Speciality Food January 2024

should want to, tell you about their chocolate.” “You need to be interested in transparency and ensuring makers are aligned with your values,” says Carlene. “There’s a lot of terms around chocolate, and many of them are not protected, so you need to have the conversations around methods and the farming and the co-operatives to understand this better.” “If a bar says ‘ethical’ or Fairtrade or Cocoa Horizons, it will tend to be a confectionery-type chocolate made using bulk cocoa. It might be more ethical than others, but not as much as craft bean to bar chocolate,” says Jennifer. Craft makers might not make a huge deal about ethics on their labelling. “But they will have a story and relationships with farmers, growers, and people on the ground. That’s why talking to them and learning everything you can before you buy is so important.” Beyond knowing the origins and processes involved when sourcing bean to bar chocolate, Jennifer advises paying closer attention to the ingredients list. “You want it to say cocoa beans, cocoa mass, or JENNIFER EARLE FOOD INNOVATION CONSULTANT CARLENE COLE CHOCOLATE SEEKERS COMMENTATORS KATHRYN LAVERACK CHOCOLATE EXPERT @specialityfood cocoa liquor, but cocoa beans are best. Then there will be sugar, and it may have cocoa butter. Lots of makers will add extra cocoa butter for a nice mouthfeel.” Be a touch wary if you see soya lecithin or sunflower lecithin on the label, she continues. “The bar could still be award-winning, but it’s less and less common for craft makers to use that now.” A red flag for Jennifer is the addition of vanilla which, she says, has historically been added to darker chocolate, often to mask the bitterness caused by inferior beans. “It was in almost all dark bars to give a consistent flavour and it almost became the dominant taste. A bar made using good quality cocoa shouldn’t have any flavourings if it’s a plain bar – even white andmilk chocolate. It’s true that most makers add vanilla to white chocolate, but you can find bars without it, and those people making it are truly skilled.” White chocolate is ‘growing up’, Kathryn continues. “It’s made from the cocoa bean, using the cocoa butter. If it’s made fromfine beans, you can create a fine white chocolate.” It’s time, she adds, to steer away from about buying it.” Beyond this, Jennifer, along with Kathryn and Carlene, has seen a defined shift towards higher percentage bars, bought for their purported health claims. “I’m seeing a lot of people choosing 85% to 100% bars,” she explains. “The bestselling tend to be 100%. They are usually made with really good quality cocoa beans, and with 100% cocoa there’s nowhere to hide.” More and more customers are asking for 100% chocolate at the market events Carlene attends too. “People are trying to improve their diets and eat less sugar, and these bars appeal to them. “It’s interesting, because we didn’t see this when we started.” Consumers, say the experts, are investing in good quality chocolate not just for its taste, but also to treat their mind and body, which represents a shift in buying habits. Jennifer says the bar format, as a self-purchase, has taken off. “With a bar there’s a bit more of a sense of value. Paying £4 to £6 to treat yourself. People are still buying gifts, but really the industry needs them to be purchasing for themselves.” How to buy bean to bar chocolate “There are key things to look for when tasting,” advises Kathryn. A starting point, she suggests, is finding a single origin bar that you like, then exploring different makers’ takes on that origin. “Try them all, and see how they differ, and notice which ones you like best.” Kathryn says you also have to become a ‘bean geek’. “You need to knowwhere the beans are from, who is growing them, what’s happening in the chain. Then you can pass all that information onto the consumer so they canmake an informed choice. Good makers should be able to, and I saw lots of pastry chefs furloughed, going on to make and sell chocolates. Lots of businesses blossomed, and thenmost of them closed.” However, Jennifer adds, interest in bean to bar chocolate continues to grow, withmore consumers seeking it out. “People are willing to pay for quality. Though it has to be exceptional.” Are there any trends retailers need to know about? Inclusions and infusions are buzz words in craft chocolate at the moment. “To start off with, most people make plain bars,” says Kathryn, “but then we’re seeing lots of makers extending these ranges with flavoured bars, bon bons, dragees and hot chocolate.” Using local ingredients appears key. “That’s something that’s been very successful, and something we’re seeing more of. An example is Exe Chocolate in Exeter. Nicola there works with Two Drifter’s Distillery for one bar, and makes another with local seaweed. ‘Local’ is something people understand. We’re coming into it a bit later in chocolate, but it’s definitely making an impact across the board.” Carlene Cole of Chocolate Seekers has also recognised a shift towards infusions, particularly coffee and chilli. “And I’mnoticing more people making tumbles [tossing nuts, seeds, dried fruit etc. in chocolate] using craft chocolate. I love Solkiki from Dorset. I adore the bar they have infused with fig leaf from a fig tree in their garden. I’ve got a lot of respect for them and what they do.” Being ethical, says Kathryn, has become a major buying factor for those seeking out premium chocolate, with Jennifer noting more people want to ‘tick those boxes’. “If a chocolate is ethical, they feel better When it comes to indulgence, consumers appear to be ‘trading up’, seeking single serve bars that deliver not just on taste, but health claims and ethics too THECRAFTOF BUYING CHOCOLATE Local is something people understand. We’re coming into it a bit later in chocolate, but it’s definitely making an impact across the board 32 C hocolate promises so much. But only excellent quality chocolate can deliver on those promises. And it can be difficult, as a retailer, to understand what truly sets artisanal chocolate apart. With prime gifting season on the horizon – Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter – Speciality Food dives deeper into the market to discover what could clinch you those essential ‘treat’ sales this year. What’s going on in craft chocolate? The picture painted of the industry by insiders is one of flux. While these are exciting times for craft makers, with superb opportunities to buy beans with unbelievable flavour profiles, there’s no denying the increasing cost of raw ingredients, combined with hikes in the overall day-to-day running of a business, has hit hard. This, in turn, has naturally impacted the price of the finished product. “Since the first craft chocolate makers started out, there’s been a lot of makers come and go,” says international chocolate judge and chocolate educator Kathryn Laverack. “Today, there are around 50 bean to bar makers here [in the UK], but they are generally very small businesses. It’s a difficult thing to make. It’s also difficult to convince people to pay the price for that better chocolate.” “It’s been tough,” agrees chocolate expert and food innovation consultant Jennifer Earle. “I saw so much growth between 2005 and 2016- 18, with people really caring more and understanding more about chocolate, in line with caring more about food in general. Then, during the pandemic,