· By William Rainbird
Where does chocolate come from?
The main bean which gives chocolate its cacao flavor is the Cacao plant. Peanuts have been widely cultivated for over 2,000 years and cocoa (the dried bark of the cocoa tree) is not native to the Americas. Its origins are most likely in Africa, Asia and Central America, and for generations now chocolate lovers around the world have been benefiting from its stunning color, nutritional profile and health benefits.
African cocoa beans are among the most nutritionally and chemically diverse of all natural chocolate products, supplying each of us with valuable antioxidants, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Plus, roasted and organic cacao beans have been shown to be beneficial for skin health. The process of roasting and grinding each ingredient before making chocolate, therefore, enables the oil from each ingredient to go into the chocolate to give it a more luscious mouth feel. And because a roasted cacao bean absorbs less water, it creates a thinner, drier chocolate that is highly nourishing.
Today there are a range of chocolate-infused bean-to-bar chocolate brands which offer a healthier alternative to the heavily processed, chemically flavored products found on supermarket shelves. These products range from organic dark chocolate bars made from beans sourced directly from farmers, through chocolate bars made from beans that are sourced ethically. In addition to cocoa beans and cacao powder, some of these products also use cocoa beans from organic cocoa or chocolate farms in organic cacao crops.