Just in time for the holiday season, we are treated to chocolate in many different versions. If the quality varies from one kind to another, one thing you can be sure of is the quality of the Bean To Bar process, which gives chocolate an exceptional taste.
Bean To Bar chocolate—literally from the cacao bean to the finished product—is a movement born in the United States in early 2000’s. It means that chocolatiers carefully source their beans from eco-responsible producers, then transform these little nibs directly in their workshops.
Bean To Bar is, above all, a question of values. The ethical and equitable aspects for the selection of the best quality cacao beans is essential for the producers and the chocolatiers. Specifically, the precious content of the cacao pods is selected in function of a particular region, then subject to an optimal post-harvest process: fermentation, drying, and roasting the beans to allow the best flavors and aromas to develop. The chocolatier then decides how minimalist and purist he wants to be in terms of the taste: using just cacao and sugar and only for dark chocolate. This method gives the finished product a unique flavor, completely different from that which we usually find commercially available, much to the pleasure of the most demanding and mindful consumers.
The French West Indies have fertile soil for the production of good quality cacao, so does anyone make chocolate using beans from the islands?
That is the question asked by Matcha, an epicurean writer, Solange, a dietician-nutritionist, and Diego, a talented designer based in Guadeloupe. Their research allowed them to meet top producers in Guadeloupe and Martinique. As Matcha discovered, “It is the case for Maxime from Caracacao, an artisan based in Les Abymes, who creates a 100% Guadeloupe chocolate bar, made from fresh pods cultivated in the heart of a tropical forest. He brings out the unique character of the cacao following a lot of serious research to find the ideal methods of fermentation and roasting. There is no room for error as pure Guadeloupean production is limited. It is also the case for Alain from the Maison du Cacao and Naomi Martino who share the same values. In Martinique, we were able to identify producers who are equally demanding. For example, Philippe from Kféco, who showed us hundred-year-old cacao trees on his land, planted by his grandfather. He created his own machines to work the fruit from his own trees as well as those of young farmers encouraged to plant cacao trees, rather than bananas.”
Their shared passion for good chocolate resulted in the publication of a beautiful illustrated book, “Mm…Bean To Bar, A Guide To Appreciate Chocolate From The Bean To The Bar.” The preface is by chef André Bayala from Burkino Faso, elected Best African Chocolatier in 2016. Its pages reveal all the secrets of this delicious movement.
Auteur : Mathias Flodrops
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK AND PURCHASE IT https://www.mmh-book.com
