1. From post-harvest processing to merchant cocoa

1.1 Varietal impact

Not all chocolates are of the same quality, from ordinary chocolate with no aroma and often very bitter, to aromatic chocolate with a subtle dose of bitterness. The choice of cocoa variety is of course one of the reasons for this, but as with a fine wine, the terroir must also be taken into account.

When making chocolate, the chocolatier looks for the primary aromas. These aromas are part of the constitution of the fresh seed of the cocoa pod (the fruit of the cocoa tree); the seeds will later become the cocoa beans. These constitutional aromas depend directly on the combination of the botanical variety of cocoa and the terroir of the plantation. There are three main classifications of the botanical variety of cocoa beans, each corresponding...