Published by Max Felchlin AG, Schwyz, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary. (2008)

Since visiting Felchlin 2010 and2011, I must admit Im addicted to there chocolate and there philosophy. This book is to interesting not to blog, so I must share this on my blog.

The Planter: From Gatherer to Large Landowner

The cacao tree is a delicate plant that needs special care and attention. Farmers often cultivate small seedlings under mat roofs. After six months, they then move the plnats onto the shade afforded by overhanging neighbouring trees, such as mango or avocado trees, or shelter them below high coconut palm or banana trees, sometimes even sheltering them under straw roofs to protect them from an excess of sun and wind.

Farmers often prune the plants without impairing their quality, cutting back the cacao trees that grow both on plantations and in the wild to a height of two to four metres. However, some farmers shy away from this type of tree husbandry, since superstition and mysticism are sometimes stroger than fact: if it is suggested that they chop off a branch, the farmers resist saying that the tree is a father and that they cannot cut off the hand that feeds them.They do not want to believe that the tree could die because it cannot regenerate.

Farmers keep the ground below the trees tidy and occasionally mulch it. They make sure that the trees do not become infested with pests. As the plants grows relatively close together, infestation can have a devastation effect and take hold of growing areas. All manner of different pest thrive in the fertile and energetic tropical climate, for example, fungi such as witches broom or fruit blight. Certain insects, such as longicorns and buprestidae, fruit flies, butterfly larvae, cocoa pod borers and cocoa mealybugs, also pose a danger to cacao trees.

After years of the uncontrolled use of pesticides and fungicides, there have been at least isolated attemps to return to the old methods. To large extent, these attemps have been driven by the high quality requirements of customers interested in the best and finest beans. Organic methods not only create trust, they also work.

The leaves that fall from the cacao tree are more eco-friendly than artificial fertilisers and insecticides. The dead matter decomposes to form humus that enhances the quality of the growing cocoa beans. Rambling plantations cultures often look neat and tidy, free as they are from undergrowth, weeds and other plants that could thrive on the same humus. However, the cocoa beans thus cultivated often all taste the same and a little bland because the ground in which their roots grow lacks the richness that comes from diversity. Afew ambitious chocolatiers continue to search tirelessly for new select varieties, resorting either to wild varieties or to those that have been cultivated in the Rain Forest, where ther is no lack of biodiversity. The humus that occurs in the wild gives cocoa a certain earthy quality that is the reason for its special flavour. Cocoa beans are cultivated or harvested in four different ways and these influence subsequent processing and marketing in particular:

(example of wild cocoa: http://www.maranonchocolate.com/ )

Gathering This is a very rare form of cocoa harvesting. In Beni, a remote region in the Bolivian part of the Amazone drainage basin in the lowlands of the Andes, indigenous families gather the fruits of wild cocoa plants growing is a sometimes swampy, sometimes arid landscape. Like truffle hunters, the families keep the whhereabouts of their trees fiercely guarded secret; apart from gathering the fruits, they leave the trees in peace, neither cultivating them nor planting nurseries. The trees are simply left over to grow wild. This is a unique from of harvesting and, even 600 years ago, searching for and gathering cocoa took place in the shadow os small, semi-professional cultivation. The wild beans are about half size of cultivated beans, there is greater waste, processing is more complex and some machines used in the manufacture of chocolate even have to be specially adjusted for the Beni beans. However, the resulting chocolate is the most exquisite in the world.

Bonbons made for Original Beans, Beni Wild.

Cooperative Cultivation on smallholdings; in order to promote their interests, smallholders working in various areas of agriculture come together to form cooperatives. These smallholders grow limited quantities of cocoa on small scale, either in gardens or on terraces, on smallholderings, in mini plantations or mixed cultivation: the cacao trees grow on and around small haciendas in the Rain Forest. Cooperatives are generally made up of 40 to 50 smallholders and in exceptional cases, as many as 200 smallholders. Cooperatives rarely produce more than 20 to 50 tons of cocoa beans per annum. Smallholders believe in diversification and also grow sugercane, tree tomatoes, palm herats and coffee, as well as keep a few animals; one farmer typically produces between 200 and 300 kilogrmas of cocoa beans but rarely more than 500 kiligrams per annum.

The members of a coopeartive elect a chairperson, who is assisted by between five to ten colleagues. This system can result in lengthy meetings. The purchaser who is interested in the origin of cocoa and who wishes to have a say in its quality has to have a great deal of patience and must be prepared to keep repeating his or her wishes each time a new chairperson is elected. The cooperative system is slow and ponderous and, although members often have only a limited knowledge of business, cooperatives are widly supported.

http://www.pacarichocolate.com/index.php

Hacienda This is the realm of the farmer. The haciendadiffers from a large plantation in that it could easily be described as the counterpart to the coopeartive. The hacienda can best compared with a large farm in the Swiss midland. Its infrastructure exeeds that of the smallholding idyll and it employs staff all year round since there is also plenty of work for employees during the low season, for example, tending trees and maintaining the infrastructure, such as the fermentation and drying facilities. It is not uncommmon to have as many as 20 people on the payroll.

One example is the Haceinda Elvesia in the Dominican Republic, wich was once under Swiss ownership. Specialising in cocoa cultivation and with a tight infrastucture, it produces anything between 60 an 100 tons cocoa beans per year a sufficient amount for direct sale; smallholders, on the other hand, have no option but to pool their harvests and sell them as part of an association, such as the cooperative.

Cultivation, figures in thousands of tons 2007

Plantation This is characterised by rational mass cultivation and by industrialised monoculture; it is not farmers who work here but managers, administrators and agriculture workers. The focus is on cultivation varieties of cocoa bean that require a minimum amount of effort and yet generate a maximum amount of profit. The beans are cultivated over sometimes huge, uniform areas, The subtleties of the aroma are lost and become almost irrelevant in the pursuit of the main obkective, namely to produce ready-to-use raw material for mass production.

NEXT TIME: The Bean From Harvesting to Shipping

Source: http://ruraldevelopment.info/cocoa.aspx

Some people ask me about Casa Luker and flavours, I like to work with there chocolate but this is personal.

For me the tree couvertures with character are the:Tumaco 85%, Huila 85% and the very best Santander 85%.

Its difficult to compare with other brands I'm working with such as Amano, Pacari, Valrhona, Felchlin,...

I like to make my own melange for enrobing my chocolates (bonbons) and so I do for the Santander 85% wich I take 2/3 Santander and 1/3 of Maca 62% Bresil, but again this is personal.

Just gif it a try and shoot as long you enjoying yourself.

Geert Vercruysse

With Francisco Javier Gomez - Gerente Negocios Internacionales of Casa Luker Colombia

Code

Name

Flavour description

D201

MISTERIO

Pronounced chocolate flavour with delightful sweet floral tones. Smooth in texture, melts in the mouth quickly.

D202

SELVA

The sweet tones in the chocolate harmonize perfectly with the delicate flavour of the cocoa. Smoothe with sweet fruity and citric notes and a hint of nuttiness.

D203

MACONDO

A chocolate that seduces with its exotic flavour and soft acidic tones that complement the cocoas fruitiness. Delicate flavour with a fluid texture, a good balance between the typical bitterness of cocoa and sweet tones.

M204

NOCHE

With pleasant milky notes, dark in color and with a defined chocolate flavour. The acidity of the chocolate and the creamy-milk notes in Noche complement each other perfectly. Smooth and balanced.

M205

ANDINA

Balanced chocolate with a good cocoa aroma, pleasant milky notes and sweet caramel-like tones. Mild chocolate flavour that lasts and a smooth texture that melts in the mouth.

M206

CLARO DE LUNA

Recognized for its typical light colour and milky vanilla aroma. Mild cocoa flavour, with sweet notes and a touch of vanilla. Smooth texture melts in the mouth easily.

New

AVENTURA

Creamy chocolate, light in colour with a mild chocolate flavour and pronounces milky sweet notes and a touch of caramel. Smooth texture that melts in the mouth quickly. Ideal for products catered for children.

W207

NEVADO

Embodies the exotic colour and escuisite flavour of chocolate made with 100% natural cocoa butter. Marked milky notes and mild cocoa notes typical of natural cocoa butter. It stands out for its high fluidity and its melt-in-the-mouth quality.

Code

Name

Flavour description

D101

Dark Tumaco Origin 53%

Delicate flavour and aroma with delicate fruity and floral notes, and a subtle hint of bitterness that makes it ideal for those who enjoy mild chocolates.

D102

Dark Tumaco Origin 65%

Delightfully balanced bittersweet flavour with defined cocoa notes, ideal for those who seek a balance of flavour and aroma in their chocolate.

D103

Extra Dark Tumaco Origin 85%

A chocolate of exquisite character with a defined aroma, typicalof Colombian cocoa. A vigorous bitter flavour and a subtle sweetness combined with floral and fruity notes to give the ultimate expression in Dark Chocolates.

D104

Dark Huila Origin 53%

An exotic chocolate with a mild aroma and fruit candy flavour, with fruity, floral and acid notes associated to fruits of the forest.

D105

Dark Huila Origin 65%

A chocolate with a sweet aroma and citric notes and a floral flavour, where the acidity combines with the cocoa flavour for a simply delicious result.

D106

Extra Dark Huila Origin 85%

Huila 85% is characterised by its floral aroma with acid notes that blend deliciously with the fruity flavour and delicate cocoa notes.

D107

Dark Santander Origin 53%

A chocolate that leaves long-lasting sweet notes and spicy, woody flavours in the mouth.

D108

Dark Santander Origin 65%

A fruity flavoured chocolate with a good bitter-sweet balance and spicy, woody notes.

D109

Extra Dark Santander Origin 85%

A chocolate with a defined Colombian FINO DE AROMA cocoa aroma with a predominant mild cocoa flavour, fruit notes and a mild level of acidity as a perfect accompaniment for the chocolate flavour.

I found this text (source Nutrition Food), and after reading it I wasn't sure if it was correct, so I was thinking why dont I open a blogpage about it.

The Importance of Wild Cacao

Cacao is a native of the tropics, and has spread from its ancestral home of Central and South America to almost every rainforest ecosystem on the planet. Deep within the Indonesian jungle, a variety of cacao emerged from the rich volcanic soil in complete isolation, known only to natives of a few sparsely inhabited islands until now. This type of cacao has had thousands of years to develop an exotic, truly unique, wild flavor. A distant relative of Trinitario cacao, the genetic heritage of these Wild Balinese Cacao Beans has remained untouched for thousands of years. The flavor of these cacao beans is on par with the best cacao in the world, thanks to pure water, continuous sunlight, and mineral-rich soil that holds some of the freshest life energy on the planet. The benefits of raw cacao and the mellow flavor of traditional chocolate are present in these Wild Balinese Cacao Beans side by side. We have allowed these beans to ferment under controlled conditions until they have reached a 75% fermentation level. Allowing raw cacao beans to ferment to this extent while keeping them free of microbes represents an incredible amount of time and labor... but the results are well worth it! The taste of 75% fermented Balinese Cacao is at once familiar and totally unexpected.

All chocolate is made from Cacao Beans (also known as Cocoa Beans), but youve never had chocolate like this! Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao has incredibly high antioxidant values, abundant levels of minerals, and it has the potential to rejuvenate the brains neurotransmitters. All of the health-giving qualities of chocolate are found in Wild Balinese Cacao Beans, with a taste that is out of this world! No sugar, no dairy, no chemicals. Just one ingredient: Cacao!

Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans are one of nature's most fantastic superfoods due to their high mineral content and a wealth of antioxidants. Since many of the special properties of cacao are destroyed or lost by cooking, refining, and processing, planet Earths favorite food is still unknown to most of us. Now we get to reconnect with the power of real, raw, wild chocolate! Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans offer fantastic hope for chocoholics everywhere. You can turn cravings for cooked, processed, chocolate into the super-nutrition of the highest order.

Cacao is the Best Natural Food Source of the Following Nutrients:

Magnesium: Cacao appears to be the #1 source of magnesium of any food. Magnesium is one of the great alkaline minerals. It works to support the heart, boost our mental focus, and relieve constipation. Magnesium, along with other components of cacao, has been linked with a lessening of PMS symptoms. This is likely the primary reason women crave chocolate during their monthly cycle. Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, and has been tied to increased happiness and improved mood.
Magnesium is the most deficient major mineral on the Standard American Diet (SAD); over 80% of Americans are chronically deficient in Magnesium! Raw, wild, cacao beans have enough magnesium to help reverse deficiencies of this mineral.

Antioxidants: Cacao contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food in the world. This point is so astounding that it bears repeating: No food exhibits greater antioxidant capacity than cacao! These antioxidants include polyphenols, catechins, and epicatechins. By weight, Cacao has more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, acai, pomegranates, and goji berries COMBINED.
Iron: Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans contain approximately 314% of the U.S. RDA of iron per 1 ounce (28 gram) serving. Iron plays an essential role in the body, working to carry oxygen from the lungs to every part of the body. Consuming whole food sources of Iron such as Wild Balinese Cacao is one of the best ways to keep our blood healthy.

Like Magnesium, nearly 80% of Americans are deficient in the trace mineral Chromium. This often overlooked mineral helps us burn fat, build muscle and metabolize calories from all the foods in our diet. Chromium is an important trace mineral that is most well known for helping to balance our blood sugar. Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans have enough chromium to help restore our levels of this vital trace mineral.

Anandamide: The human body naturally produces endorphins after exercise, neurotransmitters which flood our brains with positive feelings. One of these neurotransmitters is Anandamide, also known as The Bliss Chemical. While humans have to work hard to produce enough Anandamide to reach higher levels of ecstasty, only one plant produces this chemical as part of its normal metabolism Cacao! Not only does Cacao contain Anandamide in high concentrations, it also contains enzyme inhibitors that decrease our bodies' ability to breakdown The Bliss Chemical. When we eat raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Ceans, the Anandamide produced by our brains along with the Anadamide found in cacao may continue to circulate in the body for extended periods of time, helping us feel great all day long.

Theobromine: Wild cacao beans contain about 1% theobromine. Most commonly found in cacao, this chemical element is an effective anti-bacterial substance which works to kill Streptococci mutans (the primary organism responsible for cavities). Theobromine is a chemical relative of caffeine but it does not act as a nervous system stimulant. Theobromine dilates the cardiovascular system making the hearts job easier. The combination of Theobromine and Magnesium make Wild Balinese Cacao Beans an important part of a heart-healthy diet.

Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans Contain the Following Important Nutrients:

Zinc: Many of the enzymes in the human body would not exist without the presence of zinc. This mineral is a vital component in over 200 enzymes throughout the body, and it is a cofactor of hundreds more. Wild Balinese Cacao contains zinc, which plays a critical role in the health of the immune system, liver, pancreas, and skin. Additionally, zinc is essential for sexual development, fertility, and cell growth.
Manganese: This mineral plays a crucial role in the formation of bone, cartilage, and connective tissue. Manganese helps assist iron in the oxygenation of the blood and formation of hemoglobin, and helps to promote healthy joints.

Vitamin C: Cacao must be raw to contain vitamin C. All cooked and processed chocolate has had its vitamin C degraded beyond the point where it may benefit the human body. A one ounce (28 gram) serving of raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans contains approximately 21% of the U.S. RDA of Vitamin C.

Copper: Traditionally known as a powerful antimicrobial, copper also works to cleanse the lymphatic system and stimulate peristalsis. Copper is found naturally in plants with Vitamin C, so it is hardly a surprise that raw, wild cacao beans contain a good amount of copper. In the human body, copper helps to build healthy blood, making it a natural partner to iron and manganese.

Phenethylamine (PEA): Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans contain high levels of Phenylethylamine (PEA). Often known as The Love Chemical, PEA is the chemical produced in our bodies when we fall in love. This is likely one of the main reasons why love and chocolate have such a deep connection. PEA also plays a role in increasing focus and alertness.

Tryptophan: An essential amino acid which is transformed into important stress-protective neurotransmitters including serotonin and melatonin. Tryptophan is heat sensitive and therefore it is cooked out in many high protein foods and in conventional processed chocolate products.

Serotonin: The primary neurotransmitter in the human body, Serotonin is similar in its chemistry to tryptophan and melatonin. Serotonin helps us build up our stress defense shield which supports our immune system in times of high demand.

Omega 6 Fatty Acids: Raw, wild cacao contains essential omega 6 fatty acids, which form an integral part of our cell walls and allow for more efficient communication between cells.

Does Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Contain Caffeine?

Contrary to popular opinion, cacao is a poor source of caffeine. A typical sample of raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans will yield from zero caffeine to 1,000 parts per million of caffeine (less than 1/20th of the caffeine present in coffee).

Does Raw Cacao spike blood sugar levels?
In clinical tests carried out in February 2008, Dr. Gabriel Cousens discovered that Cacao does not elevate blood sugar in the same way as a caffeine containing food or beverage. In fact, Dr. Cousens found that cacao has less of an effect on blood sugar than nearly any other food.

Cacao beans contain no sugar and between 12% and 50% fat depending on variety and growth conditions. Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans are around 40% fat content (low compared to other nuts). There is no evidence to implicate consumption of Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans with obesity. Indeed, raw cacao can actually help promote weight loss because it contains minerals and molecules that reduce the appetite.

Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans have an extremely low microbe count. This is an extraordinary feat considering that cacao beans come from a moist and juicy fruit grown in the hot jungle. No other cacao bean sources can claim our level of safety.

Raw, Wild Balinese Cacao Beans are free of heavy metals, including lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. Strict oversight at every stage of production ensures that Wild Balinese Cacao Beans start pure and stay pure.

The unique process used to dry the Wild Balinese Cacao Beans retains the purity, fine aroma, fairly uniform large size, and the nutritional impact that nature intended.

High Flavor, No Roasting: Wild Balinese Cacao Beans allowed to reach a fermentation level of 75% retain the characteristic flavor of raw cacao with the full-bodied qualities of more traditional chocolate preparations.

The quality of Wild Balinese Cacao Beans combine with a low level of processing, meaning you get to enjoy a rich, raw chocolate flavor and aroma without roasting.

Allergies to Chocolate?

A recent study showed that only one out of 500 people who thought they were allergic to chocolate actually tested positive. Allergies to chocolate are quite rare. It is typically the case that the person is in fact allergic to milk and dairy products. Some people can be allergic to cooked and processed chocolate but are not allergic to Cacao.

Chocolate is more than just chocolate - the consumer is often uncritical in its selection and simply eats it without giving it a second thought. This blog(book) communicates knowledge about chocolate in order to in crease the pleasure in its consumption. Chocolate, such as is enjoyed today, is the product of a variety of specialist processes tailored to achieve maximum pleasure. This blog(book) contains a wealth of interesting facts and, after reading it, you will no longer just consume chocolate but will really savour and appreciate every bite.

Foreword (Christian Aschwanden CEO Max Felchlin AG)

Welcome!

Everyone knows chocolate, and just about everyone loves it, but only a few people know how it ia actually made. In this blog(book), we discribe the long journey "From the Finest Cocoa to Exquisite Chocolate": each individual stage, from cultivation and fermantation to the journey and production, requires consummate skill and expertise. We invest a great deal of care, experience and time in transforming the seeds of these fruits from the tropical Rain Forest into melt-in-the-mouth chocolate.

Chocolate is more than just chocolate - the consumer is often uncritical in its selection and simply eats it without giving it a second thought. This blog(book) communicates knowledge about chocolate in order to increase th pleasure in its consumption and to enable a critical appreciation. We are passionate about production fine flavour chocolate, wich is the product of a variety of specialist processes tailored to achieve maximum pleasure.

Troughout its 100-year history and despite the incredible amount of change that has taken place during this period, our company has been consistently dedicated to pleasure. We produce chocolate in our small factory in Schwyz and are happy to share the secrets of its wonderfull flavours with those who really appreciate it. If this blog(book) transforms you from a chocolate eater to a chocolate connoisseur, then we have succeeded in what we set out to do.

A Gem Among Culinary Delights

Full Circle - Back to the Roots

The hunger foor food and riches has changed the world. The voyages of discovery were inspired by the need for culinary treasures worth their weight in gold, namely by the search for spices that, 600 years ago, were precious and hugely valuable commodity available only in small quantities. However, the value of these spices went beyond the coffers of traders and princes and they unexpectedly infiltrated all levels of society. After Colombus landed on a Caribbean island in the New World in 1492, new foods started to enrich the menus of Europe.

Although the Spanish conquistadors were mainly interested in plundering the riches of the Mayas, Aztecs and Incas, they happened upon a veritable treasure trove of foods previously unknown in Europe and that are now integral part of our everyday diet. A small group of the most important South American products now account for a tremendous amount of the expenditure spent on groceries: potatoes, maize, tomatoes, beans, pineapple, avocado, papaya, peanuts, pumpin, turkeys, vanilla, tobacco -- and cocoa. The tomato, although initially not even eaten in Europe but exhibited as an ornamental plant, is today the world's most important vegetable.

The cocoa bean will never attain this status. However, it doesn't have to, since it is already the undisputed number one in a very different ranking. Cocoa is one of the most valuable agricultural crops, the embodiment of luxury in its finest form: the luxury of time and pleasure.

The most wonderful luxury is time, perceived as a gift to be enjoyed. Not the time that is taken up with day-to-day choces but those truly precious moments when, freed from the demands of everyday life, we can sit back and indulge in a feeling of relaxation and caml, as well as look forward to forthcoming events, either with excitements or even with a certain trepidation.

Enjoyed in these circumstances, a pleasure is a truly precious and remerkable thing, especially if we allow it the time to develop its character, to reveal its compleexity and uniqueness.

This is indeed, a pleasure, of course, chocolate. It is unique. Not only because its aromas beguile the senses but also because it demands that we make sacrifices. Sacrifices in terms of time, patience and also discipline. Chocolate denies greed, punishing exess with the heavy feeling of being sated. It only reveals its riches to those who are prepared to taste small pieces and to savour its hunderds of individual aromas.

Chocolate is something precious. A true gem amongst the culinary delights of the world, not only because the dedire for a slim figure and fit body means that the comsumption of chocolate has come to be regarded as e reward; forgoing the devouring of chocolate with reckless abandon has paved the way for a more delicate enjoyment. We only eat a little chocolate, but what we eat, we eat selectively. We are not happy to settle for mass products and only want the very best. The bonus lies in enjoying the moment, a rare pleasure.

And so the circle closes. When, at the turn of the 16th century, the Spanish conquistadors first tasted chocolate in the New World, Columbus with little enthusiasm bur Corts, who conquered Mexico, with the astute eye of the businessman, it was the drink of nobility and of ritual. And so, too, it was in Spain, at least for a century. The Portuguese then happened upon cocoa in Barzil and soon after planted the tree on the islands of Sao Tom and Principe on the West African coast. Two daughters of the Spanish royal family took chocolate to France when they married into the French royal family. The new miracle drink spread via Italy, parts of which were under Spanish rule, to the Mediterranean. During the Rococo period, chocolate trickled down to the middle classes and, with the introduction of vital processing technologies, such as mechanical mills, cocoa-butter presses and conches, the end of the nineteenth century saw its transformation into solid chocolate, a rational, industrial product that became less and less expensuve and more affordable for all.

Chocolate was democratised and socialised. With the upturn in the economy after the Second World War, it became a mass product and lost its exclusive character.

Until, that is, high-handed fashion dictators declared war on thunder thighs and potbellies, forcing larger individuals into uncomfortable clothes and subjecting them to mockery and social ostracism. Chocolate and other rich foods were demonised and vilified as contributors to exess weight. However, the longing for the incorparable, unique flavour of cocoa cannot simply be excluded from our sensory life and regated to a list of forbidden pleasures Certainly, we can accept the need for self-denial, but only in moderation. Chocolate should remain a carefully considered exception, a very precious gem The community of epiceres has found its way back to the beginning, back to cocoa in its unadalterated form. Back to Criollo, the highest quality bean that, half a millennium ago, so amazed and delighted the palates of the Europeans.

However, this chocolate is not without its demands. It refuses to be simply devoured. It keeps its aromas locked away until the palate is ready to allow the heavenly pleasure to melt on the tongue.

So it's not surprising that the natural scientist Carl von Linn gave the cocoa plant the botanical name Theobroma cacao , meaning "food of the gods". The Swedish natural scientist who also fell under the spell of chocolate, was not just allowing his imagination free reing, he was also alluding to the traditions of the Mexican Indians who glorified the consumption of the fruit of the cacao tree as a privilege enjoyed by the gods.

The Tree

From Flower to Bean .

The evergreen cacao tree has its origins in the New World but has, for a long time, been prospering around the globe, namely in the tropical belt 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the Equator. The cacao tree is very particular about where it is grown and the surrounding environment has to meet its requirements exactly. If all conditions are right, it will flourish magnificently, however, it starts to flounder as soon as its equilibrium is disturbed.

The climate has to be humid with 1.5 to 2 metres of rainfall per year (Bern: approx. 1 metre). The cacao tree is most comfortable at temperatures of between 25 to 28 degrees Celcius. It is very susceptible to wide fluctations in temperature and also to wind. In the "coldest" months, the temperature must never drop below 20 degrees Celsius.

The cacao tree is unimposing and certainly no giant. It grows in the shade of other trees and shuns direct sunlight. Long and thin, it can grow up to a height of ten to 15 metres, which means that, in the tropical Rain Forest, it is simply part of the undergrowth! The cacao tree has strong, tongue-shaped leaves that grow to a length of about 20 centimetres. They help to protect the fruits from the sun's rays. Thousands of mosquitoes, flies and other tiny creatures that are irritating to man are essential to the plants, as it is the insects that pollinate the flowers. Since the cacao tree is always in flower, all development stages of teh cacao can be seen on the tree at the same time, from the flower to ripe fruit, known as the "pod". The flowers consist of five small, narriw, pink sepals and five petals that are either yellowy-white or reddish in colour.

The cacao tree blosoms and produces fruit all year round. Ne flowers continue to grow on its thicker branches and are either a soft yellow or a subtle pink in color. Five to eight months after pollination, they turn into fruits growning directly on the trunk or branches. Depending on their maturity, these cover the entire colour spectrum from green, through orange, to red. The pods are approximately 15 to 25 centimetres long and weigh about a pound each. They look like elongated pumpkins or brightly-coloured rugby balls. When cultivated carefully, a cacao tree lives for 30 to 60 years. Fruits are generaly harvested twice a year (the most efficient system) but sometimes as many as four to five times a year.

Each fruit contains 25 to 50 longish, almond-shaped seeds: the cocoa beans. These are either light beige or whitish violet in colour and are surrounded by a slippery, juicy white pulp that unlike the bitter beans, has a sweet-and sour taste with a similar aroma to lychees. This pulp is refreshing and sometimes eaten by farmers but, more importantly, it is used for the fermentation of the beans after harvesting.

Not all cacao beans are the same. Scientists have so far identified more than one thousand different varieties and variations and new varieties are currrently being researched. It's very difficult to distinguish between different varieties and only experts can do this. This is because the fruits of the same variety can look very different.

The original variety names, Criollo, Nacional and Trinitario, which are the fine or flavour cacao beans, and Forastero, the bulk cocoa beans that do not have the same flavour, have today become trade names. However, there are lots of regional differences. Expressed in simple terms, the three flavour beans do not even account for one tenth of the world crop, since the trees are susceptible to disease and produce a lower yield. On a global scale, more than 90 percent of cococa is harvested from the robust, more resilient and less capricious but high-yield trees of the Forastero family, even though the flavour beans have a much richer, finer taste.

Only flavour beans are used in Felchlin's Grand Cru chocolate.

As a result of the increasing mixing of different varieteis on a plantation and in growing regions, cocoa beans are no longer traded under variety names, but are categorised according to their origin. This groups together beans from remoter regions and local plantations, from the mixed cultivation of smallholders to the tree islands in the Bolivian Amazon, where the indigenous people gather cocoa beans from wild trees.

This grouping according to region and increasing differentiations are comparable with the practice of viniculture. For example, we talk of an appellation, such as Maracaibo (a specific region), a specific growth is a cru (a vineyard), and a cuvee is an individual blend of wine (corresponds to cocoa from different types of bean produced on a hacienda).

100.000 Flowers:

Cauliflory is a botanical term refering to the growth of flowers on the trunk of a wodddy plant, the plants themselves are known as cauliflors. Three to four times a year, the cacao tree grows new leaves directly on its trunk or branches. It produces the largest numbers of flowers when it is between ten and twelve years old: it can produce up to 100.000 flowers a year!

The fine-flavours varieties

Criollo

"Creolle" (a native-born person of foreign ancestry); probably originated from Central America and was cultivated in Mexico as the first ever cocoa bean: clearly the finest-quality cocoa. Only very slighty bitter, it reveals not only a mild cocoa flavour but also wonderfull aromas. It is thus also known as "WrzCacao". From Mexico, Criollo spread across Central America to Venezuela, some Pacific islands (Samoa, Ponape), Timor (Portuguese), Java Dutch) and Ceylon. Today, Criollo is still known as Maracaibo, the name of the port in Northwest Venezuela from which Criollo cocoa from this region was shipped.

Trinitario

Probably a natural (because unintended) hybrid in the Caribbean between Criollo and Forastero that developed when Spanish plantation owners imported Forastero varieties from West Africa and planted them on their haciendas. Still to be found predominantly in the Caibbean, Colombia, Costa Rica and other Central American countries.

Nacional

This is the name of the cocoa that is cultivated on the western (Pacific) side of the Andes (for example, Arriba from Ecuador). The National cacao tree is generally larger than the Criollo and the Forastero tree. Varieties of Nacional are also grown in Camaroon.

Criollo, Trintario and Nacional are delicate, susceprible to disease and have a low yield. However, their beans are fine, highly aromatic and rich in taste. The fien-flavour varieties make up less than 10% of global cocoa production.

The Bulk variety

Forastero

(Spanish: strange, foreign): originally from the Upper Amazon Basin and, from there, exported to West Africa, Brazil, Espirito Santo) and Cuba (Hispaniola). From West Africa, taken to East Africa and Southeast Asia. Strong cocoa taste, slightly bitter and a narrower range of aromas than with Criollo, Trinitario or Nacional. Forastero variations: amalonado, amazon (West Africa, Southeast Asia), cacau comum (Bahia), calabacillo, para (Lower Amazon). Resistant to disease with a high yield and prolific harvest. Makes up to more than 90% percent of world production

Cocoa varieties generate lots of unanswered questions and ambiguities-the only way to achieve clarity would be to take a genetic fingerprint of each individual tree.

New varieties

As in all areas of agriculture and nutrition, cocoa is also researched and subjected to extensive testing. In order to optimise profits, international groups require that varieties are resistant, produce a high yield and can be managed rationally. Research produce these varieties, even if they are unsophisticated and have poorer flavour than the conventional, traditional varieties. "CCN51", for example, is a hybrid variety with an extremely high yield. There is a tremendous temptation to cultivate this variety rather than the older varieties, even though "CCN51" has less flavour. Two tons of beans per hectare is regarded as a good yield; wiyh tradiotional varieties, 300 to 500 kilograms of beans per hectare is normal and, in the case of wild cocoa from Beni, the yield is even lower.

NEX EPISODE: THE PLANTER-FROM GATHERER TO LARGE LANDOWNER