Chocolate making

The history of chocolate

Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, numerous so-called pre-Columbian civilizations lived in the Americas. These included the indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica (Olmecs, Toltecs, Zapotecs, Mixtecs, Aztecs and Mayas) and South America (Incas, Moches, Chibchas and Cañaris). The oldest of these three civilizations is the Maya, whose heyday was between 250 and 900 AD. The Aztecs regrouped around the Mexico basin in the 13th century, where they founded the capital of their empire, Tenochtitlan. Finally, the Inca civilization developed between the 12th and 15th centuries in the Cuzco basin in present-day Peru, and then spread along the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountain range.

The Mayans, then the Aztecs, were the first to cultivate cocoa rationally…. The cocoa tree.

In fact, it was unknown throughout the world until the 16th century. This small evergreen tree, which produces edible beans with different flavors depending on the variety, had many uses in these distant lands. Its beans were used to make a restorative, fortifying and supposedly exciting drink… But above all, cocoa beans were often used as currency for bartering, paying taxes and buying slaves, as early as 1,000 BC.

For the Aztecs, a turkey costs a hundred cocoa beans and a fresh avocado three.

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY AND PROPAGATION

After the colonization of Mexico, cocoa was exported to the metropolis (as part of the triangular trade in Europe, and mixed with milk…). It was an immediate success in its first host country, the Spanish court . In France, its adoption came later, as King Louis XIV didn’t like it, even though his wife Queen Marie-Thérèse, a Spaniard, had become addicted to it… to the point of having to consume 10 cups a day.

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY AND PROPAGATION

Represents 1-5% of world production 19
Origin: Central and South America, Caribbean and Sri Lanka

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY AND PROPAGATION

Accounts for 80% of world production.
Origin: Amazon basin

Trinitarios

Accounts for 10-20% of world production
Origin: Grown mainly in Mexico, the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela and parts of Southeast Asia.

Triangular trade and retro-innovation as seen by Grain de Sail

The triangular trade began in the 16th century. It involved three continents: Europe, Africa and America. In this trade, European countries chartered ships to sail to Africa. They took with them various goods such as jewelry and weapons of little value, but sought after by the Africans. These were then exchanged for African slaves, who were forcibly transported to America to work in the cotton and sugar cane fields. Ships filled their holds with American products (sugar, vanilla, coffee and cocoa.) This trade ran from the 16th to the early 19th century. It’s known as the triangular trade because, on a map, if you connect Europe, tropical Africa and America, you get a triangle. In those days, the journey took almost a year.

Our voyages evolve on each crossing. They depend on the wind, weather conditions and our suppliers.

For some years now, a number of companies have been taking up the route of the triangular trade. With Grain de Sail, the idea was to return to the ancestral methods of sailboat transport, while adding a modern, industrial dimension. We call this retro-innovation. In the case of our company, we export French wine to the United States. Once there, we unload and then load the cargo holds with humanitarian supplies, in partnership with the AFYA foundation. Once in the Dominican Republic, the medical equipment is donated to the MOSCTHA association. Our sailors load the cargo ship with masses of cocoa and green coffee beans, before returning to Morlaix. The loops last an average of 3 months.

From fields to chocolate

The difference between conventional and fair trade

Stage 1: agricultural production

Stage 2: Trading

Stage 3: International export

Step 4: Processing

Stage 5: Manufacturing

Step 6: Distribution

Step 7: Consumption

Let's talk impact

In fair trade, the producer’s income is 50% higher than in conventional production. At Grain de Sail, we donate 10 cents of the sale price of our chocolate bars to the farmers and organizations we work with. Today, fair trade represents only 1% of the world’s cocoa. So now it’s up to you to change the way you consume.

From cocoa beans to chocolate

The various stages involved in arriving at the final product.

Conching

Grain de Sail is unique in that it imports the cocoa mass and processes it to create its chocolates. Unlike most chocolate makers, Grain de Sail imports the cocoa mass by cargo ship, and then processes it in Morlaix.

The imported cocoa mass blocks weigh 25 kg. They are melted at a temperature of 70°C, on a vibrating grate, and poured into the melter. Once melted, the mass is transferred to one of our conche machines.

Conche machines are used to refine the cocoa mass, which is made up of cocoa particles. This step is vital to obtain a smooth, flowing chocolate that is not grainy.

The sugar and cocoa butter used in the dark chocolate recipe are also used, as well as the milk powder used in the recipe for all milk chocolate couvertures.

Conching produces “couvertures”, the chocolate base on which all kinds of chocolate can be made, with inclusions, coatings, fillings, etc. This stage lasts 24 hours for dark couvertures, and 48 hours for milk couvertures.

At the end of this stage, the blanket is transferred to a storage tank where it is kept at a temperature of 45°C, so that it remains liquid.

Conching

Tempering is an important and essential stage in chocolate making. This stage melts the chocolate while controlling its temperature curve. The aim is to create several types of crystals by cooling the chocolate. We want to keep only the Beta 5 crystals. To achieve this, we’re going to raise the temperature curve to around 30 / 35 degrees.

Tempering gives chocolate its shiny appearance and crunchy texture. Without tempering, the chocolate would be dull, crumbly and less enjoyable to eat.

Milk chocolate starts at 45°C, is cooled to 26-27°C, and then reheated to 29-32°C. Dark chocolate starts at 50°C, is cooled to 28-29°C and then reheated to 31-32°C.

Once the latter temperature has been reached, we can move on to the tablet molding stage.