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Aequare Chocolates gets frequent inquiries as to why we're not organic. It's not because we don't want to be, or don't support organic. It's because we simply can't, for all practical purposes, be organic.Organic Chocolate For Bars And Organic CouvertureFirst off, all organic chocolate actually produced here in country is shipped abroad and almost none of it is for sale here. It's shipped abroad directly by its producers because there is a market for it abroad. Consumers in North America and Europe, as well as many other places, have the disposable income that allows them the choice and provides them the ability to choose between organic or conventional products. Here in Ecuador, personal income levels are not high enough and consumption patterns are not adapted to supporting organic products.Were the local manufacturers of organic chocolate to try and sell organic chocolate here, they'd probably go broke. Most consumers would not see the value in paying a higher price for an organic product. It would have no additional recognized value in the local market and simply would not sell for a higher price. Organic producers would be forced to compete on price alone, and they would lose money.Since we don't actually make our own chocolate, and don't have the volume needed to have someone process organic beans into chocolate for us locally, we can't make organic chocolate here. We have approached two of the companies that do make certified organic chocolate about purchasing organic couverture from them. One is a large contract manufacturer and simply can't sell us what organic chocolate they produce because the production is for another company's product that is shipped abroad. The other offered to sell us couverture, but at a price that was so high it would be impossible to make money from.Our main supplier of chocolate, who is also the grower of the beans, uses minimal amounts of pesticides and fertilizers on the cacao plantations he manages. We have visited his plantation and received written descriptions of his pesticide and fertilizer use plans. Much of the cocoa grown in Ecuador exists in a semi-wild, untended state and is not cared for. To become certified organic is a lengthy, costly and complicated process that the majority of growers probably can't afford. In no way do we mean to belittle the value of organic; but the certification process can be more exclusive than inclusive.What About Confections With Organic Ingredients?You can already see why we can't make organic bars, and for many of the same reasons, organic confections. We can't even get the most important component, the organic chocolate, to start with.Beyond the chocolate, which is difficult enough to obtain, many other organic ingredients are simply not available in Ecuador. Let's start with sugar. The local manufacturers or organic chocolate temporarily import their organic sugar from abroad. Temporary importation is a very complex, bureaucratic, and costly process. Temporary importation allows the user of the product to avoid paying duties on it by guaranteeing the product is going to be shipped out of the country again within a certain time frame. Since it's only coming into the country as an input for a specific product that is destined for export, no duties are levied on it. This also means that it's not for sale on the open market.Organic dairy products are non-existent in Ecuador. While for practical purposes many dairy products could be considered "organic" because of the non-industrialized nature of most of the dairy industry here, that's obviously not good enough for consumers in industrialized countries looking for an official seal of approval. So getting organic cream and butter in Ecuador with an internationally recognized organic seal?...forget it.Then there are other items that go into our products, such as fruit purees, citrus zests, and essential oils, most of which are sourced locally but very few of which are organic, with the exception of the lemongrass oil from Fundacin Chankuap used to flavor our lemongrass bars.So due to costs, volume constraints, regulations, and lack of availability of organic ingredients, it's difficult if not impossible to do organic confections here in Ecuador. Finally, making 100% organic chocolate, as well as confections, is not compatible with our direct trade efforts. But more on direct trade in a later post.

I arrived in NY Saturday evening from Ecuador-no delays and no hitches. Customs went through my chocolates in Miami but they seemed more curious than anything, and after a brief inspection let me on my way. Sunday was the behemoth Fancy Food Show, which was no less than the size of 20 supermarkets in one place, with thousands of food items being displayed. I gorged on Grana Padano Parm and Prosciutto while waiting to meet people- I was lucky enough to be able to squeeze in meetings with all the people I had intended to meet, making for a very productive day.Monday was an absolutely crazy day running around getting ready for Food Fete. I had to head over across town before ten am with 100 boxes of chocolate for the press bags, which I somehow managed. But when I arrived, I found there had been some minor damage and condensation on the additional chocolates that had been shipped in from the fulfillment center. Fortunately, there was still enough good products to go around.Back across town, only to return again at 3 to set up my table, then back out across town again. I had been waiting for my suit and chef's jacket to get pressed; they weren't able to hand it over any earlier than the 5 pm deadline I had been promised, and only managed to do so because I went to the shop at 4:45 and it still wasn't ready, so they delivered it to my door at 5. I threw everything on, grabbed my stuff, and headed back out again across town to the event, which was full when I arrived, even though I made it at 5:30, when it was supposed to just begin.Here's a photo at my table shortly after I got set up. I know, I'm looking tired there.

I walked out with at least 30 press contacts, some from many of the big publications such as Food Network, Ladies Home Journal, Dessert Professional, and slashfood.com-from whom we got a mention here as one of the favorites! So in two hours, that's at least one person every four minutes.I had zero time at the event to leave my table since I was flying completely solo there. I understand there were a number of other chocolate makers; I did happen to be next to my friend Josh Gentine, founder of the Cholive, whom I met at January's Food Fete. It was nice to have a familiar face just next door.

The sign painter was still working on the windows at 8 last night. I guess he didn't go to the fireworks either. Tom and I were making lists.

The soft opening date is now Wednesday. The city signed off Thursday afternoon, thank goodness. We started moving the packaging and shipping materials in Friday, the day the storage shelves were installed. More stock will be moved and organized today and tomorrow.We were lucky with the Cadillac - the horrible noise it was making when the fan ran was caused by some trapped leaves. It cools perfectly. The A/C man just finished up Saturday morning, so even if the Cadillac had needed more work, the chocolate would have been cool enough. It's a relief that the case is running quietly though!Our son-in-law took plenty of footage to make a good short film about the factory that we'll run in a loop on the TV. In the meantime, Tom set up a slide show of shots of his trips to Africa. We'll alternate that with the film when Martin finishes editing it. We're running the video off a MacMini tucked away in a cabinet. I spent too much time trying to choose a sound system - and finally decided to take my iPod dock in for the time being. I won't be home much anyway.Even our grandsons are helping.

Tom, meanwhile, is still perfecting the fudge, and Luis and Josefina are working full-speed on the regular stock. Hundreds of people are coming to the party on Saturday night, and we're offering a free chocolate to every Splash customer, so we'll need plenty.It's been a long haul - we are so fortunate that the whole family is pitching in. Here we are having pizza at the shop Friday night.

I was in the South West of France for a few days and of course paid a visit to the local chocolate shops. All of them a great disapointment selling same things as 10 years ago (mostly pralines)and regional or house specialties bought in from Francois Doucet (potatoes, quail eggs, chocolate in shape of beans, olives etc etc). Most people used Barry Callebaut which did not help. Quality of the bonbons was poor and marshmallows were like bike tyres. Makes me wonder if French chocolates (apart from a few- Roger, hevin, maison, etc) are not terribly overrated?Let me know what you think

" It's indeed an art to create a handmade chocolate. The Chocolatier who creates Tropical Chocolates devotes personal attention to the design by beautifully decorating the chocolates. Impeccable ingredients originating with 100% Hawaiian grown cacao beans are paired with exotic flavors to present a fresh, new twist on chocolate. " Come visit us at our site: www.tropicalchocolateco.com

Friday afternoon I still had a few hours to kill. So I paid $30 for a tour company to supply me with a driver who spoke minimal English. Fortunately, Iva and Dani (president of the company that hosted my talks) came along, so communication was not an issue. We drove around in the Yogyakarta area, where there are mostly smallholders growing a variety of crops: vanilla, cloves, cocoa, rice, and bananas. Cloves drying. They are green, unopened flowers, that are spread out to dry for 3 days. The first day, they're green, the second day, tan, and the third day dark brown. Vanilla vine. It's in the orchid family. The woman who is growing the vine right alongside the road had just picked all the vanilla beans the day before. A cocoa grower standing next to her pickings. She had a small grove of trees. In Indonesia, they don't bother to ferment the beans. That and the fact that they are Forastero, produces a very mild-tasting chocolate. Closeup of drying beans. One has been split open and you can see that it's purple on the inside--a characteristic of the Forastero beans. Right next door was a small cocoa depot. There are no locks on any doors, as people are completely honest and would never steal each others' crops or products. Our driver shows how farmers get their beans to the depot.We drove on farther and our driver found this woman and her daughter to pick a pod for us... The girl tries to pull a pod out of the tree but proves unable to split one open. She ran across the street to get her mother... Her mother took a long stick outfitted with a knife at the end and cut a pod down. Her mother split the pod open with a knife to show the seeds. Typically, there are 30-40 seeds in a pod.

THURSDAY, JUNE 18I had an entire morning ahead of me with no responsibilities! I ate an early breakfast, then visited the gifts store on the first floor. There, among other things, I found some local chocolates. I took the chocolate bars to the hotel front desk and asked them where the factory was. Within 10 minutes I was off across Yogjakarta in search of Monggo Chocolates. I found it in the old part of town, in the silver district known as Kotagede. Although I had not phoned ahead, Thierry Detournay, the founder, was there. His official title is "Production Manager" and he co-owns the business with an Indonesian. At the time I arrived, there were probably 20 staff working in an old but clean house next to a charming courtyard. Thierry has learned to specialize; their major products are bars, made from chocolate manufactured in Indonesia, from Forastero beans grown in Indonesia. Indonesia is #3 in production worldwide, and of that, the vast majority of beans are grown on Sulawesi, a large island that looks like a "K". Thierry mostly sells his bars to hotels and other tourist venues, as chocolate bars are unaffordable to the average Indonesian who earns $2 per day. He has yet to mechanize, finding that it's far cheaper to use lots of labor than to purchase machinery that has to be shipped halfway around the world. Shelving and tables are all stainless steel, so he has invested in state-of-the art tools. Tubes of chocolate truffle filling. They stay molten because the room is 85 F. Thierry has worked out an astonishingly successful technique for tempering chocolate. The room they work in is kept about 85 degrees F, so when they fill the molds, there is no streaking caused by the formation of unstable beta crystals. Also, because there is no machinery, he has worked out a continuous system rather than batch system, keeping the chocolate freshly tempered and producing optimal shine. Chocolate is tempered in stainless steel pots. We visited a couple of packaging rooms. Thierry is either an accomplished artist or he knows someone who is, because his posters are superb, as are his chocolate bar wrappers.I found Thierry to be extremely helpful and friendly. We spent a little time speaking French (Thierry is Walloon or French Belgian), but his English was excellent and, not wanting to miss details, I suggested we speak English most of the time.

A hammer and a modernly designed ruler are the protagonists of the sixteenth edition of the chocolate event, which will be one day longer than previous events.Break ranks!The military order that has been chosen as the slogan of the sixteenth edition of Eurochocolate Perugia is a clear invitation to think outside the box, to give free rein to ones individuality, to go beyond the usual habits to be able to enjoy the food of the gods in a new way and in all its complexity.The boundaries within which chocolate has long been confined have gradually been crossed, and an innumerably faceted world has been opened to its numerous fans. In recent years, a true chocolate culture has developed, in which the consumer is becoming increasingly attentive and prepared.In 2009, Eurochocolate wants to promote creativity, so everyone can love chocolate as he or she pleases. Dark or milk, bar or nugget, in whatever form it is, it doesnt matter: theres room for all. The tools of this sweet, peaceful revolution, which up to now have had very little to do with chocolate and, precisely for this reason, have been chosen as the images symbolizing the new communication campaign of Eurochocolate 2009 are a hammer, which symbolizes the break, and a ruler already rechristened Golosimetro (sweet tooth gauge).Chosen to interpret the two objects in the Eurochocolate spirit and turn them into original gadgets are two big names of Italian design, Matteo Ragni, a food designer who has been working with Eurochocolate for years in the creation of ever-curious chocolate products of great impact, and Paolo Ulian, who comes from the new generation of Italian designers, whose objects are always characterized by a disarming but engaging simplicity. Of course, both the hammer and the Golosimetro will be made of chocolate and intended to be broken ... with the teeth.Another important novelty with which the Perugian event immediately presents itself to its public is the fact that this year it will be one day longer. Instead of starting on Saturday, in 2009 it will open on Friday. To be precise, on Friday, 16th October, through Sunday the 25th. This decision was reached in order to give chocoholics an extra chance to come to the Umbrian capital city to enjoy the fun and sweetness of the event, as well as the city itself.The decision to increase the length of Eurochocolate from nine to ten days, explains President Eugenio Guarducci, arose after last years success, when one million persons came to Perugia to take part in the event. And in 2009 the goal is to repeat the excellent results of 2008. Our public, explains the President, knows that at Eurochocolate it is possible to find not only the new chocolate products offered by the market or the handmade, foreign, and particular ones that can only be found at specialty retailers, but also cheerfulness, originality, and culture, thanks to the numerous and varied appointments that we are featuring, with the collaboration of the major names of Italian and international confectionery sector.Activities, meetings, exhibits, and teaching workshops for adults and children will be back to engage chocoholics, from 16th through 25th October in Perugia, with a selection of appointments that is truly for all tastes.In short, if you break ranks, chocolate will no longer be the same! This year, also, Eurochocolate will be preceded by Chocoday, the day that celebrates pure chocolate throughout the whole country and which, as has been the case for five years now, will be held on 12th October, the day celebrating the "discovery" of America.* * *These are some of the most significant figures characterizing the last edition of Eurochocolate Perugia:1 million visitors in nine days;over 6,000 references within the framework of the Chocolate Show, the biggest chocolate bazaar;200 companies from the confectionery and other sectors;5,600 participants in the guided tastings and educational events for children and youngsters;190 tons of chocolate offered for free tastings to the public;22,000 ChocoCards, which entitled their holders to discounts and gifts;1,000 articles in the national and foreign press;1 hour of reporting on national and foreign TV;200 radio reports.Eurochocolate Press OfficeViale Centova, 6 06128 PerugiaTel +39 075 5025882 Fax +39 075 5025889Maria Luisa Lucchesi 331 5849909 328 0368578Viola Menicali 349 2826305ufficiostampa@eurochocolate.com

We're still hoping for a soft opening on July 6 - that's very soon! And the invitations for the Grand Opening, July 11, are going out Friday. No turning back now. Here's what's been going on lately.

Here's Frank Zika installing the door today:

And here's some of the furniture stacked up in the shop - and out of our house at last!

And I am here endlessly typing up little signs.The press release seems to be working - and so does Twitter.So far so good.