Love of chocolate makers for bean-to-bar flair

What would have been the fate of cocoa if the Spanish had never invaded Mesoamerica? It might still be sitting in the pot as a chocolate drink. The Aztecs would be enjoying every last sip of it during their ceremony. The Spanish invasion is not justifiable. But one can’t deny its contribution to changing the course of events for cocoa. The journey from being a not-so-known bean to the love of chocolate makers is remarkable.

The beans arrived in Spain with Hernán Cortés. He conquered the Aztec world and founded Mexico City, or New Spain, in 1521. In 1528, he returned to Spain to seek justice regarding the accusation that he withheld gold due to the crown. His visit cleared all the doubts, and he was free of charge. And Spain got its first cocoa bean.

Along with the bean, Mr. Cortés returned to Spain with the necessary tools to make the chocolate. The event laid the foundation for chocolate makers. It was the beginning of a new romantic story. A chocolate maker fell in love with the bean in each period and crafted their relationship into a delicious bar.

Who are these Chocolate makers?

Chocolate makers are a dedicated group of individuals who sincerely love chocolate. They acquire extensive knowledge about chocolate and cocoa from around the world. And apply the ability to create a superior chocolate bar of the highest quality and taste. This sets them apart from mass-produced chocolate bars.

Industrial chocolate producers aim to reach out to as many consumers as possible. So, they focus on cost reduction. And to achieve that, they cut down on the cocoa percentage and added fillers. On the other hand, crafted bars can have 100% chocolate. As their makers aim for a bar of good chocolate with minimum ingredients.

It’s time to discuss these chocolate makers in detail. So let us begin.

An Ancient Recipe of Modica Chocolate Makers

In the 15th to 17th century, southern Italy was under Spanish Dominance. During this period, the Spanish introduced special chocolate in Modica, Sicily. They got the recipe from Spain and equipment from the Aztecs. It was a well-known dessert among the Royals and Elite group. It took a long time for chocolate to become famous among people. The people of Sicily could know about its specialty in 1999. In 2018 EU granted IGP a Geographical Indication to protect the origin of the chocolate.

What is a Modica Chocolate?

Chocolate derived its name from its birthplace. The recipe for the chocolate is 400 years at maximum and follows a unique method known as cold working. It follows simple steps;

• The cocoa beans are hand-ground to a specific consistency.
• In the commercial process, cocoa butter is separated from cocoa. However, in cold working, the cocoa butter is left in its natural form with the cocoa.
• The cocoa powder and sugar are mixed together. The mixture is heated up to 40℃. The sugar maintains its gritty texture and doesn’t melt entirely at this temperature.
• The cocoa butter present in the powder causes fat blooms and gives the chocolate a crumbly texture.
• Cold working produces the purest form of chocolate with no added cocoa butter or fat. It uses only two flavors cinnamon and vanilla.

In earlier days, to make Modica, a special tool was used for grinding cocoa beans, called Metate. Spanish got the tool from the Aztecs. The Aztecs used Metate to grind cocoa bean and other grains and seeds. The tool was a quern with two grinding stones. The one at the base was a large stone with a smooth depression. The one used for grinding was a small hand-held stone with a smooth finish. With time modern machines have replaced the stone grinder.

(Source; Bluffer’s Guide to Chocolate by Neil Davey)

Chocolate for Pastry Chefs

A story of chocolate made by a Pastry Chef for the Pastry Chef. It is the story of Valrhona. The Valrhona is a French chocolate maker founded in the 1920s by Alberic Guironnet in the small town of Hermitage. But Guironnet named his chocolate factory ‘La Chocolaterie du Vivarais.’ After his death, the chocolate factory got new owners. And the factory was renamed ‘Gonnet’ in 1939. Later in 1947, it got its current name Valrohna.

Today Valrhona is much more than the chocolate makers. It took one step forward to share its knowledge with the world. And it established a school for pastry, l’École Valrhona, in 1989. Where the pastry chefs gain & share knowledge with artisans to create new possibilities with the chocolate. The school of pastry is now reached many parts of the world, like Brooklyn, Paris, and Tokyo.

From Racing cars to Chocolate Bars

Duffy Sheardown wanted to do something more than being a Formula 1 engineer. His passion for chocolates came to his rescue. One fine day in 2007, he was listening to BBC Radio Four Food Programme. There he discovered Cadbury was the only bean-to-bar company in the whole UK. This news changed his life. He used to believe that all chocolatier shop makes their own chocolates from scratch. Though his belief was shattered. But it brought him hope to become one of the competitors of Cadbury. No other players were on this field, so he could easily crack the code to be number one.

He got some cocoa beans from Guatemala 2008 to keep up with his dream. He then started the vicious cycle of trials and failures. After many attempts, he cracked the recipe, and by 2009 he could start his company in Lincolnshire. Initially, the company was named Red Star Chocolate. He eventually changed the name to his own name, Duffy’s. He sold his first chocolate bars via mail orders, local suppliers, retailers, and on shows in 2010.

What is Duffy’s as chocolate makers?

Their primary focus is the quality of cocoa beans. They procure the cocoa from farms focusing on natural varieties rather than cloned or fast-growing. 90% of the cocoa is brought directly from farmers at a premium price. They follow an elaborate process for roasting. The roasted beans are still stone ground. The bars are stored for three months to improve flavor and then hand-wrapped. All the bars are single origin.

His hard work and skill got Duffy's many accolades. The first award was Golden Bean and Best Newcomer awards in 2011. In recent years, in 2015, Duffy's been awarded British Gold and European Bronze for best plain origin bar to Honduras Indio Rojo 72%. The same year, the Venezuela Ocumare 55% won the European Bronze award for the origin milk category.

A new cocoa bean, a new recipe

This is what defines Fresco, a business led by a couple, Rob and Amy Anderson. Rob was a computer engineer, and Amy was a bookkeeper. They spent most of their early life in Southern California. But they moved to Washington State for Rob’s career demand. Life was going smoothly until the 2002 business trip. During this trip, Rob visited a chocolate factory in San Fransisco. It was love at first sight. Back home, he decided to make his own equipment. The creativity started from a small garage. Later it grew into a licensed commercial kitchen. And they sold their first bar in 2010 at Northwest Chocolate Festival.

What is Fresco as a chocolate maker?

Fresco follows a micro-batch production policy. In micro-batch production, the level of roasting and conching changes with each batch. They believe some varieties may need a longer roasting time, while light roasting is enough for others. So they adjust the recipe every time a new cocoa bean enters the kitchen.

Three levels of Roasting; a) Light, b) Medium, c) Dark
Four levels of Conching; a) None, b) Subtle, c) Medium, d) Long
The best part of Fresco as a chocolate maker is that they mention the levels in their labelling. 
The unique technique won them many awards.

There are many other names on the list. They all practice special techniques to make a high-quality bar. But very few have made up to the finish line, and others are still struggling. It’s mostly because they don’t want to compromise on the quality part to win the race. Many have gotten lost in the market for cheap products at cheap prices.