Cacao Source

The seemingly endless expansion of the chocolate shelves at your local food store is only the visible side of the deep metamorphosis happening to the aging chocolate industry.

Approximately five million tropical farmers, mostly in West Africa, produce over four and half million tons of cacao beans that are converted into an eighty-three-Billion-dollar industry run by two dozen multinational companies. Since the 1980's' the "shareholder's value" and profits of many of these businesses have multiplied, in some cases by a factor of thirty and even more while the amount paid to the farmers has been divided by a factor of up to three. Concurrently, global warming has made cacao farming more difficult and hazardous, diminishing further its appeal to the next generations. The alternative to this clearly un-sustainable status quo remains to be found. In today's financialized world, one can only hope that consumers' behavior will have an impact meaningful enough to save the cacao planet.

The book introduces the main factors involved in cacao farming and chocolate making and details how young "Chocolate hobbyist" and "bean to bar" makers, in the consuming regions as well as in the cacao producing ones, are trying to team-up with small farmers, mostly in South America and the Caribbean, to initiate a new and sustainable cacao industry. This burgeoning movement is trying to transform quality chocolate making into a specialty cottage industry. At the same time, some major industrial producers and International Aid organizations which have been supporting farmers for decades without producing the needed outcome, seem to be adopting different tactics to reverse the negative price trend.

Written by a "Bean to bar" chocolate maker based in the Caribbean and a certified professional taster, CacaoSource draws the curent scene of fine chocolate makers and their supply chain. Interviews of farmers and chocolate makers from countries as diverse as Madagascar, Colombia, the Philippines and Myanmar provide a human face this landscape.
After a career as a management consultant and executive, mostly in Europe, in 2010 Alain started working for the State Department in cocoa producing countries such as Bolivia and the Dominican Republic. This allowed him to further his passion for chocolate and start producing his own bars. He perfected his chocolate making skills in 2014 by attending a specialized course at the University of the West Indies in Port of Spain (Trinidad). He also started giving presentations and speeches on chocolate in the US, in France, the Dominican Republic and even in Afghanistan during his last posting for the US Government. Alain is currently working with a land owner in Puerto Rico to create a cocoa plantation of high-quality beans. He also participates in building a small chocolate factory in Port au Prince (Haiti) with an existing Haitian cocoa exporter.
Cherrie became a certified chocolate taster of the International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting in 2016. Cherrie is a Hong Kong born Branding and Marketing professional in the chocolate and confectionary industry. She worked close to a decade with artisan chocolate companies, chocolate schools and international chocolate brands, such as Vero Chocolates and Pierre Hermé Paris, before moving to London to continue her chocolate journey. Cherrie is a recognized member and a Grand Jury member and Chocolate Judge for various international competitions, such as the Academy of Chocolate Awards, International Chocolate Awards and Great Taste Awards. She repeatedly appeared on local and national TV Stations and magazines in Asia over the last decade. Loyal to her Asian background, she hopes to introduce many major world-wide chocolate brands to Hong Kong and China. Similarly, she's looking for ways to introduce international chocolatiers to the many amazing Asian ingredients and flavors

"The most pleasing informative book on chocolate I've read.
The pleasant layout of the book makes it is easy to absorb the depth of information detailed. I particularly enjoyed learning about cacao farming in rebel regions of Myanmar and how chocolate competitions can boost a bean to bar start-up. The chocolat Mousse recipie at the end is a great bonus that keeps on giving..."

Loren Stoddard