What Does ‘Craft Chocolate’ Mean?
I have been asked this question many times over the last few years, but more so since becoming a chocolate maker myself. I had the term displayed on my stall at a recent vegan market and it drew a fair amount of attention from interested and conscientious shoppers.
We are still, I believe, at the beginning of the craft chocolate movement - a movement towards understanding the value of chocolate as a ‘crafted’ item and a fine, artisan product. The term ‘craft’ in this context implies that love, care and time has been taken to create a masterpiece.
There are a few definitions floating around the internet, but no official one. So I can answer this question in terms of what craft chocolate means to me in a few bullet points.
I believe that Craft Chocolate is:
made from bean-to-bar (or tree-to-bar). Craft chocolate is chocolate that has been made from scratch.
of the highest quality. The chocolate maker has spent time considering every ingredient that goes into the chocolate, and every process (roasting times, temperatures, which type of sugar to use etc).
always about the cacao. Craft chocolate makers celebrate the range and depth of the inherent flavour in the cacao!
Traceable and directly traded at the source. Craft chocolate makers buy their cocoa beans from a reputable supplier who has worked directly with the farmer and understands their processes, knows that they are using ethical practices, and pays substantially above the Fair Trade price.
The major difference between craft chocolate and industrial (mass market) chocolate is that industrial chocolate is all about producing consistency and volume, NOT flavour.
Although the term craft chocolate has been coined to describe the bean-to-bar movement, that’s not to say the chocolatiers using couverture (pre-made) chocolate are not producing a wonderful craft. In fact, their beautiful creations are usually far more crafty and artistic!
I see a divide emerging between craft chocolate makers and chocolatiers, with the latter being put down because of the chocolate they choose to work with. It’s easy to fall into the ‘my chocolate’s better than your chocolate’ trap when you are choosing to work in a way that prioritises farmers livelihoods and you just know that the majority of bulk produced chocolate is not slave free, and not outstanding flavour.
There are many chocolatiers who are choosing craft chocolate or ethically produced, directly-traded chocolate to work with, and in an ideal world this number will continue to grow. But we don’t live in an ideal world, and we are a long way from the customer being prepared to pay the extra cost that this higher quality product comes at.
For me, the most important thing we can all do is to educate. Educate ourselves about where our chocolate is coming from. Stop to think before you buy that cheap confectionery item about who is really paying the price if it costs so little. And educate our customers so that the word continues to be spread.
Anyhow, these are my ramblings on this subject which are really only just scratching the surface. To put this blog post together, I read and was informed by some excellent articles that you can find online, one from Cocoa Runners which goes into a lot of interesting detail and is definitely worth reading with a cup of tea and some chocolate. One from barandcocoa.com and another was on thechocolatelife.com. I’ve put the links to these articles in my bio.
