HYDERABAD: Every July, I am reminded of my childhood propensity to flaunt new clothes and distribute chocolates among schoolmates after the class has wished me happy birthday, some being extra nice in the hope of getting extra chocolates from me. With World Chocolate Day just gone by, on July 7, and my birthday six days after, this time of the year magnifies my obsession with chocolates, which is indeed our first luxury -- comfort in a melting mouthful. Love, solace and joy cloaked in a luscious confection.
While 2020 was challenging for many, it was also about picking up new learnings. Around the same time last year, I enrolled for a certification programme on Bean to Bar from the School for European Pastry, where I understood the nuances of the ‘bean to bar’ process of creating chocolate. Beyond experiencing an extreme jolt of energy from so many chocolate samples, I learned how the journey is a long and arduous one.
Most chocolate makers that I know share the sentiment to some degree. While a bar of chocolate is indeed the sum of its ingredients and its manufacturing steps, the art and science of crafting it also rely on a subtractive process, much like a sculptor liberating beauty from an uncarved block. The process starts with an unroasted cocoa bean. The flavours are an expression of the bean’s time, place, heritage and even a bit of the maker’s personality. Compounding this already complex task is the skill needed to preserve the taste of the bean and show its potential. It’s a skill that relies on experience, endless testing, and of course, some intuition.
With a connoisseur’s obsession and an investigator’s precision, it’s been a revelation of sorts that not all chocolate is the same. A finely crafted one has subtle differences from one origin to the next and from one harvest to another. Although French, Belgian and Swiss chocolates are often cited by aficionados as their chocolate of choice, none of these countries actually produce cacao beans. It is Ivory Coast, Ghana, India and Indonesia that are among the largest producers.
Since the turn of the millennium, the bean-to-bar scene has taken off across the country, with South India comprising a handful of small-scale, innovative chocolate makers. Many of these bars are vegan and free from gluten, soya and nuts as well. Defining the artisan chocolate scene in Hyderabad is Zuci Chocolates & Fabelle Exquisite Chocolates. Maintaining the richness of the bean is also Nui Chocolates whose estates are hidden in the lush foliage of the Godavari region.
It is rare that I can survive an afternoon without a little chocolate, and very likely that I will indulge in one of bars from the makers I have listed. The obsession to seek the momentary pleasure of indulgence, appreciating unique cacao flavours will continue.
(Vishal Fernandes is a profound business traveller and a widely recognised luxury lifestyle blogger.)