Traceability and transparency are important values for any ethical product, but maybe none more so than chocolate. The chocolate industry is notoriously rife with exploitation and unfair treatment of farmers, meaning vigilance is of paramount importance.
Come with us on a journey through the production chain for one of our favourite brands, Divine Chocolate.
Cocao beans: the start of ethical chocolate
Did you know cocao beans are technically seeds? They grow on the trunks and branches of cacao trees in 15-30cm ovoid pods. Cacao trees also have white-and-pink flowers that are pollenated by midges. They grow in hot places within 20 degrees of the equator – like Ghana, where Divine Chocolate sources their beans.
The amount of cocoa in chocolate varies by brand. Most Divine chocolate is 70% cocoa or more, which isn’t just good for flavour but ensures cocoa farmers get more work and better pay. Divine stick to natural ingredients and avoid monoculture crops like palm oil.
Harvesting cocoa sustainably
There’s an art to harvesting cacao beans. It must be done at the exact right level of ripeness and without damaging the rest of the tree. The pods are cut down, opened and scraped out – it’s skilful and labour-intensive work.
Divine Chocolate was founded by Kuapa Kokoo, a Ghanaian cocoa farming collective who saw it as a more secure and profitable endeavour than dealing with the exploitative chocolate giants. Divine grew in leaps and bounds, but Kuapa still own 45% of the company – meaning fair treatment and fair wages remain a priority.
How chocolate is processed
Untreated cocao beans don’t taste much like chocolate – in fact they’re very bitter. The process of turning them into the sweet treat we all know and love is surprisingly convoluted. They first need to be wrapped in leaves and left in the heat to ferment, then spread on tables in the sun to dry out. Once dried, they’re stored in bags marked with a village code, keeping everything transparent and easily traceable.
After being roasted, the beans are crushed to remove the cocao nibs from their shells. These nibs are then ground into cocoa mass, which can be separated into cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Both these products have their separate uses, but we’re making chocolate here; so butter and mass are recombined in a carefully controlled ratio, with milk and sugar added as appropriate.
A bit of conching (continuous stirring over several days) and tempering (slow cooling) later, Divine Chocolate have the basis of their chocolate. This is when it can be mixed with other ingredients like fruit, nuts, salt, or whatever flavour you like. Then it’s ready to be packed.
Ethical distribution and sustainability
Carbon-neutrality is a common aim for ethical businesses – Divine Chocolate’s warehouse for online orders goes one better by being carbon-negative. Air freight is kept to a minimum, and packaging is reviewed annually to make sure it maintains the highest environmental standards. No wonder Divine is certified both by Fairtrade International and B Lab.