Features

Chocolate: Pods of pleasure

16 Oct 2017 by Neha Gupta Kapoor
Chocolate pods

Chocolate has since centuries captivated our tastes. Neha Gupta Kapoor talks about three chocolatiers who have got it right in India

“Death by chocolate.”  You won’t hear this phrase in relation to any other food. Even “death by cheese” doesn’t have the right ring to it. It has to be “death by chocolate” because it’s the only food that can take you seven heavens up by releasing particular neurotransmitters triggering happiness. The part about “death” is perhaps a dramatic interpretation of not knowing when to stop eating it despite a full stomach. 

If historic tales hold any truth, the 16th century Aztec emperor Montezuma used to drink three gallons of chocolate a day to increase his libido. This, I heard on History Channel that also reports: “Olmec, Mayan and Aztec civilisations found chocolate to be an invigorating drink, mood enhancer and aphrodisiac, which led them to believe that it possessed mystical and spiritual qualities.” 

Exhibits at Belgian Chocolate Village Museum, Brussels

On my recent visit to Belgian Chocolate Village Museum (belgianchocolatevillage.be) in Brussels, I learnt that earlier still, cacao beans and sea shells were common currency for the Aztecs around the 15th century — the unit was termed “carga”. Later, when the Mayans rediscovered cacao pods or the fruit, they believed them to be a gift from god on first taste. Each year they sacrificed a dog to Ek Chuah who was regarded as the God of cocoa traders. But naturally, with such a high valuation of chocolate, the general public allowed themselves this treasured commodity only occasionally, which was known as a bitter drink afforded by the wealthy. It was savoured as porridge thickened with maize or added to spiced hot water. 

Between the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Spanish became increasingly familiar with chocolate, they sweetened it by stirring cane sugar into the drink with cinnamon. They may have altered the taste, if only slightly, but what remained unchanged, even after so many years, is that it continued to be a symbol of luxury and wealth. 

It wasn’t until 1828 when Dutch chemist Coenraad Johannes van Houten reinvented its use as a confectionery and ingredient wherein the “elixir” could now be bitten into. The cocoa press is his invention that has taught us to squeeze cocoa butter from roasted cacao beans, which is today a key ingredient in the making of any chocolate product. Houten’s invention also helped produce chocolate in bulk, thus reducing its cost and making it increasingly available to the masses. 

Cocoa remains a serious business even today — according to research firm MarketsandMarkets, the industry generates over US$90 billion annually. Giant chocolate brands such as Cadbury, Nestlé and Hershey fill shelves at supermarkets with chocolate bars, powders, and flavoured snacks and milk. But if I may dare say so myself, they aren’t the real taste, for the natural flavour of the cacao bean has been grossly weakened with an overpowering quantity of milk and sweeteners. Known as milk chocolate, it is collectively more desirable amongst the world in comparison to dark chocolate. 

Dark chocolate, on the other hand, has a higher percentage of cacao liquor (cocoa butter and ground cacao nibs) and much less sugar, making it more bitter, ergo more refined in taste. Some chocolates have as much as 90 per cent cacao in them and that is  more suited for sincere fans of the flavour. These are more easily found at “artisan” boutiques where attention is paid to the true taste of cocoa. 

Having said that, it is important to understand that the superiority of cacao beans alone don’t determine a chocolate’s quality. The finality of the art is ultimately graded on its production process, recipe and quality of other ingredients used too. 

Earth Loaf

EARTH LOAF
Earth Loaf is one such bean-to-bar company in Mysuru, started by David Belo and Angelika Anagnostou in 2010. Bean-to-bar fundamentally means, instead of sourcing the cocoa liquor from a third party, the chocolatiers directly source it from cacao plantations, enabling them to oversee each process that goes into the making of the chocolate bar. In this case, Earth Loaf works closely from the very first stage of chocolate production. It treats the cacao fruit into beans, extracts its liquor, controls its ratio to butter, sugar, spices, cream, nuts and so on, and finally presents the chocolate.

In its bitter range (295 for each bar) is the Karnatakan Single Estate Chocolate “with prominent acidity, fruitiness, hints of raisin, subtle umami and tobacco”. These beans are sourced from a single farm near the west coast of Karnataka. Likewise, cacao beans for the Keralan Single Origin Chocolate are grown by a co-operative of small farmers in Kerala.

Thoroughly charmed by Indian flavours, the two foreigners have even crafted chocolates that combine mango with red capsicum and chilli, organically grown jackfruit from Madhya Pradesh with black pepper from Karnataka, and the native gondhoraj flower with coconut and ginger. The winner for ingenuity would be the Apricot and Chocolate Nut Ladoo (550), which has the typical ingredients of a laddoo along with apricots, almonds, cashews, and cacao nibs — garnished with ginger. They’ve also introduced raw cacao nibs to the Indian market that can be blended into smoothies, tossed with salads, on cereals, or eaten straight up with some honey. And if you want to drink it, try the cacao infusions (starts from 190/100 grams) (earthloaf.co.in).

Mason & Co

MASON & CO

Mason & Co defines itself as the “craftsmen of chocolate”. In search for “good chocolate” in India that is at the same time vegan, the French husband-wife duo deeply researched of the Indian cacao industry by visiting farms and deciphering local markets. They started off as a home kitchen where they experimented with different beans to assess flavour and quality. Also a bean-to-bar company, they now create organic and vegan chocolate products in a modest-sized artisan factory in the Villipuram District of Tamil Nadu.

Beans processed here are sourced from plantations along the South Indian belt. While its chocolate bars, powders and tisanes (herbal teas) play with safe flavours that involve the usual chilli, peppermint and peanut butter to name a few, it is at the cafe in Auroville, near Puducherry where the real experimentation is evident. For one, the hot chocolate is spiced with turmeric, truffles are created with vegan olive oil and coated in sweet cacao nibs, and the chocolate chia breakfast pudding involves date spirit, sea salts and fresh fruit. The most generous part about it all is the dedicated page on the company’s website that displays recipes suggesting how to innovate your own dish with the chocolates you buy from them (masonchocolate.com).

Fabelle

FABELLE

Fabelle is a venture by ITC Hotels, and unlike the two chocolatiers mentioned above, this one has been started by Indians and the beans are imported from international plantations. While it may do little to the quality of the chocolate, for as mentioned earlier, it is the process and recipe that matters most, Fabelle prides itself on the purity of its praline, ganache, mousse, and other sweet creations. Emphasising on the importance of a “real cocoa experience”, the beans are sourced from multiple regions — Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Madagascar, Santo Domingo, Sao Tome and Venezuela. It would be easy for a true chocolate connoisseur to identify their dissimilar notes from fruity, earthy or bitter — when sampling a piece of each of the six bars of the “Single Origin Cacaos” range. Nonetheless, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t an expert on the subject, because they’re tasty all the same. 

“Elements” is another range of handcrafted praline chocolates by Fabelle, inspired by earth, water, air, wood and fire. The first two elements are a clever play on texture — dark mousse in a dark chocolate pod for “earth”, and aerated mousse for “air.” It gets interesting as you move to “water” that is a blend of sea salt and honey, then you have cinnamon and coffee for “wood”, and chilli and candied mango for “fire”.

Chocolate pairing for Fabelle continues with picking the right praline when enjoying any beverage of choice. It says, “Chocolates are also often paired with drinks like wine, coffee and tea whose taste notes complement the inherent taste notes of the chocolate. For example, pairing of Fabelle Single Origin Cacaos Venezuela 72 per cent with red wine and Fabelle Single Origin Cacaos Madagascar 67 per cent with jasmine tea are among our recommended pairings.”   

A book by ITC Hotels, titled The Art of Chocolate gives readers a crash course on how to pick a drink that won’t overpower or taint the chocolate eating experience, but enhance it, on the contrary: 

  • Choose high-quality alcohol and chocolate. Keep in mind that the good taste of one will not blunt the bad taste of the other. 
  • Pay attention to the flavours and aromas of your beverage of choice and guess what chocolate would pair with it. 
  • If you’re unsure, choose similar (smoky and smoky) or contrasting (sweet and bitter) flavours. 

With this we can conclude: chocolate is a universal flavour and can go together with just about anything. From personal experience, I can safely say that all who are fans of the bean have at least one unusual combination that comforts them. Mine includes chocolate spread on roti (fabelle.in).

Loading comments...

Search Flight

See a whole year of Reward Seat Availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Be up-to-date
Magazine Subscription
To see our latest subscription offers for Business Traveller editions worldwide, click on the Subscribe & Save link below
Polls