After talking to a lovely lady who was writing The Reality of Chocolate, I was asked to put together a bit on cacao and chocolate with a Fair Trade spin. Well, that is just what I do. Consumption is easy, being conscious takes effort for many. Food has become far too simple for us, as we make food goods into commodities and thus turn the people who labor the lands for some of these items into the same sort of commodity. Enjoy the read on Cacao.

Cacao beans to Chocolate Bars:

Claire Fountain

Is all really fair in love and chocolate?

What most of us know as "chocolate" is a far cry from what "chocolate" really is. In fact, chocolate starts as cacao long before it is the chocolate candies and bars we so easily consume. Many mainstream chocolate treats are cheap chocolate. Cheaply made and inexpensive to us. And we love it, munching our candies without much thought to how the little cacao bean that is in our chocolate comes to us. To make this the most clear lets start from cacao versus chocolate. Cacao becomes chocolate though it is not as simple as walking through a cacao plantation and picking some "chocolate." Cacao trees bear cacao pods, the fruit of the tree, which are harvested twice a year. Within a pod, about forty beans are contained. The tropical odd-looking cacao tree can only grow 20 degrees north and south of the equator. With warm weather all around and under a rain forest canopy, life near the equator is good for the cacao tree. Growing as happily as it can in the loose, moist soil; the trees grow best in shade rich conditions away from the direct sun light and away from high winds. Cacao trees do not have such a splendid life after all with high susceptibility to pests and diseases that can easily wipe out up to a third of the worlds annual crop.

To add to the cacao tree's struggles, trees must be four to five years old to bear fruit. In a good year, a tree might bear enough beans for only two pounds of chocolate. This comes from the fact a pod contains approximately forty beans. For each tree about thirty pods are produced a year which leaves us about 1000 beans in that year. Five hundred beans to make 1 pound of chocolate (bittersweet) thus puts one tree only worth those 2 lbs. Statistically, the average American eats about 10 pounds of chocolate a year and the average Swiss eats 21 pounds a year. We Americans would thus need five trees to satisfy just one of us, and ten trees for every Swiss. Do make note that most the "chocolate" that is considered for these statistics is not the hearty cacao solid rich bittersweet chocolate in the "tree-bean-production" formula. It is the heavily blended and milk or sugared-down versions that we commonly know as chocolate, so maybe the five trees per person is being a little extreme.

Generally, there are about twelve beans in a typical, we'll call it "convenience store" bar (usually about 30 grams) while there are probably closer to 90 or 100 beans in a 85% cacao 100 gram bar.

Beans and bar numbers aside, back to the farm! Some farms have only 30 to 40 trees. The human hand is a huge part of the cacao process. Granted machines can do this, it is not the best method. Pods are sliced off trees individually by large knives manually or hooked to poles so that only the ripe pods are harvested. Others are left to their own ripening cycle.

The pods are then broken by hand and the beans removed, leaving their hard shell behind. Beans are still covered in pulp at this point. Cacao beans next need to go through a fermentation and drying process to develop their unique flavor. This may range from as little as 10% to 75% fermentation and might take anywhere from two to eight days. This is a crucial step in developing the flavors of chocolate that we remotely know. I say remotely in that again, if you eat raw cacao you know this flavor but if you only eat, oh, peanut and nougat chocolate bars, it is a flavor you are only remotely familiar with.

The fermented beans are spread over mats of bamboo, to be dried by the same sun that would have destroyed the trees. Days later when the drying finishes and the bean weighs half its original weight, the beans are ready. Transportation comes next. The beans that took so much work and labor leave the farms; destine for a chocolate factory that could be oceans away and a chocolate bar that ends up countries away. The cacao beans must be delicately shipped across the sea as moisture and uncontrolled temperatures can ruin otherwise good beans. The same is true for bars that are made in the country of origin. Shipping is a delicate process. Arriving at the chocolate factories the beans are inspected and then the roasting begins. Post roasting, the beans are chipped into nibs and ground into cocoa paste. This cocoa mass can become cocoa powder and cocoa butter which might be blended with cocoa of different regions, flavorings or milk and sugar. Mixed and then refined, the chocolate is conched (like kneading everything together) and you end up with dark, milk or "white" varieties.

Time to take a pause now that we know a little more about how the process goes and go back to the cacao farms. Cacao beans are not simple plants to grow and like a pastry chef who makes puff pastry by hand, it is much hard work with little reward. Typically small family farms, the work is done by hands that depend on their cacao farming for income. Like the farming life for any crop, the farmer suffers if the crop suffers and is subject to the same struggles of their land. According to information from Brett Beach, one of the founders of Madécasse chocolate bars from Madagascar,[1] the work involved for gathering cacao beans is time consuming and pricey, especially for the small farmer. The materials and equipment needed to ferment and dry cacao beans properly is not cheap. Less than 5% even have the equipment needed to cure and dry their own beans there. These beans end up being taken to the market (by ox cart and hand) in their 8 hour window of freshness to be sold to a collector or trader who then processes the beans further. These middle men are not always fair in their dealing or paying tactics. The farmers would see more profit had they been able to work with their own crop. Though Madagascar poses a special case with far superior quality of beans, groups such as fair trade have stepped in here to help some countries deal with this problem of overworked and underpaid cacao farmers.

To some extent, quality of the beans is parallel to quality of the resulting chocolate. Good beans treated to the right care not only taste better but make superior tasting chocolate with a high cacao content. Many of the high cacao bars and products are organic and cater to a specific market. These bars are also more likely to be Fair Trade Certified bars as sourcing good beans also means you source from small farmers and see their labor involved. For those companies that do not much use the original cacao for more than blending into the confection that we eat as chocolate, quality of beans can be sacrificed. Those going for quantity over quality will source ordinary bulk cacao beans and accept beans that might not have been put to the highest standards for fermentation and drying. Drying too slow makes for spoiled or molding beans while drying too fast can thwart the fermentation's finishing processes and make for acidic beans. Also, those farmers who have to sell their fresh beans run the risk of the beans being ruined at any stage of the tedious process. None of these are tasty thoughts.

Large plantations usually have a mono-crop which is sourced by larger companies that are interested in end product of candies and profit. Not particularly the ones who would be pushing for better conditions and pay for the farmers as the cacao solids are going to be diluted with sugars and milk anyway for a mass population who eat without thinking beyond the treat. Granted it works out. If less of the beans goes to a chocolate candy than you may get off the hook as the same beans can go further. The worker in the grand scheme could be seen as more profit for the same amount of work that would go into a single say, 85% cacao bar. Work is still intensive for all cacao bean farmers and if the wave of cacao specific bars continues, it will be more important than ever that the farmers reap comparable and honest pay for their greater quality beans.

Fair Trade Certification is one you might see on everything from coffee to chocolate to other goods such as grains. The rates at which farmers are paid is based on a Fair Trade Premium. According to Fair Trade, they offer "Fair Trade Certified chocolate from 10 origins, including Ghana, Ecuador, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic. More than 42,000 Fair Trade cocoa farmers are earning a fair price for their high quality crop."[2] Though Fair Trade seems to be everywhere if you shop in health food stores or co-ops, the amount of chocolate bought at conventional prices if still grossly higher than that from Fair Trade companies. According to the International Fair Trade Labeling Organizations in 2006 Fair Trade registered cooperatives produced approximately 200 million pounds of cocoa, of which less than 13 million pounds was sold in the Fair Trade market. This means the other 187 million pounds had to be sold elsewhere, namely the conventional market.[3] Other issues raised with why go Fair Trade have to do with reports of children sold into labor, unsafe work conditions and entire communities at risk due to their reliance on possibly their only profit giving crop. At the core is a need to have the hands that start the process receiving what they are owed and rightfully due while protecting children, community and the entire human condition. Do you think about this when you sit down to eat chocolate or so gaily pass out candies on holidays?

With the need for higher quality chocolate products in the wake of many studies promoting the health benefits of cacao, chocolate producers are now making more origin specific bars. Origin is special, though as Brett Beach noted, it is also worthwhile to have bars that are made in the country of origin. That empowers the country and smaller cacao growers to realize that they are capable of producing a finished product to be sold in the American or global market. The origin specific chocolate movement is hot, and so is Fair Trade. Single origin bars make a great case for the flavor and quality of the beans. Bars with easily traceable beans taste better in most cases due to small batches. With such pride taken in the beans, rarely are additives, binders or other flavors added. Simple bars made with these good beans are higher in antioxidants (could be up to 60 or 70% more antioxidants than even broccoli in some cases!) Also, with around four hundred individual flavors existing in chocolate, simple really is better.[4] Organic bars free you from growing that involves pesticides and supports clean eating. Fair Trade certified chocolates supports the hands and peoples involved in the farming of cacao and the ultimate making of chocolate. So we can have our chocolate and show support where support is due.

Is all fair in love and chocolate? This is not a question that can be fully answered as each situation is different with many levels of agreements, individuals and production being involved. Reports differ from source to source and the only real way to see would be to visit the farms yourself (which is possible and I encourage anyone with the piqued interest and means to do so to reach out in this way.) The best we can do is to make ourselves aware of where our food comes from and who might be working hard without thanks. The World Bank reports that an estimated 2.7 billion people exist on less than $2 a day. Fair Trade chocolate (and coffee and nuts and grains to build on a theme and method of conscious consumption) is a decent first step. Sourcing out smaller companies who buy straight from the farmers or work with a single farm is even more worthwhile. Choices like these not only behoove people and the environment, but also your health and well being. The quality of organic chocolate is far better as just taking the time to have an organic product means a little more thought was put into it. With all the talk of beans and bars, farmers and producers, at the end of the day all that is needed is to savor your chocolate from start to finish consciously.

Appendix A: Major Chocolate Locations & Flavors

As noted before, cacao grows in tropical zones surrounding the equator. Origin specific chocolates make a nod to the differing flavors that result from different growing regions.[5] Chocolate could be fruity (from citrus to berry to plum tones,) acidic, floral, smoky or slightly bitter. Beans being used without roasting rely on the original cacao flavor much more than beans that will be roasted and combined with other items such as milks, sugars or other flavors (like hazelnut, vanilla, spices, etc.)

Chocolate from Mexico has a bright acidity, which has currently been embraced by select chocolate producers.

Ecuador is home to the prized Arriba bean which has delicate floral tones. Home to many of raw chocolate's beans and the heirloom variety Fin de Aroma de National.

Notes of fruit and spice reside in Trinidad and Tobago cacao.

Costa Rica is balanced with the hint of fruit, yet also remains a lower acidity flavor with tastes of hazelnuts. Berry and raisin sweetness is noted.

Roasted nut undertones and a rich more traditional flavor are found in Panama beans.

Jamaica has a flavor that pops with brightness and fruit. Aromatic and echoing of pineapples.

Dominican Republic has a deep heavier taste, smokier with notes of tobacco.

Venezuela remains fruity like that of dark colored stone fruits.

Cacao grown in Colombia has a slight bitter edge yet is where the honored Trinitario and Criollo trees are grown.

Peru is the perfect spot for growing cacao in terms of environment and the resulting chocolate has a balanced fruity yet bitter flavor.

Brazil was once the largest producer of cacao until Africa took over in the 19th century, yet there are still producers of beans that are well flavored, slightly fruity with a burst of acidity.

Cote D'Ivoire and Ghana (Africa East Coast) remain the largest producers of chocolate and produces the classic flavor most of us are used to. It is also combined with other cacao beans to temper their more complex flavors.

Sao Tome and Principe also produce a less complex more balanced cacao.

Madagascar produces superior beans with a punch of acidity that flows with the more delicate citrus flavors.

Lesser known for chocolate production Indonesia has a more pure flavor of cacao and a hint of acidity.

[1] Read more about and purchase Madécasse chocolate here: http://www.madecasse.com/index.html

[2] Fair TradeUSA facts and figures from their website. http://www.transfairusa.org/content/certification/cocoa_program.php

[3] http://www.equalexchange.coop/

[4] More on chocolate places and flavors, see Appendix A.

[5] Information sourced from allchocolate.com.