Notes on Chocolate Part One: Tree to Table

I can't think of a flavor more associated with the dessert industry than chocolate. (Except sugar, of course.) In this multi-part series, I'll be showing you the entire process from cacao tree to finished chocolate products you can proudly put on a dessert display at your next party.

This entry will take you from plantation to table, following the cocoa bean through all its transformations. I will be including photos and information from my trip today to one of the coolest places to go in Raleigh, Videri Chocolate Factory. (By the way, it's right across the street from one of my other favorite places in downtown Raleigh, The Pit.)

Chocolate's Path from Tree to Table

Step 1: The Farm

Cacao trees grow best in tropical climates between 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the equator. The tree may be short (only 13-26 feet tall), but it produces large, football-shaped pods filled with seeds, what we know as cocoa beans. When the pods are ripe, they are harvested and the beans are removed for fermentation. After this, they are dried and ready to ship from the farm to the distributor, then the processor, who handles the next five steps.

Videri uses only organic, fair trade cocoa beans from Central and South America. Most of the world's chocolate, however, comes from the Ivory Coast in western Africa. Take a look at Chocolate's Dark Side at the end of this post to see why I consider that to be a problem.

Step 2: Roasting

Just like coffee, cocoa beans need to be roasted in order to bring out the flavor. It's a elicate process, as over-roasting results in bitter, burnt-tasting chocolate, while under-roasting results in too mild a flavor. Roasting is done in a machine that looks something like a steam locomotive, just like coffee roasting is.

Step 3: Winnowing

Winnowing is the process through which the husk (outside shell of the bean) and nib (the fleshy, tasty part) are separated. Videri sells their unused husks for chocolate-flavored beverage brewing. The beans are cracked open and vacuumed into a vortex, where the nibs fall into one chamber (on the left), and the husk into another.

Step 4: Grinding

Stone mill grinders pulverize the nibs for 24-36 hours, pulling out the cocoa butter and liquefying the mixture. Once the chocolate-makers determine it's reached an appropriate consistency, they add sugar and additional cocoa butter. While you could eat it straight out of the grinder at this point, it won't have a pleasing texture. Below, you can see two different states of ground cocoa. The one on the left is still chunky and has a lot of time left before sugar and cocoa butter are added. On the right, the cocoa is almost ready to have cocoa butter, milk solids, and sugar added to turn it into the Dark Milk Chocolate (so named because it has a higher percentage of cocoa solids than most milk chocolate, at 50% compared to a typical maximum of 36%).

Step 5: Tempering

The tempering process can be done in a number of ways, granting it a post all its own (look for part 2 of the Notes on Chocolate on Monday). However, in a commercial setting, a special machine is used that heats the chocolate to melt all of the crystals in the mixture, then cooled, then re-warmed to a good working temperature. This is where chocolate ready for consumption gets its sheen and snap.

Step 6: Eating

While I'm sure you don't need an explanation of this process, I would like to provide you with a list of the types of chocolate available from Videri and how I found them to taste.

• Ecuadorian 90% Dark - The darkest sweetened chocolate I have ever tasted, the bitterness manages to wait to hit your tongue until after you've tasted hints of espresso.
• Classic Dark (70%) - I found this to be a smooth, delightful dark chocolate that starts with the touch of bitterness that's to be expected in a dark chocolate, but finished with an almost fruity flavor.
• Dark Milk (50%) - A stronger chocolate than any other milk chocolate that I've tried (even the milk chocolate couverture at school is only 36%), it's sweet, but not cloyingly so.
• Blueberry (Seasonal) - Made from the dark milk with added dried blueberries. Sweet and bright.
• Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt - Similarly to salted caramel, the salt helps to tone down some of the bitter notes of the dark chocolate and plays to the excellence of pairing salty and sweet flavors.
• Pink Peppercorn Chocolate - Peppery, but not spicy, I found the combination to be incredibly tasty, with the earthy nature of the chocolate coming out in this flavor more than the others.

I hope you enjoyed the trip through Videri's chocolate process, and I will see you again on Monday.

Chocolate's Dark Side

Most of the world's chocolate comes from the Ivory Coast. Why is this a problem? Child slavery is commonplace on the cacao plantations there, with many of the children being kidnapped from Mali or being told that they will make money that they can send to their families. A farmer can purchase one of these children for 230 Euros (about $312). Spend 45 minutes to watch The Dark Side of Chocolate so you can see what I'm talking about. If you plan to use chocolate, please consider choosing something that's Fair Trade, or, at the very least, don't waste your chocolate.