• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

How to make chocolate: tree to bar in Grenada

June 6, 2016 9 Comments Filed Under: Travel, Uncategorized

Cacao pods come in three main varieties: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario, the latter a hybrid of the first two.  Recent gene tests suggest there are at least ten types, however. 
Cacao trees originated in South America but are now grown in Africa, the Caribbean, South East Asia, Central America and Northern Australia but all within 20 degrees of the Equator. Their favourite kind of terrain is hot and sweaty.
Grenada (pronounced Grenaida, not Grenahda, which is in Spain), a small volcanic island to the south of the Caribbean, almost off the coast of Venezuela, has some of the very best quality cacao pods. Why? The type: Trinitario and Criollo. The soil: volcanically fertile, rather like in Sicily. The weather: a steady, damp warmth.

Farming

Cocoa farmers earn very little. Across the world, child labour and starvation wages are used to produce your yummy chocolate bar. Many cocoa farmers have never even tasted the chocolate that their cacao beans go towards making as they simply can’t afford it.
Although chocolate is becoming increasingly popular, cocoa bean yields are under threat due to climate change and farmers ageing out of the system.
In Grenada, just as in the UK, most farmers are above retirement age. Their children don’t want to take it on – the work is hard and the wages are low.
The money earning bit, the added value, is when you make chocolate from the beans. Compact and less expensive machines have recently made this possible on a small scale. As a result, there are now three chocolate companies in Grenada.
  • The Grenada Chocolate Company. Started by British entrepreneur Mott Green, who unexpectedly died when electrocuted at his factory. It’s taken them a while to get back on their feet but, with the help of a new American factory manager, they are back to producing very fine chocolate a few metres away from where it is grown. You can buy their chocolate at Rococo Chocolate branches. Rococo’s owner Chantal Coady OBE has been supporting The Grenada Chocolate company since 2002 and donating cocoa from Grococo farm on Grenada since 2007.
  • Diamond Chocolate Factory. Makes Jouvay bars. (The ginger and nutmeg bars are particularly divine.) Their entire factory looks like something from the Kitchen Aid era, gorgeous rounded cream and chrome machines with 1950s design. It’s a pretty factory.
  • Crayfish Bay chocolate. New to the bean to bar manufacturing but, despite their cobbled together equipment (they are using a kind of barbeque to roast the beans), they are already producing fantastic quality chocolate bars. They also sell to Pump St Bakery. 
Magdalena Fielden, Mexican owner of the True Blue Bay Resort, has started an annual Chocolate Festival with her British husband to promote the high quality cacao from Grenada. Cacao is now the biggest cash crop on the Spice island, since the devastating hurricane Ivan of 2004 destroyed 90% of their former most important export, the fruit of nutmeg trees.

Tree to Bean

The actual trees are beautiful, with large oval reddish-brown and green leaves. The pods grow directly from the trunk, improbably hanging from thin stalks. When unripe they are purple or green, turning orange and red as they ripen. The pods start out as tiny white flowers, which are pollinated by sandflies.
Cacao beans are harvested throughout the year but the main crop is in the spring before the rainy season, which starts in June. The pods don’t just fall from the tree, they are chopped off with a long Dutch hoe. The trees are interplanted with other trees, papaya, nutmeg, bananas, coconuts and small bushes such as pineapple plants, and the forests are checked every few days for ripe pods, those that are orange or gold.
Each pod contains 30 to 40 white beans. A kilo of beans makes 24 x 50g bars (1200g chocolate).
I worked as a cacao farmer for a couple of hours at the Crayfish Bay farm run by a couple, Lylette, a Grenadian woman married to an Englishman named Kim Russell or, as he prefers to be known, Captain Chaos. He is missing a toe and most of his teeth. You know about the toe because he rarely wears shoes. Kim gave us a great talk on slavery – along the lines of ‘slavery didn’t stop because the white man suddenly became a nice person, it stopped because it was no longer profitable’.
This is hard, hot work. Once cut down, the pods are gathered into piles. Using a cutlass the cacao pods are cut in half, the thick skin discarded into another pile, and the creamy sticky beans gathered into buckets. The cacao fruit itself is delicious, rather like a custard apple. The pile of cacao rinds is left to rot, attracting more sandflies, necessary for cross fertilisation.
Kim’s farm is more like a cooperative. He profit shares with his workers, who take 90% of what their crops make. The day I went, he made us a delicious lunch of homemade bread, callalou soup (a Caribbean spinach) and a rice salad. You can rent rooms there if you want a farm visit.
I don’t think I could be a cacao farmer. It turns out that sandflies adore me, and I ended up covered with hundreds of small itchy bites despite wearing repellent and long sleeves. These tiny midges are called ‘no-see-ums’ because – yes, that’s right – you can’t see them. For the first 24 hours, you don’t feel too bad… then the itching starts in earnest. I’ve still got the scars. Locals told me that if you live there, you develop an immunity.

Bean to Bar

Beans can be sold ‘wet’ or ‘dry’. If they are sold wet, the factory ferments and dries the beans. Wet weight beans are white and weigh more than the dried brown beans and are therefore sold at a lower rate per kilo.
Fermentation 
The wet beans are kept in a bin covered with banana leaves or sackcloth to ferment for up to 48 hours.
Then the beans are turned every day for 4 to 7 days to ensure that the fermentation temperature is evenly distributed. Careful handling of this part of the process is essential for the end flavour.
Drying
At the Belmont Estate in Grenada, we saw the beans spread out in the sun to dry. This usually takes 4 to 14 days. Traditionally, young women in cotton dresses dance while shuffling their bare feet through the beans to ensure even drying. Nowadays this is mostly done with rakes.
Sorting and selecting
Cacao beans are sorted into different sizes, ones with blemishes are removed. The size of the bean is important to determine the length of time for roasting.
Roasting
The beans are roasted. Like coffee, this is an important part of the process when it comes to the end result, the taste of the chocolate. A low, slow roast is sweeter, less bitter.
Winnowing
After crushing, the thin shell separates from the beans and air is used to separate the shell from the pieces of the beans called nibs. Nothing is wasted; the shells can be used as mulch and some beans are retained in nib form. I personally love a large pinch of cocao nibs to get over a mid-afternoon energy dip.
Grinding
The beans are ground up. I saw this at the Diamond chocolate factory in Grenada. It goes in as crushed up beans and comes out as a fine paste, cocoa liquor.
Refining
Grinding the cocoa liquor until the particles are tiny, leaving a smooth mouth feel.
Mixing with sugar
This is when the sugar is added.
Conching
Mixing thoroughly while heating and aerating to create a smooth chocolate. This also reduces the acidity in the cacao bean.
Flavouring or adding ‘inclusions’
Prior to tempering, flavourings, lecithin, milk or extra cocoa butter is added.
Pressing
In factories that wish to produce the extra cocoa butter rather than buy it in to add to chocolate bars, a machine presses the chocolate into ‘cakes’ and extracts the cocoa butter. The liquor is separated into approximately two halves: 1) dry chocolate cakes, which are made into cocoa powder; 2) cocoa butter, some of which is used in cosmetics and some of which is added back to the refined and conched chocolate. A cocoa bean contains 45% cocoa and 55% cocoa butter.
Tempering
A process of removing crystals from the chocolate by heating a portion of the chocolate to a certain temperature, then adding unheated chocolate. Tempering is important to create the characteristic snap and gloss of good chocolate and to render it more heat resistant.
Moulding
The liquor is poured into moulds and shaken until the liquid spreads all over the mould evenly, at the same time getting rid of air bubbles. These moulds can take the form of a chocolate bar.
How much chocolate and cocoa butter is there in a Cadbury’s bar?
Cadbury’s contains 23% cocoa solids, which is not terrible. But ordinary, mass produced chocolate bars use ‘bulk chocolate’, not high quality stuff, and are filled out with vegetable fat rather than cocoa butter.
Why do Hershey bars taste awful?
They only contain 11% cocoa solids. They use more sugar than Cadbury’s and, most importantly, the Americans originally used sour milk in Hershey bars. (As a hot country, it was harder for them to obtain and preserve fresh milk over the vast distances.) The Americans got used to it. Mind you, the Europeans think our chocolate is shit too. They wanted to ban it in fact. #Brexit
What do they mean when they say a percentage, say 70% of cocoa, is in a chocolate bar?
It means that 70% of the bar is cocoa solids and 29% is sugar. The other 1% is vanilla and flavourings. N.B.: the 70% of cocoa solids may have different ratios of dry cocoa to cocoa butter.
Is chocolate really healthy?
Yes, it is. Though not the cheap stuff from the local sweet shop, only the expensive dark artisanal chocolate. That helps reduce appetite, raises magnesium levels, boosts serotonin, makes you look younger.
If I spread chocolate all over my face and body on the outside, is that a good thing?
I’ve done it. I had a ‘chocolate spa’ in which I was painted from head to foot with dark chocolate, then wrapped in cling film, then foil and left to bake for 20 minutes while a soothing soft voiced Grenadian woman massaged my temples. Then I washed it off in the adjacent shower and was subsequently rubbed all over with cocoa butter and peppermint oil. I smelled like an After Eight. I felt soft and fragrant and according to others, instantly looked ten years younger. Recommended.
What does Fair Trade mean? Is it fair?
Fair Trade ensures that farmers get a fixed price for their crop throughout the season. There have been times in Grenada where it’s virtually not worth picking the cacao pods due to the low price of the crop. Farmers should get a higher price for their crop but membership of Fair Trade is too expensive for some. Small scale cooperative schemes such as those at Crayfish Bay farm and The Grenada Chocolate Factory get rid of the middle man and motivate workers. Buy Grenadian chocolate!

TLDR?
Check out my handy infographic at the top. 

Recent posts

Yeni Raki dinner at Ruya, London

November 26, 2023

La Clique, a spiegeltent show in Leicester Square, London and a late dinner at Wong Kei

November 21, 2023

The real Maldives by Mary Wedgewood

November 19, 2023

Previous Post: « Food and drink in Kent, England
Next Post: 10 amazing things to see, eat and drink in Grenada »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Johanne

    June 7, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    Best article on chocolate ever. Thank you. I really enjoyed reading this.

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

      June 7, 2016 at 7:06 pm

      Thank you so much Johanne xx

      Reply
  2. Pasta Bites

    June 7, 2016 at 3:57 pm

    What a fantastic experience! Hershey.. yuk. But i agree on Cadbury's as well as,fair to say, mass produced chocolate anywhere (Ferrero rocher anyone?). it's the ingredients, isn't it. Plus for years I have been on a crusade against palm oil. out with Nutella, in with Galamella!
    I love chocolate, actual proper chocolate like the one above. I heard on Italian radio just an hour ago that if #Brexit happens the price of chocolate will rise massively in the EU due to the currency used for the cocoa market (£). Glad of how I voted 🙂

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

      June 7, 2016 at 7:08 pm

      Wow so they use pounds rather than euros to buy it? How odd.
      But I have to admit I do love Cadburys. I know it's not the super adult, high quality stuff but it's what I grew up on. Have you tried Cadburys with Daim bar in it? Bloody loverly.
      I'm trying to control my sugar intake right now though.
      Dark chocolate is more like a medicine, a couple of squares and you've had enough. It's so rich.

      Reply
    • Pasta Bites

      June 8, 2016 at 8:43 am

      Yes apparently they use pounds… odd. Haven't tried Cadbury's with Daim… will look out for it! and on dark chocolate, I totally agree. it's my treat, after dinner. At the moment I am loving Doisy & Dam… so delicious.

      Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

      June 8, 2016 at 2:28 pm

      Don't know that chocolate but if you can get hold of Jouvay's ginger chocolate, it's to die for.

      Reply
  3. Aj

    June 8, 2016 at 8:26 am

    Good piece, commodity traders have a lot to answer for…

    Reply
  4. Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

    June 8, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    Yes I don't know much about them except that my mums bff was married to one and he was a complete drip who ran off with an Eastern European hussy. But he made a lot of money out of the whole thing.

    Reply
  5. polline moineau

    March 7, 2017 at 12:35 pm

    very-very interesting! thank you… I'm happy to never eat Cadbury, etc, I eat fair trade chocolate and biologic, and raw sometime … I understand now why it's important to choose what we buy

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Yesterday I visited Noto in Sicily. It’s famous Yesterday I visited Noto in Sicily. It’s famous for baroque architecture. The churches, shops and streets are ready for Christmas, with nativity scenes, lights and wrapped presents. The light is beautiful, softly golden, as it is in all of these villages under the eaves of Mount Etna, puffing innocently in the background. Sicily has so much to discover. Of course I had an orange, olive and fennel salad. #citrus #travel #sicily #noto
Went to see the orange groves of @la_.deliziosa_ i Went to see the orange groves of @la_.deliziosa_ in Sicily, under the eaves of mount Etna which is glowing orange with streams of lava making their way down the snowy verges. The air smells of charcoal, smoke and occasionally sulphur. This grove is seven years old. The oranges 🍊 have stretch marks like the swollen belly of a pregnant woman. They will be ready to pick in two weeks. #citrusseason #sicily
The most brilliant focaccia from the Puglia region The most brilliant focaccia from the Puglia region, hot, oily, crispy, with sweet cherry 🍒 tomatoes, green olives and plenty of salt- which we ate in the fields with the farmers. Food always tastes better when eaten outside. @commissioneuvadatavola
More bits done to my dining room. Painting the bar More bits done to my dining room. Painting the bare woodwork in @littlegreenepaintcompany, moving furniture around, building a spice cupboard. Tablecloth from @dunelmuk I’m off to Naples and Sicily today so it’s all a bit rushed. More tidying, painting organising on my return. Hey interiors people, paint companies, homeware and tableware companies- I’m up for collabs! #tablescape #crockery #kitchens #diningrooms #pantry #reclaimedwindows #spicecupboards #scallops #stripes #rawplaster #london
I went to an amazing @yenirakiglobal lunch today @ I went to an amazing @yenirakiglobal lunch today @ruyalondon a gorgeous Turkish restaurant just off Park lLne. It was hosted by the lovely drink expert @douglasblyde (Evening Standard drinks columnist). It was nice to see some old faces from the blogging world. I loved the ‘Istanbul- bull’ cocktail made from elderflower ginger beer and Rami with a sliver of cucumber. We had a demonstration on how to make khachapuri Turkish style. In turkey they say ‘let’s go for a raki’ meaning shots of raki with mezze. The sea bass with a pistachio crust was a great match as was the smoked salmon with pink peppercorns. Raki goes great with fish. I also loved the ‘lonely’ dip ‘rafik’ which is something you order when you are lonely- then everybody joins you.  Raki is sometimes referred to as ‘lions milk’ because it goes white when you add water and it puts hairs on your chest. Raki is made from wild fennel and grape way de vie. Fennel, like liquorice, is 13  times sweeter than sugar. First week of December is #worldrakiday #raki #turkey #turkishfood
Christmas present suggestions for foodies: a month Christmas present suggestions for foodies: a monthly subscription to @thetinnedfishmarket I love the packaging, it’s so useful to have in the pantry for last minute meals. The top three tins are from the November selection: tuna, sardines and mackerel. The bottom 3 tins are anchovies, stuffed calamari and smoked oysters. I recently used their tinned smoked tuna in a recipe- it’s a revelation. I often buy my daughter tinned fish for birthday or Christmas #christmasgiftsideas #subscriptions #christmasforfoodies #tinnedfish #foodpackaging
Berenjenas de la abuela con miel. This is my Sagit Berenjenas de la abuela con miel. This is my Sagittarian recipe for @holidaygoddessguide sag loves fiery hot fried food, purple is Jupiter’s colour, and Spain a sag country. This tapas recipe is a dead cert for the archer. Topped with Venusian honey… #astrology #planetarydiet #recipes #tapas
I made Mas Huni, a Maldivian breakfast dish, using I made Mas Huni, a Maldivian breakfast dish, using smoked tuna from @thetinnedfishmarket I like a savoury breakfast and this hits the spot. I have a post up on the blog tomorrow by Mary Wedgewood who has just spent a year teaching in the Maldives- a very different experience from the sun, sand and luxury you get in the resorts. #tinnedfish #maldives #mashuni
Last night I went to see @lacliquetheshow in a spi Last night I went to see @lacliquetheshow in a spiegeltent (a kind of wooden tent) in Leicester Square, London. A series of neo-circus acts, some rather saucy with a wonderful torch singer with top bants entertained us. A real Christmas treat- it’s only on for 8 weeks. Probably not for children although I recall my parents taking me and my younger brother and sister to see the original cast of the Rocky Horror Show in kings road. Us kids were gob smacked yet inspired.  @multitudemedia thank you  #cabaret #circus #christmastheatre #london
A quick butternut squash soup in the @vitamixuk wi A quick butternut squash soup in the @vitamixuk with Austrian pumpkin oil and pistachios as I’d run out of pumpkin seeds. Served in enamel mugs (I love enamel, it’s lightweight and unbreakable . The chips just give it more character. #soup #autumn #enamelware
I went to the most fabulous dinner tonight in this I went to the most fabulous dinner tonight in this old theatre near London Bridge, with actors playing the roles of famous French cheeses. The food was great, the company charming, the atmosphere, like being at the Kit Kat club in cabaret, and le fromage divine. #enjoyitsfromeurope #cheeseatheart #cheesesfromfrance #frenchloveaffair
Lebu or Bengali lemon in Whitechapel. These are so Lebu or Bengali lemon in Whitechapel. These are so floral. You just use the zest, there isn’t much juice or flesh. A pound each which is cheap. Just turn left out of Whitechapel station and most of the greengrocers have them. Do not confuse with lime. These are big and knobbly. #london #citrus #elizabethline #bengalifood
Incredibly cute single grilled sandwich maker made Incredibly cute single grilled sandwich maker made in Singapore @brunohotplateuk it comes in pink, lilac and red. It has multiple attachments for donuts, tarts, waffles, taiyaki fish waffles. Going to try it out tomorrow. Love the design and colours, it’s sturdiness- it’s metal. It’s sort of barbie industrial. #kaiwai #kitchengadgets #design #toasties #taiyaki #
Home grown poblano chillies. They didn’t reach t Home grown poblano chillies. They didn’t reach the size of one’s from Mexico, which are more like bell papers. But it’s virtually impossible to get fresh poblanos in the UK. It’s a shame as they are very mild, a more interesting flavour than bell peppers. They are wonderful stuffed, in soup or to make the Mexican national dish - poblanos with walnut sauce. #londongarden #londonmexicanfood
I’ve been doing the tube game, no cheating, no c I’ve been doing the tube game, no cheating, no conferring. This score means I’m officially a nerd according to @helenlewisposts I’ve always thought if I were kidnapped and held in solitary Terry Waite style, that this is how I’d pass my time, remembering every stop on the London Underground. They should do one for the paris metro. I lived in paris for 5 years so I wonder how I’d do with that. This is the link if you want to have a go: https://london.metro-memory.com
Russell Norman’s latest book Brutto @bru.tto all Russell Norman’s latest book Brutto @bru.tto all about florentine food and Tuscan recipes. Beautifully designed, great photos. Recipes include florence favourites such as panini con lampredotto ( tripe- not for me thanks), schiacciata, negronis. Can’t say I’m a fan of salt less Tuscan bread though ( introduced due to the salt tax) but Russell explains it’s never supposed to be eaten on its own but as a mop for highly flavoured sauce. There are a lot of neat recipes but also plenty of vegetarian ones. Want to try the sugar caramelised pecorino. The book has the Russell Norman trademark of an exposed and stitched spine. Lovely design as ever. One for the Christmas lists. Also thankyou to @eburybooks for their quick efficiency in sending me the book. I do review books: for my blog, for social media and also for newspapers. Yet I struggle to get hard copies of books- looking @murdochbooks_uk for instance. I’ve asked for @tessakiros and @missfoodwise latest books but impossible. Sometimes publishers say we can send an e version. NO! Books are physical objects: the paper, the typeface the feel are all important otherwise I’ll just read a website. Also writers get paid SO little the least publishers can do is send you an actual book. Do they expect us to buy the copies? I find they’ll often send some shitty little TV cook or minor celebrity book or my particular personal horror- wellness books- but not actually something you want to review. Rant over. Not the authors fault but the publishers. #cookbook #review #publishers
Ophelias first birthday party. I made a smash cake Ophelias first birthday party. I made a smash cake: something babies have now, which means they can ‘smash’ it or plunge their face in. It was sugar free, gluten free etc. but Ophelia was rather refined while picking at it. She’s a little lady. Lots of presents, food, cakes, babies, tears and tantrums ( the latter from mum and grandma) #granfluencer
Happy first birthday to my granddaughter Ophelia. Happy first birthday to my granddaughter Ophelia. It’s brilliant being a grandma, nostalgia for the time my daughter was a baby. Having children is so interesting. It’s hard but worth it. I’m making her a smash cake for her party tomorrow. Find out more then… #granfluencer #ophelia #firstbirthday  1) & 2) Ophelia aprés Dégas  3) munchkin pumpkin.  4) winsome  5) bit rheumy with her mum.  6) trying on grandma’s sliders.  7) she has a teeny light up electric toothbrush with which she can clean her 4 teeth.  8) dress from portobello £2 and she has the most brilliant laugh.  9) her eyes have now turned golden brown but here she still had the new born’s blue eyes.
As it’s #worldpastaday I’ve made a little reel As it’s #worldpastaday I’ve made a little reel of my few days in Firenze or Florence. It’s horrendously crowded but glowing with golden romance. At the central market you can eat the local focaccia sandwiches ‘schiacciata’ often with tripe ‘lampredotto’ (boak), or pasta with truffles. Elsewhere you can drink affogato , a small coffee with gelato, you can walk over the pontevecchio bridge, lined with glinting jewellery shops, you can visit the uffizi gallery, the painted ceilings, the cherubs, the somber and carnal portraits, you can crane your neck up to the green and cream marble stripes of the churches, you can visit the paper makers of hand marbled stationery, and at the end of the day you drink a perfect sunset negroni with aperitivo snacks then take the tram to your hotel and plan to visit again when it’s quieter. When is it quiet? January? October was rammed. #travelandfood #solotravel #florence #firenze #italy
Today 21st October is #worldrepairday. I’ve been Today 21st October is #worldrepairday. I’ve been attending a workshop @camden_fixing_factory to learn how to repair toasters, kettles, fans, irons etc. we get them from a local dump, fix them then give them to charity. Very few actually need repair: they are thrown away because they have limescale ( a real problem with London water) or are dirty or something minor.  First we do a visual inspection - what appears to be wrong with it? Then we do a connectivity test with two probes to see if there is a circuit. Then a Pat test to see if it passes. Then we plug it in: does it work? With a toaster does the press down, pop up mechanism work? Does it toast? Then we clean it thoroughly- vacuuming all crumbs and polishing so that it looks almost as good as new. This is part of a European movement called Right to Repair @r2reurope whereby fixing things not just dumping in landfill is encouraged- not just on a personal level but businesses and manufacturers too. It’s very satisfying being things back to life. Next week kettles! #righttorepairmovement #camden
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2023 msmarmitelover