Cocoa Bean Origins
This is part three of my series on how to read a chocolate wrapper. Today is a brief overview of understanding how origins are labeled on bars. These refer to the origin of where the beans came from, not (in most cases) where the beans were made into chocolate bars.
When you look at a bar of chocolate, you will either find it clearly labeled where the beans came from, or you won’t. If the origin of the beans is not labeled on the bar, the best guess you can make is that the bar is made with “bulk” beans from west Africa. Chocolate makers who specifically label the origin will do it for one of two reasons. 1) Selling point, to look good on the packaging or 2) A chocolate maker has chosen beans from a special location and wants you to know where they came from.
There are three basic categories that the origin labeling can fall under: Country, region, or single estate.
Country- These are easy to understand. Madagascar, Ecuador, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Tanzania, just to name a few. It means that the beans came from that country. Anywhere in that country. It could be from one specific farm to a mix of beans from co-ops.
Region- This is a little more specific than just the country, it’s the name of a region within a country. For example, beans from Ecuador are often categorized by region like Manabi or Los Rios. These beans could be from a single farm, but most likely are from a regional co-op of farmers.
Single Estate- These beans come from one farm. San Juan Estate in Trinidad and Hacienda El Rosario in Venezuela are two examples.
Due to a lack of “rules” and agreement on definitions when it comes to chocolate labeling, any of those three categories could be labeled as “single origin”. Don’t confuse single origin with single estate.
You can use the information about the origin of the beans to find out more information about the chocolate bar you are holding. Certain countries and regions have specific flavor profiles that you can expect to taste in that bar. The more you taste chocolate (and make sure you keep good notes!) the more you will discover the different tasting notes from different regions. If the origin label is specific enough to give a region or an estate, you can research that particular area and find out more about the farms and their practices. You can find out the story behind the people who grew the beans.
Figuring out the origin of the beans is easy, and gets you another step closer to reading chocolate wrappers and finding the bars you like best.
This writing on this blog is my opinion only. I did not get paid for writing this article or featuring any specific bars.
