the government eventually came up with the Crop Substitution Programme. This financially incentivised farmers to grow legal crops and became a catalyst for the surge in cacao farming.

Cacao, coined “the peace crop” by the Colombian government, has been promoted as the optimal swap-out for coca. It requires an identical environment and even sounds the same. However, without a stable income and the education needed to grow high-quality beans that they can get a better-than-commodity price for, swapping chocolate for cocaine might not be as tempting as it sounds.

For all of the violence and damage coca brings, it also comes with an income that many rely on to survive. In the remote countryside, where roads are scarce and you are miles of rivers away from any populated markets to sell your crops, it’s not as easy as choosing a new plant out of a hat. The chocolate industry accrues over 80 million dollars per year, but it is estimated that cacao farmers receive just 3% of this, with a handful of multinational companies pocketing most of the share.

This impacts women bitterly, as they are paid, on average, less than one-third of what male farmers make, even when they complete two-thirds of the work.

Today there are more than 35,000 families in Colombia who rely on cacao for their income, but less than 1% of them have been able to make use of the technology required to optimise their harvest and make a comfortable living wage. For women, this means the cycle of poverty, vulnerability and fear continues.

For many Colombian women, living in fear is so commonplace that it is almost expected. Domestic violence, trafficking, and internal displacement are all disproportionately endured by women. Julia Zulver, reporting for The Washington

Post, wrote that women are “suffering extreme levels of assault, kidnapping and other violence”, and went on to explain that “Colombian women living in the conflict zones fear the armed groups that control their towns and rural areas will retaliate if they report violence.”

The Women Leading the way in Luxury Colombian Chocolate Cacao has been a part of Colombia’s culture far longer than it has been enjoyed across Europe, with both a local and international market for their aromatic beans. Traditionally consumed as a special cocoa drink, there’s now a growing number of chocolate makers creating luxury bars with Colombian cacao.

One of these makers is Luisa Vicinanza-Bedi, the founder and chocolate maker behind Luisa’s Ve-

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gan Chocolates. Previously working as a teacher in Nottingham, UK, she found she was relying on her favourite chocolate to get her through the difficult school days. This passion led to her becoming the first bean-to-bar maker in Nottingham, and in 2017 she opened her chocolate shop.

She has since won multiple awards for her single origin creations and feels passionately about working with other women.

“We have a lot of goals and have the strength to carry that through our entire lives. I want to share the passion and the pride we feel by being female farmers in Colombia.”

Funded by the UK government’s Prosperity Fund, the University of Nottingham is working directly with three female farmers in Colombia to create luxury bars for the UK market, in partnership with Nottingham chocolate maker Luisa. The aim of the project, which began in 2017, was to bring training and technology to Colombian female farmers, who for too long have been left with few financial options. The Prosperity Fund describes it as “helping Colombian farmers in conflict-affected regions to capitalise on cutting-edge UK technology and expertise to learn new skills, improve their productivity, economic independence and prospects for sustainable peace.” With a focus on women and girls, the Fund believes that reducing poverty and promoting gender equality go hand-in-hand.

Carmen Magali Eraso Adarme is one of the farmers providing Luisa with delicious Colombian

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beans. In May 2019, Luisa was welcomed to Carmen’s cacao plantation to strengthen their partnership and learn more about each other’s lives as women working in the vast world of chocolate.

Carmen explained to me how it has only been in the last six years that cacao has become a profitable crop to cultivate. Now that cacao’s importance in Colombia has grown, it is becoming more common for women to be working in this field.

However, Carmen described how “women still find challenges constantly”, due to farming “typically being seen as a man’s role, and women being perceived as weak.”

She proudly shared with me that “for cacao specifically, women have tried to change that perception by showing society, men and farmers that they do have the capability, that they do have the qualities they require to struggle against obstacles and know that they are capable of being farmers and delivering good results.”

In true feminist spirit, it is not just her own life that Carmen is working to improve. She has set up an organisation to pay forward what she has learnt through the project. She told me how “a few months ago, I started an association directed to women in Huila, which is the part of Colombia I live in. We share experiences to deliver high-quality crops and support all these women in the production so that they can gain more from their product. This helps them to start exporting and sending their products abroad to gain a higher profit and a higher quality of life. We also aim to promote education among our society. The name for the organisation is Cocoagro, which refers to cocoa and agriculture in Colombia.”

For Carmen and the women she’s supporting through Cocoagro, an opportunity is all they need to prosper. They are hard-working, smart and certainly do not want handouts.

It is Carmen’s wish “for people to know that female farmers in Colombia, specifically in cacao crops, are very passionate and very entrepreneurial. We have a lot of goals and have the strength to carry that through our entire lives. I want to share the passion and the pride we feel by being female farmers in Colombia, so people can relate to this and maybe try our product, because we work hard for the production of high-quality cocoa. We want people to learn about the amazing product that gives us everything we have in life.”

Carmen lives in Palermo, Colombia, and the plantation she runs with her husband Victor is on painfully steep land and is difficult to access, especially when carrying the beans on their backs.

She explained that “in Colombia, farmers are not traditionally well paid for their work or product.

The gains we have had are much higher than what we used to get before we started this process.”

Carmen hopes with the increase in profits, she can improve her transportation to make it easier and safer to transport the cacao. She added that working with Luisa has allowed her to send her son to college, and for her and Victor to start learning English, which she hopes will help them access further education.

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They just want to make great products with their land and be paid fairly, as we all do. By looking out for female-friendly chocolate businesses and cooperatives and questioning how they support gender equality, you can make a significant difference from the comfort of your living room.

Luisa’s motto is “great beans make great chocolate”, and when you take a bite of her Colombian 66% Carmen’s Bar, with its delicate caramel and creamy coffee notes, you will not disagree.

Behind the Doors of Paradise The Solomon Islands are made up of hundreds of idyllic islands in the South Pacific with a tropical, oceanic climate. Surrounded by turquoise, crystal clear seas and ripe with luscious jungles and volcanoes, this is many people’s idea of paradise.

For the women inhabiting this ‘paradise’ however, there is a disturbing history of domestic violence, which still runs deep into everyday life.

A recent study by World Vision found that two out of three women in the Solomon Islands, aged between 15 to 49, have experienced physical and/ or sexual abuse from an intimate partner, and that 36% of women knew of instances of family violence within the last week. These figures are quite simply staggering, and they are some of the highest worldwide.

Attitudes towards women in the South Pacific are generally unfavourable and it is commonly seen that women are lesser, and should therefore obey their husbands. Some feel this is not helped by the use of deep-rooted cultural practices such as ‘bride price’, whereby the husband’s family pays a price to the wife’s family, for her hand in their (often arranged) marriage.. Some people claim that this practice is used as an excuse for men to be able to do as they please with their wives, and feel a sense of ownership over them. Approximately 73% of women and men who took part in the study believe that violence against women can sometimes be justified.

The Solomon Islands’ Family Health and Safety Study found that “in recent years, the practice of bride price has changed significantly. Now many people view bride price as giving a man ownership over his wife and the right to beat her and treat her as he wishes. It is believed by some, including many women, that if the bride price is paid, a woman cannot leave her husband.”

Cacao was first planted in the Solomon Islands in 1958 for the bulk market, but similarly to Colombia, without the knowledge and resources available for people to optimise their harvests, it has been difficult to utilise the potential of these precious trees. When it is not just left to rot, cacao is often sold wet for a minimum price.

The World Bank Organisation states that a serious skill deficit constrains Solomon Islanders from accessing new economic opportunities and that women, youth and rural Solomon Islanders are disproportionately affected. Less than twothirds of the female population are in employment, and job prospects are generally limited to growing sustenance foods, whereas men are more likely to be involved in producing high-

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er-earning crops and own 73% of the land title.

Growing high-quality cacao and processing value-added products presents an opportunity for women in the Solomon Islands to not only earn more, but to gain higher social standing and empowerment against violence. The UN General Assembly 2006:32 stated that “while economic independence does not shield women from violence, access to economic resources can enhance women’s capacity to make meaningful choices, including escaping violent situations and accessing mechanisms for protection and redress.”

One woman who understands the value of growing fine cacao is Oonagh Browne, co-founder and chocolate maker at She Universe in New Zealand.

She Universe makes single origin drinks and chocolate bars to sell both online and at their Chocolaterie in Christchurch. Oonagh travels the world as ‘The Cacao Ambassador,’ advocating for women in farming communities and has a goal to change the chocolate industry from the ground up.

For a number of years Oonagh worked with cacao in the Solomon Islands’ neighbour, Samoa, where cacao is consumed widely as a drink. She was invited by the Australian aid organisation, Strongim Bisnis to travel to the Solomon Islands, with her Samoan friend, to assist in the training of female farmers who wanted to create something similar to the beverage produced by the Samoans. Oonagh initially planned to help them launch a hot chocolate product and then return to her life back in New Zealand, but she was blown away by how the women responded to the training and realised she could make even more of an impact on their lives.

She shared with me that “one amazing lady, Grace, has started her own tours and was selling her value-added products from her farm within weeks of the training. Locals now come from all over to try her products, in which she always integrates cocoa. The respect she is gaining in the community is growing continuously. This grows stronger when we bring more visitors who want

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to connect with the women and learn what they innately know. Respect is changing both within the women and towards the women. It is directly tangible.”

The Cathliro Way Once Oonagh crossed paths with Diana, a curious and entrepreneurial cacao farmer from the Solomon Islands, she knew an exciting journey was ahead. Oonagh looks back on the moment they met fondly, recounting how she was having dinner when “this beautiful, enthusiastic lady came over saying she heard we were cocoa experts.

She wondered if she could ask us a few questions as she was playing with making local chocolate products from her beans. We haven’t looked back since.”

Instantly the two were inseparable, and when it was time to leave they swapped emails and promised to stay in touch. Before long, Oonagh sub-

mitted a proposal to Strongim Bisnis so that she could support Diana further in her dream. When this came back successful, a part of the funding included the opportunity to mentor Diana and support her in the launch of her new organisation, Cathliro. Named after her four children: Catherine, Thomas, Lily and Rosana, Cathliro represents a new opportunity for female farmers in the Solomon Islands.

Today, Diana supports five of her surrounding villages and over 200 families. Her commitment spans from farm and tree management training, to implementing village-based banking for local women, as well as education on health and sanitisation. Oonagh explained that “this endeavour is not about handouts, rather upliftment and empowerment so the villages learn to thrive with the resources they have: cacao trees.” After collecting the beans from each village she ferments and sun-dries them at her newly built central location in Honiara with immense care and attention to detail. They are now available to the internation-

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al boutique market and have won a bronze medal in the NZ chocolate awards in Oonagh’s 72% ‘The Cathliro Way’ bar.

From working with Oonagh, Diana has also been able to train women in the villages to make their own cocoa products so that they can consume these antioxidant-filled beans on a daily basis.

Oonagh told me how introducing cacao gives balance to the typical Solomon diet, which, in recent years, has been lowering in variation and nutritional value.

They utilise their cacao by “pounding the roasted peeled beans by hand into a paste to add to their cassava pudding cake, and make cacao nibs to sprinkle over pumpkin, fish and sweet potato. It’s also drunk in a local smoothie made from

coconut water, coconut flesh, cacao paste and pawpaw, a cacao husk tea, and pawpaw hot chocolates.” Previously in the Solomon Islands, a cacao farmer who earned $8 SBD per kg for their Cacao would need to pay $70 SBD for imported cocoa powder to make a chocolate cake, because despite growing cacao in such abundance they had relied solely on imported products. Cathliro’s team of women wanted to change this and started by creating and supplying the local market with delicious and affordable value added products such as cacao husk tea, cacao powder, nibs, roasted peeled beans and 100% chocolate. With support from She Universe they are now preparing their first international order for New Zealand.

“The difference between a broken community and a thriving one is the presence of women who are valued.”

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Diana told me how every person in the Solomon Islands knows someone who has suffered from domestic violence, and that “when these villages are simply left alone without the outside world connecting in, the old, terrible ways of domestic violence can continue to dominate.” She explained that “when people enter the village and consistently visit each week, bringing with them new ideas and inspiration, as well as international visitors who focus on the women and compliment and praise them, all reinforce the value of the women’s work. This gives them opportunities to bring their skills out more, and provides a protective way for them to save - this starts to change the culture.”

Diana, was that in both cases, women who have been given the opportunity to prosper have paid that forward within their own communities.

The message both Diana and Oonagh wanted to share is: “as a female who enjoys chocolate, please know that somewhere in the growing and harvesting [process], a woman has undoubtedly been involved. As the consumer, you have power in your hands to ask real questions and make discerning choices. The choice you make ripples all the way to the ground and directly impacts the women who are involved in growing cacao.

It would be amazing if more and more lovers of chocolate started asking real questions like: where do the cacao beans in this chocolate come from? Is it traceable? What price did the farmer receive? What standard of living do the farmers’ families have?”

Thank you to Carmen for taking time from your busy schedule to tell me all about Cocoagro and the amazing work you do.

The Future of Chocolate is Equal

When women are treated fairly and given equal opportunity to better their lives, the butterfly effect transcends borders and touches the lives of those who need it the most.

Special thanks to Luisa from (www.luisasveganchocolates.co.uk) for the honour of allowing me to taste your first samples of the Carmen, Martha and Yanira bars made from the incredible Colombian cacao. Find her on Instagram at @luisasveganchocolates

Thank you to Annelise, Venetia and the whole team at the Prosperity Fund for assisting with translation and the sharing of this story.

A big thank you to Oonagh at (www.sheuniverse. com) for introducing me to Diana and sharing your passion for cacao with me. Follow her on instagram at @sheuniverse and @cacaoambassador And last but not least, thank you to Diana for speaking up for the women in your community, and for sharing the Cathliro way with us all. Follow her on instagram at @cathliro_

As Michelle Obama famously said, “the difference between a broken community and a thriving one is the presence of women who are valued.” It is incredibly eye-opening to see how something as seemingly simple as chocolate can impact wider issues such as gender inequality and violence.

It is not hard to see why cacao has been named “the peace crop”, and I would argue that it is largely thanks to the female members of society that this message of peace is pushed along. What inspired me most of all about hearing the stories of Luisa and Carmen, as well as Oonagh and BEAN | 64

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Pasta with Gorgonzola, Walnuts, Rosemary, and Chocolate Recipe developed & written by Sue Quinn

Many people forget that it is only the addition of sugar that makes chocolate sweet – imaginative cooks, especially in Italy, have been using it as a spice for centuries, including in pasta. The chocolate imparts a delicate bitterness that works beautifully with Gorgonzola, or with a sage, butter and Parmesan sauce, or even with chopped and fried bacon or porcini.

Serves: 2

ingredients 30g walnuts 220g dried tagliatelle 1 tbsp unsalted butter 2 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped 80ml double (heavy) cream 3 tbsp dry white wine 100g Gorgonzola, chopped, plus extra to serve 40g Parmesan cheese, grated Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon Salt and freshly ground black pepper Dark chocolate (100% cocoa solids), for grating, or about 1/2 tsp cacao nibs, finely blitzed in a spice grinder, to serve

method

1.

2.

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas mark 4.

Spread the walnuts out on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, shaking the sheet halfway through, until lightly toasted.

When cool enough to handle, roughly chop.

3.

While the nuts are roasting, prepare the pasta and sauce. Cook the tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling salted water for one minute less than the packet instructions.

4.

Meanwhile, place the butter, garlic, and rosemary in a small frying

pan and cook over medium-low heat until everything is gently sizzling and smelling delicious. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

5.

Add the cream, wine and 60ml / 2fl oz of the pasta cooking water and gently bubble away for a minute or so. Add the Gorgonzola and Parmesan and cook gently, stirring, until the cheese has melted. Add more pasta water if needed to make a loose but creamy sauce. Add the lemon zest and a good grinding of black pepper. Taste and add more salt or pepper if you like.

6.

When the pasta is cooked, lightly drain, reserving a good splosh of the cooking water, and return the pasta to the pan. Add the sauce and quickly toss together, then fold in most of the roasted nuts, adding a little of the reserved pasta water if necessary to loosen.

7.

Serve topped with more Gorgonzola, the remaining walnuts and a generous grating of chocolate or finely blitzed cacao nibs.

Section

Bar Celebrating the expansive role women play in chocolate around the world.

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Where is a Woman’s Place, in chocolate?

Words by Cacao Magazine & Sue Quinn Illustrated by Wadim Petunin

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dvertising is just one of the ways in which women have been told where their place in the world of chocolate is. Sue Quinn, who explored this topic in her wonderful book: Cocoa: an Exploration of Chocolate, With Recipes (Quadrille, Hardback & eBook), shared a section of the chapter ‘Cocoa and the Role of Women’ with us.

The Power of Advertising In the first half of the 20th century, advertising reflected women’s place in society. Many women worked outside the home during the Second World War, but when it ended they were expected to return to the domestic sphere. Reflecting this, housewives began to star in chocolate advertising of the 1940s and 1950s, says historian Emma Robertson, in her book Chocolate, Women and Empire (2013). Savvy housewives bought cocoa in pursuit of domestic perfection, the ads implied. In a late-1940s Rowntree campaign, ‘My Wife’s a Witch’, a woman performs housewifely miracles thanks to Rowntree’s cocoa. Her grateful husband responds: “I picked her for her eyelashes –– I never dreamt she was so wizard at housekeeping. D’you wonder I’m spellbound.” This curious, unnerving campaign, harked back to the centuries-old association between chocolate, women and witchcraft.

We can probably blame the mass production of boxed assortments for women being presented as sexual objects in chocolate advertising. Cadbury launched Milk Tray in 1915, the first widely affordable box of chocolates in the UK; ideal as a gift, these assortments were soon aligned with heterosexual romance, sexuality and desire. Rowntree’s recovered from near financial ruin thanks to its ‘letters’ campaign, which positioned its Black Magic assortment (a name that combined a bizarre mix of the romantic and the occult) as a luxurious treat with which men could woo white, heterosexual, sophisticated ladies. The ads depicted women writing intimate letters to each other about receiving Black Magic from romantic prospects. One of the most explicit, from 1934, almost portrays women as idiotic chocolate obsessives: “we silly creatures are always so

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Original Rowntree’s Cocoa Advertising (1946) - © Hera Vintage Ads / Alamy Stock Photo

thrilled when a man thinks us worth the very best. Imagine it, a big box of these new Black Magic chocolates on my dressing table. My dear, each choc’s an orgy.” Up until the 1950s, the adverts conveyed the message that men who gave women Black Magic were an excellent catch.

Manufacturers assumed that women were such chocoholics that a strawberry cream or two was enough to win them over. In 1936, after decades of being outwitted by Cadbury’s campaigns, Rowntree’s launched its Dairy Box chocolate assortment. Designed to be given to women but marketed at men, an early slogan was: “she’ll love it if you bring her chocolates, she’ll love you if they’re Dairy Box.” This was one in a string of chocolate adverts that implied that a boxed assortment was sufficient reason for a woman to go out with a man. Moreover, some ads implied that sexual reward was a given: “for Dairy Box I’ll give you a kiss,” one catchline read.

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Shifting moral values in the 1960s and more liberal attitudes to sex sharpened the focus on women as sexual objects. Chocolate advertising turned risque, with the highly suggestive Cadbury’s Flake television commercials the most provocative of them all. These depicted women variously escaping to the bath, skipping through the countryside or ignoring a ringing telephone in order to enjoy a moment’s selfish pleasure with a chocolate bar. They opened the Flake wrapper suggestively and took a feminine bite, whereupon they closed their eyes in pleasure.

Dave Trott, the advertising guru behind some of the Flake ads, confirmed to Britain’s Stylist magazine that the allusion in the advertisement to women having orgasms was intended. “Nothing is allowed to interrupt that delicious, orgasmic moment of self-indulgence,” he said. In the same article, a spokesperson for Cadbury insisted, apparently straight-faced, that although the ads were loved by men, they were actually aimed at women.

Today, drumming gorillas, crazy-eyebrowed children and ambassadors’ receptions feature in chocolate advertising, but the ladies are still there, too. Godiva is a master of the art of the chocolate = sexy woman trope. Its sensual 2017 campaign for the Masterpieces line featured conventionally beautiful women drenched in melted chocolate, along with close-up shots of their lipsticked mouths holding a square between their teeth. Lindt’s advertisement for Lindor truffles is also the stuff of another era: a woman in comfy socks and jumper relaxes on the sofa, seductively eating a chocolate, eyes closed in pleasure. Cadbury recently re-introduced the ‘Milk Tray Man’ ads, which first appeared on British television in 1968. These feature a James Bond-style action man dressed in black overcoming danger to deliver a box of Milk Tray to a beautiful woman, “all because the lady loves Milk Tray.”

Is it possible that advertising reflects a fundamental truth that women are somehow biologically hardwired to love chocolate more than men? I don’t think so. Some studies do show a link between gender and food preferences, with red meat appealing to men, and lighter foods and sweets speaking to women. Some experts say evolution explains this: men were the hunters who dragged home meaty protein, while women, who gathered fruit and vegetables, developed a sweet tooth. Really?

A famous US study found that nearly half of American women regularly craved chocolate, compared to just 20 percent of men. Was it something to do with their hormones? Was there a physiological reason chocolate soothed premenstrual syndrome and heartbreak? No. The study showed that outside the US, the situation was different. In Spain, men and women hankered after chocolate equally, while in Egypt, both genders actually preferred salty food. I think the supposedly female desire for chocolate is just a stereotype reinforced –– and exacerbated –– by marketing.

Food manufacturers often focus their marketing on women’s guilt about eating, a truth underscored in adverts that show women consuming choc-

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olate in private, away from judgemental eyes. As early as 1698, chocolate was blamed for making Parisian women fat. “Why do Parisians, especially the women, become so corpulent?” puzzled Dr Martin Lister in his A Journey to Paris in the Year 1698 (2011). It was partly due, he concluded, to their daily intake of chocolate.

It’s really no surprise that in recent years, manufacturers have come up with new chocolate products –– low-fat, low-calorie, low-sugar –– that tap into women’s anxieties about their appearance. One expensive bar launched in the last few years even claims to protect women’s skin from ageing and contribute to its radiant appearance. “All the lady things rolled into one,” as one reviewer observed drily.

Chocolate’s association with womanhood lives on.

Written by Sue Quinn for her book: Cocoa: an Exploration of Chocolate, With Recipes (Quadrille, Hardback & eBook) (chapter: ‘Cocoa and the Role of Women’) 2019. Sue Quinn is an award-winning food writer, journalist, author of fourteen cookbooks, member of the Guild of Food Writers and a regular judge for the Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Awards.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that women have always, and may always, be strongly linked with chocolate. That is not inherently a bad thing. Theobroma cacao is, of course, a magnificent tree, responsible for bringing joy to countless generations - who would not want to be associated with that?

The thing is, instead of being credited for the hugely important role they play in the industry, advertising teaches girls as soon as they are old enough to eat it, that chocolate is something to be gifted to them. They are taught that it is something a man will surprise them with in return for their attention, something that has the ability to calm, craze or control their simple minds and something that they are to nibble seductively behind closed doors - in just the right amount.

While the media so often reinforces this narrow and unjust viewpoint, we wanted to shine a light on the true relationship, and unlimited roles, that women around the world have with cacao.

From seed to bar, there’s not a step in the chocolate making journey that women do not get involved with. Women are farmers and founders, managers and makers, chefs and chocolatiers, CEOs and traders, scientists and judges, journalists and activists, bloggers, and much, much more. We would run out of pages before being able to name all of the inspirational women in the chocolate industry, but we are thrilled to celebrate a handful of them in this magazine.

These nine women proudly and skillfully hold a range of unique roles in the chocolate industry, and they all have a message to share. If you have ever doubted your place in the world, take it from them and never again be afraid to go after your dreams. It’s the 21st century and it’s up to us to choose the roles we play, in chocolate.

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Jeanne Donkoh, Founder and Chocolatier at Bioko Treats What is your role in the chocolate industry?

In my own operations, I am the team leader, and develop and harness my team’s strengths to be able to stay competitive in the rapidly growing craft chocolate industry. I also, amongst others, liaise with Ghana Cocobod on how artisan chocolate makers and chocolatiers can operate within the existing regulatory framework on purchasing and use of cocoa beans locally.

What advice or message would you like to give to other women interested in working in the chocolate industry?

I can’t stress this enough. Please find a mentor! She doesn’t have to be in the chocolate industry, but she must have experience in navigating Ghana’s, and the global, business environment. Such a person’s coaching will be invaluable.

After retiring from a long corporate career, Jeanne took her passion for chocolate and Ghanaian cocoa and founded Bioko Treats. She experiments with creative flavour combinations in her smallbatch, handmade bonbons such as fresh lemon and marmalade, spicy hibiscus flower, roasted nuts and corn, and uses only the finest fresh ingredients.

Learn more about Jeanne and Bioko Treats at www.biokotreats.com or on social media at @bioko_treats

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Emily Stone, Founder and CEO at Uncommon Cacao What is your role in the chocolate industry?

I am a cacao origin developer, farmer-to-maker connector, and advocate for a radically transparent and delicious craft chocolate industry.

What advice or message would you like to give to other women interested in working in the chocolate industry?

The world of specialty cacao and bean-to-bar chocolate is a new and rapidly developing industry; it’s a little bit Wild West. There are very few established rules and standards, and predicting the future is impossible.

Women coming into the chocolate industry have a huge opportunity to leverage their creative, empathic, and executional leadership talents to introduce new ideas, ways of working together, and businesses that can drive real progress and inclusive impact. Doing this, however, requires you to be courageous and look your deepest fears in the face, while moving forward thoughtfully and at full speed. The more that women can believe in themselves, leave fear in their dust, and move forward with confidence, the better off we will all be.

Uncommon Cacao sources cacao beans of the highest quality for over 200 chocolate makers around the world. Through publishing annual reports dedicated to transparent supply chains, they are paving the way for a fairer and better way to do business in the chocolate industry.

Find out more about Emily and Uncommon Cacao at www.uncommoncacao.com or on social media at @uncommoncacao

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Dennise Valencia, Co-Founder and General Manager of To’ak Chocolate What is your role in the chocolate industry?

It is our mission at To’ak to elevate chocolate onto the level of the finest wines, so that nature, diversity, and everyone in the value chain benefits from one of the finest foods on earth. I started in To’ak as a volunteer and have gone on to become the general manager, working in everything from admin, finances, strategy, community work, legal documentation, chocolate production, packaging, logistics, customer service and more. It is my role, together with my colleagues and friends, to create value and increase sustainability all along the cacao supply chain from farm to table.

I’m particularly conscious about the impact that companies have on ecological systems, therefore I work tirelessly to assure the integrity and sustainability of To’ak’s ecosystem, with the idea that it should leave something positive in the lives it touches along this journey, and ultimately it should outlive its own creators.

What advice or message would you like to give to other women interested in working in the chocolate industry?

I really do believe that a woman’s touch is essential to achieve positive results in the business world. Stop for a moment to think how many times you’ve asked your life partner, sisters, girlfriends, or your own mother for advice to make important decisions in your business. Our intelligence, bravery, love and passion can give us the skills to pursue a business adventure built on values and a happy team.

Every space in the market is challenging, every entrepreneurship needs perseverance. The chocolate industry is not an exception, but I believe that as women, we can do anything we want.

Dennise’s mission to elevate chocolate is welcomed worldwide, as To’ak wins countless awards for their bars. Her passion for Ecuador, innovation, sustainability and Theobroma cacao is truly evident in every bite.

Support Dennise and experience To’ak chocolate for yourself at www.toakchocolate.com or on social media at @toakchocolate BAR | 76

Hanbin Paek, Founder and Chocolate Maker of Public Chocolatory What is your role in the chocolate industry?

I am a leader of bean-to-bar chocolate in South Korea, and I have a mission to introduce Koreans to real and healthy chocolate which is made simply with cacao beans and sugar. I felt sorry for the people who were tricked into believing the unhealthy, mass-produced chocolate is the only option, so I opened Chocolatory and began making my own. My chocolate was testified as an example for a doctor’s thesis, which encourages people to eat bean-to-bar chocolates for health purposes, and I feel a responsibility to share the health benefits.

I also participated in the Northwest Chocolate Festival as the first South Korean exhibitor which became a stepping stone to the global chocolate market. Now South Korean chocolate has been tasted internationally.

What advice or message would you like to give to other women interested in working in the chocolate industry?

You will definitely fall deep in love with chocolate the more you get to know it. You are the lucky one if you are already in love with chocolate. Why? Because chocolate will never ever break up with you. Take adventures and have fun exploring it!

Hanbin set out on the unique challenge of creating one of the world’s only South Korean fine chocolate brands after training as a chocolate maker in New Zealand. In 2016, she opened her shop and began educating her customers on a high quality product that was different to anything else on the local market, and she hasn’t looked back since.

Find out more about Public Chocolatory and Hanbin’s bean-to-bar adventures at www.publicchocolatory.com or on social media at @public_chocolatory

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Corinne Joachim-Sanon-Symietz, Co-Founder and Manager of Askanya Chocolates What is your role in the chocolate industry?

As the co-founder and general manager of Askanya Chocolates, it is my role to introduce the world to Haitian chocolate. We use direct-trade, ethically-sourced cacao and it’s made from bean to bar here in Haiti. Our chocolate is handcrafted by Haitian women with 100% natural ingredients and enjoyed all over the world!

What advice or message would you like to give to other women interested in working in the chocolate industry?

Is this your hobby or a business? A hobby is fun to do. A business needs structuring and managing the different parts of the operations – sourcing, production, marketing, sales, and customer services.

Make sure you have an empowered team who understands your vision and who can support you delivering on all the operations areas.

After a successful engineering career in the United States, Corinne saw and seized the opportunity to give back to her country, and in doing so has shown the world the power of Haitian women and chocolate.

Order your very own Haitian-grown, Haitian-made bars at www.askanya.ht or on social media at @askanyachocolate

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Petra Arias, Cacao Producer and Associate of Citizens of Chocolate What is your role in the chocolate industry?

Twice a week I need to clean the monilla and keep the ground [from getting] overgrown with weeds and leaves. I take care of the bean fermentation, turning them over every day. I make sure the drying beans receive as much sun as possible. I also work a few hours a week with my sister in the production of cacao liquor for Citizens of Chocolate. I also cultivate many other crops (plantain, banana, mango and more) under the canopy of my cacao plantation, to feed my family and five children, and [to take the crops] to the marketplace.

What advice or message would you like to give to other women interested in working in the chocolate industry?

As a woman, to have my own cacao plantation brings me independence. This is a good career for a woman because you get to keep your land. It brings a sense of responsibility to my life to know that I have to clean my plantation every week to stop the monilla disease from spreading, that I have to care for the fermentation of my beans. You have to be serious about your work, and take the many steps for high quality beans.

Citizens of Chocolate’s motto is “we grow communities... And Chocolate!”, and they support a collective of mostly Ngabe indigenous women to cultivate, harvest and process cocoa into fine chocolate, all while protecting the precious Panama rainforest.

Support Petra and Citizens of Chocolate at www.citizensofchocolate.com or on social media at @citizensofchocolate

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Maria Maiskaya, Founder, Chocolatier, and Chocolate Maker at MaRussia What is your role in the chocolate industry?

I was lucky to become the first female chocolatier in Russia to start bean-to-bar chocolate production. Back in 2013, when we began to produce bean-to-bar chocolate, there were many skeptics who said there was no way for us to succeed.

I began to study the properties of cocoa beans, study the theory, and then improve - in practice the technology of crushing cocoa beans. Analysing the taste profiles of cocoa beans and taking into account the tastes people have in this huge country, I selected an individual roast for each bean variety to reveal the rich aromatics and make chocolate really tasty for everyone.

Thus, I began to shape the bean-to-bar chocolate market in Russia and now I have become the exemplar for those who are starting to learn this business from scratch.

What advice or message would you like to give to other women interested in working in the chocolate industry?

Confectionery art is no longer men’s exclusive prerogative; a woman can create a unique product and build her own business. If you feel that you are burning with an idea and want to share your very special and unique chocolate with the world - go for it!

Maria was the first female chocolatier in Russia to begin crafting bean-to-bar chocolate, and has picked up bronze awards for two of her creations in the International Chocolate Awards. After leaving an eleven year corporate career, Maria founded MaRussia. She dived head-first into the world of fine chocolate and has been learning and creating ever since.

Learn more and support Maria and MaRussia at www.chocolate-marussia.ru or on social media @ marussia_chocolate

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Lauren Heineck, Founder of the Well Tempered Podcast and WKND Chocolate What is your role in the chocolate industry?

I feel it’s ever-evolving, and I hope I have the pleasure and honour to call it my life’s work. My strength lies in spotting gaps in systems and filling them with community-centric solutions. In the last four years, I have dedicated my energy to the growth of Well Tempered (a digital gathering space), the Well Tempered podcast, and micro-batch bean-to-bar creations via WKND Chocolate.

What advice or message would you like to give to other women interested in working in the chocolate industry?

The message I would pass on to someone interested in entering the industry is not a gendered one. If you allow it, cacao can be a sublime teacher: it offers community, connection to the natural world, health, and admittance to a vibrant landscape of global stories. Read, listen, and soak up information voraciously, as well as, practise, practise, practise.

Find your voice. Chocolate making (or writing, researching, or tasting) is a form of poetry. Build upon your innate and acquired experiences with the words and whispers from centuries and millennia of agricultural and cultural wisdom. Let your passion and compassion for cacao - as well as the hands and lands that produce it - guide you, and you’ll constantly encounter moments of gratitude and humility.

Lauren is the creator of the #womeninchocolate hashtag, and has created an invaluable digital space for accessible, informative chocolate content, where anybody and everybody who loves cacao is welcome. She is a champion for women in the industry, and dedicates her podcast to interviewing strong female voices from all over the world. When she’s not speaking about all things chocolate, you’ll find her making speciality bars, bonbons and confections and running WKND Chocolate.

To find out more go to www.wkndchocolate.com or on social media at @wkndchocolate or join the Well Tempered Facebook group.

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Estela Duque, Founder of Moulinet Chocolat Limited and Filipino Cacao Activist What is your role in the chocolate industry?

I am a project manager contributing to a two-way transformation of the supply chain, going back and forth from origin to manufacturing countries. I partner with farmers, local development agencies and international funding bodies, to help create cocoa products that can be officially known and protected for their ties to their geographic origins, in a system known as origin-linked products.

I also hold public and private chocolate tasting sessions and helped to create a bean-to-bar chocolate festival in the Philippines. This promotes awareness about the supply chain of bulk and fine cacao and shapes public consciousness about the place of Filipino farmers within the local and international chocolate supply chain.

What advice or message would you like to give to other women interested in working in the chocolate industry?

At every point of the supply chain, from the cocoa farm through to chocolate production and distribution, there are enormous hurdles that pit small players with very little capital against multinational food and beverage conglomerates.

I know this from my own efforts, and I have felt first-hand how this can at times make life a real struggle. Therefore, it’s important to ensure before you dive into the industry, that you believe fully in what you’re about to embark on and that you love chocolate with a very big heart!

Through Moulinet, Estela strives to establish the Philippines as a fine flavour cacao origin and to connect Filipino farmers with craft chocolate makers worldwide, starting in 2017 with Europe.

By working directly with farmers, her bean to bar festival, and chocolate tastings she operates across the industry to promote best practice in cacao and in business.

Find out more about Estela’s work, Moulinet Chocolat Limited and Filipino cacao at www.moulinetchocolat.com or on social media at @moulinetchocolat

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A huge and heartfelt thank you to all of the thousands of women across the globe working tirelessly from bean to bar so that we can enjoy delicious chocolate.

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Baking with Single-Origin Chocolate Tips and tricks for incorporating single-origin chocolate into your bakes.

Words by Victoria Cooksey

W

atching the baking segments of cooking shows, where bakers would slowly and hypnotically stir dark melted chocolate into the cake batter, was enough to kick my chocoholic cake and brownie cravings into full gear. I became hooked on chocolate, but now I desire more. I want to know exactly what chocolate was used and I crave it in the form of bean-to-bar single origin chocolate.

Who’s with me?

What is single origin chocolate? Depending on the craft chocolate maker, the bar’s wrapper will list the country of cacao origin, with many mentioning additional information such as the specific region in the country the cocoa beans come from, all the way down to the exact farm where the cacao was grown. Single origin often means one type of (often rare) cacao is being used to make the chocolate, instead of a mix of (unknown to the consumer) origins, which are often from larger plantations and are grown more for yield rather than flavour.

Great care is taken during the harvest and the fermentation process in order to build a strong foundation of quality and extract the best flavour from the cocoa beans. The craft chocolate maker continues this process through steps, such as: making careful roasting profiles for

each origin, along with grinding, conching and occasional ageing of the chocolate. Finally it is tempered, in order to achieve the perfect texture, look, stability and taste.

All of the chocolate making steps, and the various cacao regions the chocolate comes from, lead to various flavours showing up in the final product that are way beyond “chocolatey”, such as: earthy, red fruit, caramel, date, cinnamon, grape, tomato and even bubble gum. Once I even tasted barbecue in a Chocolate Naïve bar!

There is no limit to what flavours might occur.

Dark single origin chocolate typically has only two to three ingredients - cacao and sugar, with the possibility of additional cocoa butter being added, so you know exactly what is in it.

How does baking with single origin chocolate differ from the kind of chocolate you find at most supermarkets? The fat content of single origin cocoa beans and the viscosity of the melted chocolate can vary from origin to origin.

This could greatly change the final texture of a ganache, for example. Flavour is something you should consider too. With cupcakes, you might want the flavour profile to be bright with notes of red fruit, but for brownies you might prefer a more earthy, cocoa profile.

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All of this leads to single origin chocolate being an experience. It is sensual, and the multitude of flavours are fascinating. The texture is sublime, the quality is a feel-good bonus, and what is more, you know precisely what you are eating. The taste and texture take you beyond eating basic shop-bought chocolate just for its sugary, chocolate kick, and instead, lead you down a path of sensory delights. Single origin chocolate is emotion in bar form.

So what about going beyond the addition of melted or chopped chocolate in a recipe? Consider cacao or cocoa powder. Some craft chocolate makers are pressing single origin cacao in-house to make their own cocoa powder. This will also change the taste and even the final colour of the recipe and potentially the texture too. While Askinosie’s and Marou’s cacao powders are finely ground, others like Map Choco-

late’s have a rougher texture, in which case the powder may need extra sifting and you might need more of it for your recipe.

Many makers also sell cacao nibs which are lovely added into cookies, brownies or used as a garnish. Valerie Beck of Chocolate Uplift got me into topping grapefruit with nibs. It is such a simple dessert, but truly transcendent. Again, the various origins of nibs will also have their own flavour profile. Many are fruity, while others can taste more like oak, earth or vanilla.

White chocolate should not be forgotten or discounted. Craft white chocolate made with single origin cacao butter, sometimes pressed in-house, will convince you to love white chocolate again.

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Five tips for incorporating single-origin chocolate into your baking:

1

Start off simple. Continue using your favourite chocolate cookie or brownie recipe, but break up some single origin chocolate and add this into the mixture instead of your regular chocolate chips. For the white chocolate lovers, Luisa Abram’s caramelised white chocolate bar tastes amazing when added to brownie batter.

2

To make baking even easier, look for makers that carry their own line of chocolate chips. French Broad Chocolate’s milk chocolate chips have browned butter in them which tastes so good with the other butter, brown sugar and salt elements in a chocolate chip cookie. Pump Street Chocolate is another maker with their own craft baking line.

3

Never underestimate the power of a tasty cacao nib. Add nibs to cookie dough, or sprinkle them over the top of brownie batter before baking. They are also fantastic as a garnish sprinkled over iced cakes or cupcakes.

If you have a nut allergy, replace the nuts with nibs instead. Remember, cacao nibs are another way to add even more chocolate.

4

If a recipe calls for a specific percentage of chocolate, like 70% or 80%, stick to the same percentage (it will be listed on the bar wrapper) when swapping to single origin chocolate.

5

Don’t have multiple bars of the same origin or from the same maker on hand?

Don’t panic! While I list 4 ounces of Solstice Chocolate’s 70% Ecuador Camino Verde dark chocolate in my cupcake recipe, I have also successfully made them using a mix of pieces from various bars of the same origin from my chocolate stash. I know you chocoholics get what I mean, the chocolate stash is forever growing and we all have bits and pieces laying about.

Once you are comfortable converting some of your favourite pre-existing recipes, you might want to take a look at some of the recipe books out there that specifically use bean-to-bar chocolate, such as Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America’s Craft Chocolate Revolution by Megan Giller, or Lisa Vega’s recipe section in Dandelion Chocolate’s book, called Making Chocolate: From Bean to Bar to S’more. This last book has the added bonus of listing the chocolate flavour profile that is recommended for each recipe.

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a recipe by Victoria Cooksey...

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes The texture of these cakes is cupcake meets brownie, with a hint of soufflé on the first day of serving. The chocolate in this recipe has tasting notes of earth, caramel, light brown sugar, subtle cinnamon and a touch of banana. Marou’s cacao powder brings notes of earth, cocoa and mild cinnamon to the baking party.

If you use nibs as a garnish when decorating these cupcakes look for Ecuadorian nibs, or nibs with similar flavour profiles to the chocolate and cacao powder. If you do not have access to Solstice Chocolate go ahead and use another maker’s 70% Camino Verde origin chocolate.

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ingredients 4 ounces 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Solstice Chocolate’s 70% Ecuador Camino Verde) ½ cup unsalted butter (you may use coconut oil instead if preferred. It will add a little coconut flavour to the finished dessert) ¼ cup brown sugar ½ cup white caster sugar ½ cup sifted cacao powder (I used Marou’s) 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla ¼ tsp salt

1.

method

Preheat your oven to 150C / 300F degrees and place 9 cupcake liners in a standard sized muffin tray.

2.

Melt the chocolate and butter (or coconut oil) in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Do not let the bowl touch the water. Once the mixture begins to melt, stir to combine.

3.

Pour the chocolate and butter mixture into a large bowl and allow to cool for a couple of minutes then whisk in the sugar.

4.

5.

Sift in the cocoa/cacao powder and salt, then stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla together and then slowly stir them into the cooled batter. If the batter is over-whisked, the centre of the cupcake might collapse a bit once they are removed from the oven, but then that just leaves more room for icing!

6.

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cup liners and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them sit in the pan for 10 minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.

7.

On the day these are made they have a more delicate texture; on day two the texture is more dense inside. They are rich enough to serve as is, but if you’d like a topping, I recommend Swiss buttercream or you could pipe on some whipped cream and sprinkle the cupcakes with cacao nibs.

Tip: these have a more delicate texture on the day of baking. If you choose to decorate them, wait until the next day and they will have more structure.

Now go and unwrap some chocolate bars and enjoy that dreamy, slow pour of rich, single origin chocolate into some delicious cake batter!

Victoria Cooksey has both a Certificate of Achievement in Chocolate Technique and on Mastering Chocolate Flavor from Ecole Chocolat, writes interviews with chocolate makers for her blog Dark Matters Chocolate Reviews (www.darkmatterschocolatereviews.com) and posts chocolate reviews on multiple social media sites including Instagram (@victoria.cooksey).

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Chocolate Landscapes Using cacao as paint and ink to produce artworks.

Words by Nicole Hewat

Nicole Hewat of World Tree Chocolate has been a painter for as long as she’s loved chocolate. Though it was not until she realised the contradiction of using materials that harm the nature that features in her landscapes, that she began exploring alternative, non-toxic materials. Combining her passion for art and cacao, Nicole began experimenting with chocolate as a medium in her paintings.

Inspired by the stunning origins where cacao is grown around the world, Nicole paints beautiful chocolate landscapes using her very own cocoa inks and paints.

She sources cacao husks and powder from local chocolate makers, which she boils and roasts to create inks in a range of shades. The origin of the cacao, the roasting time, and the acidity level all influence the final result, making each painting unique. To create her paint, she puts ground husks or cocoa powder onto a small marble table and uses a muller to mix the pigment with gum arabic, water and honey. Due to the natural ingredients and moisture content, she has to keep this refrigerated until it is applied to paper and dries, where it becomes stable.

When we experience chocolate, we get to taste these beautiful landscapes, and with Nicole’s art, you can experience the cocoa right from its roots. If you have a landscape photo of a cacao-growing area that you would like to be included in this series, you can send it to nicole@worldtreechocolate.ca along with a description of the location.

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paint and ink making process

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(a) Peru. Reference image provided by Elfi and Maxime of Qantu Chocolate. They wrote this about the location: “[it is] a landscape from Piura, the blessed land. It’s a rice field beside our white cacao plantation. The field is so calm, the wind slowly caresses the dry rice and invites us to move deeper into the field to see the magnificent white cacao plantation.” (b) Ecuador. Reference photo provided by Costa Esmeraldas. This text was included with the image: “different shades of green at the farm. This is the highest point, we can observe hills of cacao planted alongside citrus and other fruit. It’s curious [that] birds choose to fly at the same altitude here every day around 4:00 p.m., perhaps surfing the warm currents pushed by incoming air flows from the ocean.” (c) Columbia. Reference image provided by Francisco of Teyruna Cacao. This text was included with the image: “in Ikun, Duna is to have spiritual thought connected to the good of the world. This “good” takes many forms.

Being connected shows us that we are not alone; Duna brings us peace and helps us to know our value as human beings. It leads us to do good work in balance with the elements that surround us. Duna is a harmonious coexistence with nature. To be Duna is to be free and happy. For me, Duna is a thought that goes hand in hand with the importance of the preservation of the Sierra Nevada, which begins with individuals and contributes to social welfare. Our goal in our work with cacao in this region is to maintain the balance of Duna while, at the same time, we share important messages from our culture with other cultures.” (d) Honduras. Reference image provided by Juan Gonzalez of MABCO. At an art exhibition in January 2020, Nicole paired the showing of her painting with samples of a chocolate bar, offered out at the exhibition opening.

The bar was made by Finnia Chocolate with beans that Juan provided from Honduras.

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a

b

c

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d

Poison Your Lover With Chocolate, and Other Advice From 17th Century Witches Column by Megan Giller

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rom the first time I popped an M&M in my mouth as a kid to my almost deviant consumption of chocolate cake as a teenager, to my all-consuming love of bean-to-bar chocolate as a somewhat snotty adult — no one has ever been surprised that I’m obsessed with the stuff, not my parents, friends, boyfriends, husband, or editors. There are many reasons that it makes sense, but one I had not anticipated is that I am a woman: women and chocolate have been associated in advertising for more than 100 years, and in other areas for hundreds — even thousands — more.

A few years ago I was determined to explore the implications of this association, and so I reached out to Kathryn Sampeck, an anthropologist at Illinois State University. She studies the pre-Columbian world, in particular food, and is as obsessed with chocolate as I am. After she waxed poetic about how Montezuma’s storied 50 cups of cacao were actually drunk by everyone in the room, not just him (Bernal Diaz really screwed the pooch on that one), she

pointed me in the direction of two scholarly articles that blew my mind.

Both laid out the stories of women in the New World around the 17th century who were prosecuted by the Spanish Inquisition as witches.

Before we dive in here, it’s worth noting that the Inquisition only prosecuted Spaniards or Spanish descendants, so unfortunately we do not have any records of the lives, and possible bewitchings, of indigenous folks. As you can imagine, there is a much more complicated discussion of race and ethnicity here too, but we’ll leave that for another day, and a much longer story.

In the 17th and 18th centuries in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, hundreds of people (mostly women) were accused of bewitching lovers, husbands, and enemies with hot chocolate that contained secret magic ingredients and/or were enhanced by a magic spell. Chocolate was perfect because it was grainy and dark, and everyone drank it. It made sense that women were the ones accused, because they pre-

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pared most of the food and drink. (Much to my chagrin, hundreds of years later, this is still true about household chores.) Whether or not you believe that the magic worked, some really did make these concoctions, while other innocent women were simply accused of it.

The stories are priceless.

One of my favourites is from Mexico in 1672. A lady’s maid named Maria de Casanova accused her former employer, a wealthy woman named Maria Maldonado, of witchcraft. This was common; people accused their superiors all the time as a way to even the playing field. Casanova said Maldonado had made her find and bring four witches to the house to come up with a spell “to make a man really love her”. Casanova even gave the recipe to the Inquisition Court. I’m paraphrasing here, but it went something like this: Take pubic hair (it literally read “plucked from the shameful parts”), fingernail clippings, and a small piece of your skirt. Burn them together. Mix the ashes with chocolate and then give the drink to the man you want to love you.

Some sources say that witches would recite a spell too, but the only one we have evidence of read: “on two I see you, on five I take you, I break your heart, I drink your blood, by the peace of the queen of the angels and her precious son, you are with me”.

According to scholars, there are four reasons women would have used love magic in their chocolate.

1. To get attention from a guy.

2. To force the guy - either their boyfriend or husband - to come back home.

3. To stop their guy from beating them or their children.

4. To take revenge, especially on other ladies their guy might be interested in.

In the article “Chocolate, Sex, and Disorderly Women in Late Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Century Guatemala”, Martha Few writes, “chocolate acted as a central vehicle of women’s ritual power”. It was “a flash point for women’s disorderly behaviour in public settings”.

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I was so taken with another story about these witches’ power that I used it as the basis for an episode of my digital TV show What Women Ate. It is about a woman named Cecilia who lived in Guatemala in the 17th century. In 1695, her husband, a 33-year-old named Juan de Fuentes, told the Inquisition that Cecilia was a sorcerer-witch and had bewitched him “so that he could not be a man on all the occasions that he desired to have intercourse with his wife.” (Translation: he couldn’t get it up.)

According to the court, his only real evidence turned out to be that “his wife treats him not as a husband but as a servant”. Apparently, she slept late while he made her hot chocolate and brought it to her in bed.

In other words, the gender roles were reversed. Clearly, he would only do that if she had used her witchy powers on him.

Based on Juan’s testimony, the court convicted Cecilia on charges of sorcery and sent her to jail! Here’s her just desserts for you, though: apparently she brought four cakes of chocolate with her and a gourd from which to drink it.

Then there is Thomas Gage’s infamous story of the chocolate-swilling women of Chiapas, Mexico, who do not exactly fit into the love-magic category, but are worth mentioning nonetheless. In the mid1600s, a gaggle of high-rolling female parishioners regularly enjoyed drinking hot chocolate during mass.

When the bishop insisted that they stop, and threatened to excommunicate them, they yelled at him and insisted on his excommunication and generally caused a big ol’ fight. Gage writes that the women “began to stomacke him the more and to sleight him with scornfull and reproachfull words; others sleighted his excommunication, drinking in iniquity in the Church, as the fish doth water, which caused one day such an uproar in the Cathedrall that many swords were drawne against the Priests and Prebends, who attempted to take away from the maids the cups of chocolate, which they brought unto their mistresses.”

In other words: “The women would not obey.” They boycotted mass, and the bishop fell ill — supposedly from poisoned hot

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chocolate — and died!

Gage wrote, “Beware of the Chocolate of Chiapas.” This was only one of several stories across the continent about women bringing chocolate (as well as pillows and other luxury items to make themselves more comfortable) into mass. In one case, two nuns even brought their hot chocolate into the confessional.

In the article “Potions and Perils: Love-Magic in Seventeenth Century Afro-Mexico and Afro-Yucatan,” Joan Bristol and Matthew Restall write,

“sorcery and supernatural manifestations [...] can also be read as evidence of conflict within a culture.” In other words, all of these fears about women spiking hot chocolate with a spell were actually to do with anxiety around women’s ever-changing roles in society. Women who challenged the status quo were prosecuted, just like in other societies. (Ahem, Salem!)

Powerful women, and their chocolate, became a symbol of rebellion to colonial control, one that, in this postmodern era, continues to incite the authorities today.

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Megan Giller describes herself as a food writer, feminist and chocolate eater. She’s a chocolate judge, founder of Chocolate Noise, writes for the likes of The New York Times and is a published author.

Her book ‘Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America’s Craft Chocolate Revolution’ has been described as “The definitive guide to American craft chocolate making.” Find out more at: www.chocolatenoise.com

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How to Host a Cacao Ceremony Words by Jordan Cohayney Photos by Romany Pope and Eduardo Morales

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n 2019, humanity came face to face with the global climate crisis. We watched our planet burn as fires swept through the Amazon, Australia, and Siberia. As the world enters a state of climate emergency, instead of falling into despair and terror, we are seeing millions of people step up, reflect on their own lifestyle and take responsibility for their part in the mistreatment of our planet.

As a global community, we are walking into this new decade with a fresh perspective and a newfound respect for the earth. We are being forced to learn a new way of life, one that respects the laws of nature and honours all living beings.

Of course, these ideas are not new, not even close. In the age of technology and scientific knowledge, what we are seeing is a global shift towards the adoption of ancient teachings and practices.

These powerful traditions can teach us how to slow down, invite more stillness and presence into our busy lives, and ultimately teach us how to connect more deeply to ourselves, to each other, and to our planet.

For thousands of years, ritual and ceremony were an innate part of daily life and a means for ancient civilisations to connect with and honour the forces of mother nature and all of her gifts. For the Mayan and Aztec tribes of Central and South America, the cacao plant was frequently called upon to facilitate these sacred ceremonies.

The cacao spirit was honoured for its heart-opening and energising properties which allowed the drinker to connect more deeply with their body and spirit. A feminine energy, Mama Cacao, was called upon to encourage balance and harmony within the individual and the collective. Merging mind and body, earth and spirit, and physical and metaphysical, cacao teaches us how to live in accordance with our highest potential and invite in more love, compassion and understanding.

In the last few years, ceremonial cacao has had a huge resurgence as the Western world has discovered the power of this ancient plant medicine. Below, we offer a beginner’s guide for how to start working with cacao as medicine, and how to honour its roots and traditions - that were once as inherent a part of daily life as commercial chocolate is today.

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How to Hold Your Own Cacao Ceremony Ceremony is ultimately a celebration of honouring the self and therefore, it will look different to each person. There are no set rules for how it should flow; in fact, when we are open and trusting, we will often be guided in a new way each time.

As long as you are bringing authenticity and presence to your ritual, with a clear intention, it cannot go wrong. Here, we have offered some general guidelines on holding space for yourself, including some of our favourite rituals that can enhance your experience with cacao and help to facilitate a special journey.

Step 1 - Set Your Space When we take the time to create a really special, comfortable space for our ritual, we are affirming to ourselves that we are worth carving out this time for - we are worth honouring. Mindfully laying out your favourite blankets, pillows, and any other meaningful objects can really change the way we show up for ourselves.

We love to honour the four elements to remind us of our innate connection with nature and the world around us:

Fire - A candle Water - A small cup of filtered water Earth - A crystal or two Air - Your favourite incense Cacao activates our emotional and physical body, so the most important thing is that you feel safe and comfortable in your space. Warm, low lighting can help provide that feeling of relaxation and ease.

Step 2 - Prepare Your Ceremonial Cacao Our 60g Ceremonial Cacao Disks contain enough cacao for two potent ceremonial doses (30g) or four mild doses (15g). For a ceremonial setting we recommend one half of your disk prepared with 200ml of hot water or your favourite plant mylk.

The cacao tree takes five years to bear fruit and around six months for its pods to ripen. We like to honour this time in our preparation by not rushing the process.

Mindfully mix your cacao, slowly and with presence, sending love and gratitude into your pot. Cacao loves to be sung to and this is a powerful way to activate the heart in preparation for receiving her medicine.

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Step 3 - Drop In Once you have prepared your cacao and set your space, take a few moments to ground yourself and drop into your body.

Find a comfortable position, either lying or sitting down, with your spine long.

Close your eyes and begin to focus your awareness on the breath. Use your breath to guide you deeply and mindfully within, as you allow yourself to connect with your heart.

Take your time to feel into each body part: starting with your feet, then legs, hips, moving up to your belly, chest, heart and continuing up to the neck and head.

Notice any tension that you are feeling. As you become aware of any discomfort, consciously allow each breath to expand, and explore these feelings. Each time you exhale, allow your body to release the tension and stagnant energy you have been holding onto.

Step 4 - Connecting with the Spirit of Cacao Acknowledging the sacredness of cacao is one of the fastest ways to achieve your goals when working with this medicine. Invite her into your body and thank her for the blessings she brings. Take a moment to acknowledge and give thanks to the land, and the growers and suppliers who played a part in allowing this medicine to be with you in this moment. Plants respond when we speak to them and when we open ourselves up to their wisdom.

Step 5 - Set an Intention An important part of the process is getting clear on your why. What is it that you want to achieve by sitting with this medicine? Cacao’s medicine is incredibly potent when she has a direction to guide you towards, like your specific goal or desire for healing.

Your intention could be absolutely anything, but the more specific you can be, the clearer your answers will become. Your drop-in meditation (Step 3) may help you to get clear on your intention before you begin. Is there an area of your life that you feel you need clarity around? Maybe a question about a job or relationship?

Sometimes simply asking, “what is it that I need to know right now?”, can be incredibly insightful.

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Step 6 - Drink Consider this your daily mindfulness practice. Take your time to drink with complete presence, feeling the warmth of the cup in your hands, and smelling her sweet aromas. Merge your energy with the medicine in your cup before mindfully taking your first sip. Welcome the cacao into your body by drinking slowly, noticing every little flavour note and texture.

Cacao takes around 10 to 15 minutes to take effect, though some people will feel the medicine working as soon as it touches their lips. This can be a good time to do some journalling and get even more clear on your intention. Where are you on your journey and where would you like to direct your energy throughout this experience?

Step 7 - Meditate There is no exact way to do this; sitting in silence or listening to a guided meditation are both great ways of receiving the teachings of cacao. In our experience, however, the best way to awaken the medicine and really bring her to life is with music.

Experiment with your favourite songs and playlists; you can get really creative with this. When it comes to music, cacao does not discriminate. We love to journey with Tibetan flutes and shamanic drums on YouTube or Spotify playlists.

If you can, we recommend spending 20 minutes on the journey with your cacao, through meditation or sound. When you are done, take some time to journal and reflect on how the cacao made you feel physically. Were there any messages, visions, sounds, flashbacks or persistent thoughts that arose for you? Cacao shows us where to place our focus and can really help bring clarity around our next steps and path forward.

Step 8 - Closing the Ceremony To complete your ritual, take a few deep breaths into the belly and bring awareness to the closing phase. This is the time to reflect on and give thanks for the experience, and any new wisdom you have received, bringing your ritual to a close.

It can be nice to clap as a way of energetically sealing the energy, or saying aloud “this ritual is now complete.�

Take some time to give thanks to the medicine and to yourself - it takes courage to show up for yourself, with a willingness to uncover that which lies deep within your soul. It is something that most of our society has been taught to avoid doing at all costs.

As a final step, it can be lovely to draw a card from your favourite tarot or oracle deck, tying everything together and bringing your ceremony to a close.

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This is everything you need to know in order to get started and begin making the most of your cacao right now. You cannot go wrong if you are being true to yourself and your heart. Experiment with what feels true for you. If candles and crystals are not your thing, no problem. Sometimes simply sitting in silence, with nothing but your cup of cacao, can be a powerful way to get clear about what you need to focus on, and figure out how to best prioritise your day.

Treat your time with cacao as a special gift from you to you, a time to honour your body and soul by really tuning into what it needs. Follow what feels good for you, and enjoy the experience.

For more information on ceremonial cacao and deepening your relationship with this plant spirit, find us at www.thecacaoclub.com

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Whiskey & Chocolate Words by R. M. Peluso Illustrated by Anna Bazyl

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ood pairing is an evolving science. It considers the compatibility of that which we consume, with how it is experienced through our sense of smell, taste, vision and touch. Touch, or haptic, means tactile-kinesthetic. The perception of flavour is the result of how our senses interact among themselves, as well as with memory, associative and analytic brain functions, and with the foods and beverages we consume.

Another contrasting combination is fat and citrus.

Perhaps the reason why people like duck à l’orange is also why orange works so well in chocolate. Fat has texture and weight, and the richness of mouthfeel. Citrus includes sour, which also impacts haptic perception. Imagine the dryness or puckering aspects of tasting something sour. Also, think about crunchy versus smooth, and light or thin versus heavy or dense.

Flavour is a passion of mine that has only grown since writing my book Deep Tasting Chocolate & Whiskey. At that time, I was interested in systematically describing which chocolates and whiskeys (also spelled whisky) work together. As I later researched my column for Whisky Magazine and continued to collect data on pairing, I learned more about why certain food and beverage matches are successful.

Contrasts may also provide excitement, particularly through texture. Consider the melting smoothness of chocolate with the crunchiness of nuts, that delicious almond inclusion in your chocolate. As we chew and break it down, the fat of the nut merges with the fat in the chocolate. That which was contrasting now becomes complementary. Often, too, we can find nut flavour notes in the chocolate itself. Again, these are complementary.

Some pairings are based on contrasts; these may soften the extreme aspects of one another. An example is sweet versus salty, as in those ever-popular salted caramels. Sweet and salty are two of our fundamental taste perceptions, the other three being sour, bitter and umami.

The scientific explanation of complementary flavours is that they share molecular compounds.

So, what makes a successful pairing is complex.

Whether contrasting or complementary or both, my goal is a taste experience that adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Why else pair at all?

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Tips for Tasting: 1. Flavour enters first through the eyes. When we pour a dram of whiskey and open a bar of chocolate, we may appreciate the design elements of the packaging, the colour and integrity of the liquid in the glass, and the smoothness of a properly tempered and perfectly moulded bar.

Our perception is primed to anticipate pleasure.

Beautiful presentation can often trick us into perceiving that food or drink are better than they actually are, or would appear to be in a blind tasting.

To unsee what has been seen is difficult, but we can try.

2. Select a tulip-shaped glass, with a bottom wider than its neck, so you can direct the aromas upward. Let both the whiskey and chocolate sit and “breathe� so the aromatics can emerge. Most single malts that are twelve years or younger, and noage-statement (NAS) whiskeys of all types, including bourbon, need at least fifteen minutes for the harsh alcohol vapours to dissipate. Otherwise, even a sniff of whiskey can burn. Let your unwrapped chocolate share this time kept at room temperature.

Avoid ice. It is fine for recreational drinking and cocktails, but ice suppresses the full range of aromas, flavours and textures of a quality spirit.

4. Take your time! First, familiarise yourself with the aromatic notes of the chocolate, then those of the whiskey. Get to know them both independently before experiencing them as a pair.

You should always start with the chocolate because it is more delicate and subtle. Begin by tasting a bite of chocolate and let it melt in your mouth, lips slightly open to allow air to mix with it, as you encourage your tongue to coat itself fully. Note all the emerging textures and flavours. Pay attention to the finish and any aftertaste it leaves.

Now take a sip of water or simply wait a few moments before trying the whiskey. Pick up the glass and swirl the liquid a couple of times. Sip. Gently exhale over the liquid as it coats your tongue. You can give it a slight chew and note the texture and flavours as they emerge.

Now try the duo together in a closer sequence.

Chocolate, entirely melted, then the whiskey. Savour the experience for a while. Finally, try tasting them simultaneously. Allow the chocolate to half melt, then take a sip of the whiskey. Allow them to mix. Notice how any complementary flavours create unique synergies. Explore whether you prefer to taste the chocolate and whiskey sequentially or simultaneously.

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Whiskey Pairing Although whiskey maturation is becoming more complicated as distillers innovate, there are two basic types of scotch: peated and non-peated. The peated variety derives its aroma and flavour from malted barley that is dried over peat. In the famous Islay whiskeys, peat imparts a distinctive maritime quality that may be furthered by barrel-ageing near the sea. Whereas peat from other locales can be earthier.

Since the mid-20th century, most Scotch whiskeys have been aged first in oak barrels that were formerly used for bourbon. These days, the barley malt for non-peated whiskeys may be dried with hot air. The distillate can be aged first in ex-bourbon barrels, or it can be aged solely (or finished) in some type of former sherry barrel. Some Scotch whiskey, like Highland Park’s, uses both peated malt and a sherry barrel.

Other Scotch whiskeys, particularly ones that are aged twelve years or less, may be neither peated nor sherried. Aged in ex-bourbon oak barrels, they sometimes pick up the notes of that spirit. Approximately 80% of the flavour of whiskey comes from the barrel, the wood, any spirit residue, and the environment in which it is aged.

To pair any whiskey, you have to consider the dominant flavour notes. In my experience, the best pairings are of the complementary variety. Here’s what works with a few classic whiskey types that are of high value and widely available.

try out these irresistible combinations: Peated Whiskey and Spiced Chocolate Think of barbecued meats and hot sauce.

Smoke and spice go together. That is true for pairing Islay peated whiskeys as well as non-maritime single malts. Match peated whiskey with chocolate that has a spice flavour component.

Try: Lagavulin 16-Year Single Malt Scotch and Marou Faisseur de Chocolat’s Tien Giang 80%. Or for a peated whiskey with more subtle smoke, Marou’s Tien Giang 70% is recommended.

Bourbon and Chocolate Bourbon may be high rye, low rye, or wheated (no rye at all), and each will vary in how they pair with chocolate. Bourbon must contain a distillate that is made from at least 51% corn, usually more, so expect sweetness. Aged in virgin oak barrels, typical flavour notes include vanilla, caramel, toffee, molasses, honey, cinnamon, grain and wood.

Bourbon is versatile with chocolate and goes particularly well with cherry or citrus as well as mild earthy tobacco notes. American whiskeys tend to be higher in alcohol, 90% proof or more, compared to 80-86% proof for most scotch, so after a first taste, you might add a drop of water, then swirl the glass to open up the flavour.

Try: Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Whiskey with Pump Street Bakery (UK) Grenada 70%. For a high rye bourbon, try a bar that features Dominican beans such as Dandelion (USA) Zorzal, Dominican Republic 70%.

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Sherry-aged Scotch and Citrusy Chocolate Scotch that has been matured and/or finished in sherry barrels tends to take on dried or candied fruit notes, including orange and apricot. These whiskeys are great mates with the classic Madagascar chocolates that have citrus and berry notes.

Try: Dalmore 12-Year Single Malt Scotch or Macallan 12-Year Sherry Oak and Akesson (UK) Bejofo, Madagascar Criollo 75% or Fruition (USA) Madagascar 74%.

Some ten and twelve year old (or NAS and younger) Scotch single malt whiskeys are non-peated or only lightly finished in sherry oak. In these, you might find light roast notes of coffee or chocolate, particularly in the American single malts. The fruit aromas tend to be fresh apple or pear. Other common notes include oak, malt, ginger spice, and vanilla. Pair with a chocolate that has a good backbone of cocoa and nut notes.

Try: Glenlivet 12-Year and a bar made from Ecuadorian beans, such as Letterpress Esmeraldas (USA) 70%.

Reverend Dr Peluso is a long-term fine chocolate reviewer for C-Spot, former columnist for Whisky Magazine and author of the Deep Tasting book series including A Chocolate Lover’s Guide to Meditation and Chocolate & Whiskey. As well as being an ordained interfaith minister, she is Ecole Chocolat trained and creates chocolates in her spare time.

You can stay updated with her latest work at: www.ctm-chocolate-tasting-meditation. com

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Meet the Makers: Nigeria to Norway Interview by Cacao Magazine

This Meet the Maker takes us across two continents to speak to two female-owned chocolate businesses and three chocolate makers. You’ll meet Moji Aina from Pod Chocolates, who is the first chocolate maker in Nigeria, and Agurtxane Concellon and Siv Hereid from Fjåk Chocolate, Norway’s first bean-to-bar brand.

Can you tell us about your background and why you started making chocolate?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): My name is Moji Aina, my corporate background was as a pensions analyst. I graduated with a BSc. (Hons) in Actuarial Science and hold an Advanced Diploma in Operational Research. I have always had a passion for sweet things, and as a result, decided to have chocolates at my wedding. Unfortunately, there were no chocolate makers in Nigeria, so I took some vacation time from work and spent 5 days learning how to make chocolates, and I thoroughly enjoyed the class. It was then I decided I would explore the option of becoming a chocolatier in the future.

Upon my relocation to Nigeria in 2008, someone who heard I made chocolates for my wedding also requested chocolates, this led to the start of my company called Chocolatier’s Wonders. [It was] a company providing premium handcrafted Belgian chocolates and gourmet cupcakes. Ten years later, in 2018, I started my Nigerian bean-to-bar chocolate brand, Pod Chocolates.

Agur (Fjåk Chocolate): I am a photographer and have been working as a freelance photographer and graphic designer for the last 15 years. I started to research chocolate in 2015. At the time I was looking for a new project in my life and I came across that “famous” video of the Mast brothers making chocolate in Brooklyn. This was the start of my deepest research on chocolate making. I discovered the story of Mott Green from Grenada Chocolate Company and cacao became a little obsession. I bought a Premier grinder and started to make chocolate in my kitchen with my boyfriend.

Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): I am a chef by profession, and it was in the restaurant kitchen my friendship with Agur started, working together for many years. She was also the one introducing me to my first bean-to-bar chocolate she had made herself.

It was easy to get fascinated by all the natural flavours you never thought could exist in a chocolate.

“I take inspiration from our Nigerian flavours and ingredients. We have so many different cultures in Nigeria, so there is so much to explore.”

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What’s the story behind your brand name and packaging?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): Pod Chocolates was chosen as the name because we are about celebrating the wonders of the cocoa pod. We also aim to celebrate our Nigerian culture, so some of our packaging has pictures of notable landmarks from around the country.

Agur & Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): Our brand name was a long, long research. To find a name is one of the most difficult things in a company. We had a very clear idea of using our surroundings as we wanted to have a very strong Norwegian identity.

Then we had the idea of researching in a dictionary of Hardanger dialect, which is the old dialect spoken here in this fjord. After long days reading through the dictionary, we found the word fjåk, that means lovable, honest - and we thought that it was a perfect definition for the chocolate we wanted to make.

Our packaging aims to represent a very organic Nordic design, this is why we use black and white packaging. And because Agur is Spanish, we also added a little touch of colour.

We try to be as sustainable as possible and this is why our packaging is printed on paper without plastic films. Also, the cellophane bags that we use inside are biodegradable.

What origins do you work with and where do you source your cacao beans from?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): I work with strictly Nigerian cacao beans. Presently, I use cacao from a specific farm in Ondo State. There are over seven different states that grow cacao in Nigeria and I am looking to explore various offerings from the different states.

chua, Guatemala Asochivite and PISA Haiti. We source our beans either directly, like with Åkesson’s Madagascar, or through Uncommon Cacao.

We have [also] been buying some beans from Daarnhouwer. We like to be as close to the source as we can.

We love to work with Uncommon because not only are they amazing people, but they do such a great job in the production of cocoa, and the quality never disappoints.

Where do you take inspiration from for your flavours and ingredients?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): I take inspiration from our Nigerian flavours and ingredients. We have so many different cultures in Nigeria, so there is so much to explore. For example, zobo, which is often known as red hibiscus, is very popular as a drink in Nigeria, and we have been able to infuse the flavour into our chocolate, the Zingy Zobo bar. It’s tangy and reminiscent of cranberries.

We also have a very popular street snack, plantain chips (fried unripe plantain), and a popular spice, yaji, which we have infused in one of our chocolate bars, the Plantain Firecracker. It’s spicy and crunchy and has been one of our best sellers.

Agur & Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): As our identity is based on the Nordic culture, we take our inspiration in everything that surrounds us here by the fjord. From nature, we take the berries and plants that are most exciting - like the reindeer lichen that we use in one of our bars. We love to go out into nature and forage ourselves what we can. We find inspiration too in the food traditions, like with our Brown Cheese bar. Brown cheese is probably the most traditional cheese you find from Norway and Norwegians are so proud of it.

Agur & Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): At the moment we are working with Madagascar Åkesson, Tanzania Kokoa Kamilli, India Go Ground, Guatemala La-

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Throughout your chocolate making journey you must have collected so many memories; what have been your best, worst and funniest moments so far?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): As frustrating as working with chocolate can be, my best moments are my times in the kitchen, especially when I am working on a new recipe.

One of the worst moments was getting access to the cocoa I required during the recipe testing phase for my bean-to-bar chocolate. Even though Nigeria is one of the largest cocoa-growing countries, it wasn’t easy getting access to small amounts of good quality cocoa beans. Most of the cocoa in the country is exported. I had to make an eight-hour road trip to a cocoa cooperative, leaving my twin babies at home with my mum, just to get the cocoa I wanted.

The funniest moment was in my early days. I made this chocolate with a very popular fruit called agbalumo (also called African star apple), and I was so sure it would be a massive hit. I think I sold just four. It was funny because I was so sure I knew my market and what they wanted, but I was wrong. I learnt a lesson from the experience.

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“It’s fun to meet our buyers at markets and festivals. Some are extremely enthusiastic about the chocolate and it’s great to see the expressions on their faces when they taste it.”

“You will make mistakes, you will learn from them and chocolate will really test you. You will truly know whether you are following your passion or just jumping on the next bandwagon.”

Agur (Fjåk Chocolate): Everytime I create a new flavour is a best memory, I love chocolate making and being alone in the factory. Working with chocolate is an amazing feeling.

The worst memory is the frustration when a machine breaks, especially the tempering machine - the desperation of re-melting bars for days and days without getting any tempered.

The funniest is every meeting with other chocolate makers during the chocolate festivals. The time that we spend together after the day at the festival is not only super fun but among the best memories I have. Loads of laughs.

Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): I would start with the most frustrating/worst moment, which was during our first year at [making] chocolate and we struggled for a whole week with our tempering machine; the result after several days was 30 bars. The disappointment of opening the fridge door just to find out that the bars had this white stripe of bloom got too much at the end, and we decided to share a bottle of wine while waiting. After finishing the wine we [were] more optimistic of the whole thing, and the good vibes also gave us a fridge full of well-tempered bars.

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The best was when we won our first awards, and a gold [award] for our Madagascar bar, also [in] our first year. The feeling of knowing after all the hard work we were doing something right, and to get acknowledged for it.

strong preferences of what and how chocolate should taste like. So we use a lot of time explaining and educating when we meet our buyers. I think it’s worth it, and slowly the trend for craft chocolate will also grow in Norway.

It’s fun to meet our buyers at markets and festivals. Some are extremely enthusiastic about the chocolate and it’s great to see the expressions on their faces when they taste it. Also to meet the other makers is great fun.

What do you think has been the secret to your success, the magic that makes your chocolate stand out from other bars?

How would you describe the chocolate scene where you live, and how has it evolved over the years?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): The bean-to-bar chocolate scene in Nigeria is still very new and relatively small. For a country that grows cocoa and has an estimated population of almost 180 million people, we have less than 20 bean-to-bar chocolate makers.

It’s evolving slowly; we now have a few companies also making commercial chocolates. Although, I think the scene has not evolved as it should, purely because of some infrastructural challenges we have in the country.

Agur (Fjåk Chocolate): Bean-to-bar is basically unknown in Norway, although it has been a growing interest in the last couple of years. At the moment there are three companies making bean-to-bar commercially, including us, but the two others are focused on a local market. I have seen a few more people on social media making chocolate at home in the last year, and it is about time that craft chocolate becomes a trend in Norway too, but there is a long way to go.

Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): In Norway bean-to-bar and craft chocolate is very new on the market. We see that people appreciate the different tasting notes cocoa has, and are excited to discover that chocolate has the same potential in flavours as coffee and wine.

Moji (Pod Chocolates): Can I say love?! I love working with chocolate, it brings me joy. I am sold out to it because I believe chocolate is my calling.

I was born to do this!

I also use the best ingredients I can find, obsess over every single recipe before I roll it out, and make sure I am giving my best at all times.

Agur & Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): We think the secret of our success is that we offer something different in the market with our inclusion bars. Our Nordic identity is very strong and we bring [new flavours] to the chocolate that nobody has had before. We think the market is saturated with single origin dark [chocolate] bars and even though we try to make the best single origin chocolate we can, there are so many Kokoa Kamilli bars, that it is difficult to stand out. But people always come back for our Brown Cheese bar, because it is unique. Our experience is that everywhere we go, people come to us asking for new flavours, because we will always have a new inclusion bar.

“My hope is to see a change in the industry, and for craft chocolate to be the preferred chocolate for consumers, and this change will have an impact on social welfare for many of the cocoa farmers around the world.”

It’s more work to be the first to introduce craft chocolate in a market where people already have

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Have you encountered any challenges in being a female-run business in the chocolate industry? Do you feel it’s been more of an advantage or a disadvantage?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): Here in Nigeria, 90% of the bean-to-bar chocolate makers are female, and I honestly don’t think there are any specific advantages to being a female-run business in chocolate. The advantages I experience are more general to all women, and I think this is because we now have more women in prominent positions, so there are generally more resources such as grants, training opportunities, loans, etc. available to women.

We work extremely hard, whilst still handling the home front, so it can be tiring and draining, but I think God made women natural multitaskers.

Agur (Fjåk Chocolate): I haven’t experienced any challenges being a female in the chocolate industry. The chocolate community is amazing and everybody in the craft chocolate community, men and women, are the most fantastic people I’ve met in a professional environment.

But I can feel the challenge in our normal business life in Norway, sometimes when a man comes to meet us, somehow they expect the owner or manager to be a man. Norway is a pretty conservative country!

Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): No, I wont say we have met any big challenges being a female-run business, more than if we weren’t. I think it’s the combination of personal skills and personalities that has more to say than if it’s only men or women. But I am sure our business would have looked different if it was run by two men.

What advice would you give to other women out there, looking to start a chocolate business?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): From my experience, the chocolate culture in Nigeria and I think Africa in general, is very different from other parts of the world, especially Europe and America. We generally like imported things and accepting our ‘African’ chocolate is still a challenge. Let me say this, for the African woman who wants to start her chocolate business (although I think it can still apply to women around the world), I would say first, don’t quit your day job. And I mean this with all sincerity. While you’re working, start playing around with chocolate at home, test the market, understand what the market needs, track your numbers (financials and data being gathered), [and] above all, start. You will make mistakes, you will learn from them and chocolate will really test you. You will truly know whether you are following your passion or just jumping on the next bandwagon.

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Agur (Fjåk Chocolate): Be passionate and determined and have a very clear idea of the business model. Find yourself a healthy financial situation to run the business; this is probably the most challenging thing in running a chocolate business.

Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): Think about the financials, its small margins and high investments. Create your team of people with different skills than you possess. Find your speciality and why people should choose your chocolate. Have the passion for it, because it will take a lot of time and hard work, but you will also get a lot back from the amazing chocolate community out there.

You have already achieved so much, is there anything still on your chocolate bucket list?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): I have a lot of things on my chocolate bucket list. I still want to learn more about roasting; I don’t think you can ever stop learning. There are farms I want to visit. I would like to visit at least one farm in every cocoa-growing country and learn about their fermentation and drying process. I want to teach chocolate, I hope to own a cocoa farm one day, and the list goes on and on.

Agur (Fjåk Chocolate): I think in ten years time we will probably be where the coffee industry is today. I can imagine that the craft chocolate culture will grow. I think there are going to be loads of new chocolate makers but I also think that not everybody will make it. To run a chocolate business is not an easy task as it requires more than making chocolate.

Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): The chocolate makers will continue making their products better, and many more makers will appear on the chocolate map. I think there will be more makers from the land of origins, and the chocolate industry in ten years will have a higher percentage of crafted quality chocolate than you find today.

My hope is to see a change in the industry, and for craft chocolate to be the preferred chocolate for consumers, and this change will have an impact on social welfare for many of the cocoa farmers around the world.

If you had to sum up the chocolate industry in one word, what would it be?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): Exciting.

Agur (Fjåk Chocolate): Passion.

Agur (Fjåk Chocolate): A shop, definitely. I would love to see a place filled up with Fjåk’s chocolate loveliness that gives people a full chocolate experience.

Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): Challenging.

Siv (Fjåk Chocolate): I would love to see a chocolate shop with excellent bonbons and confectionery made of Fjåk chocolate.

Where do you see the chocolate industry in the next 10 years? Do you have any predictions or hopes for the future?

Moji (Pod Chocolates): The chocolate industry is going to see more growth. I hope Africa sees the value in her cacao. I also hope Africa begins to export more value-added products made from her cacao, instead of exporting the pure cacao beans.

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Pod Chocolates www.podchocolates.com | @podchocolates Fjåk Chocolate www.fjaak.no | @fjakchocolate

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