Understanding your chocolate from tree to tummy is one of the most important things you can do to make healthier, more ethical chocolate choices. During this session at Loncon 3 the World Science Fiction Fantasy Convention's return to London after more than 50 years, I explained how cocoa grows, where it grows, the different types of cocoa, how it is harvested, fermented and dried then about the roasting, winnowing, refining and conching that is all required to make awesome chocolate. Once we learned about it, we got to try SEVEN awesome chocolates from FIVE amazing suppliers!

1. From Tree to Tummy
– Chocolate Tasting
Workshop
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

2. You are about to get some flyers, a map and a badge
ribbon in one pack plus a stack of pots with chocolate
PLEASE DO NOT EAT
YOUR CHOCOLATE
NOW AND DON’T
CONFUSE YOUR POTS!
You’ll regret it later when we’re tasting
together if you do
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

3. Who Am I Obligatory Slide
• Expert search marketer with 18 years experience,
talk at conferences around the world and teach
others to do what I do – SEO-Chicks.com
• Volunteer with London Girl Geek Dinners to promote
women in tech and help them network –
london.girlgeekdinners.com
• Blog about and Judge chocolate from around the
world – MostlyAboutChocolate.com
• Volunteer on committee of Eastercon 2015 –
Dysprosium.org.uk
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

4. What This Session Will Cover
• Where chocolate can grow & types of cocoa tree
• How chocolate is made from beans
• Tasting a real cocoa bean
• Original Beans Beni Wild Harvest
• Original Beans Piura Porcelana
• Willie’s Rio Caribe
• Willie’s Peruvian
• Duffy – Panama Tierra Oscura
• Askinosie Mababu
• Pump Street Bakery - Madagascar
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

5. Please Show Them The Love
Please tweet & choose their chocolate bars next time
you shop:
• Askinosie - @Askinosie donated 4 bars!
• Pump Street Bakery - @PumpStBakery donated 6
bars!
• Willie’s Cacao - @Williescacao donated 2 kilos!
• Original Beans - @Original_Beans donated 2 kilos!
• Paul A Young - @Paul_A_Young donated the cocoa
beans!
• Duffy - @DuffyRedStar Sold me the bars wholesale
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

6. Small Bean to Bar Makers
• NOT FAIRTRADE – this system is *NOT*
favourable to farmers AT ALL
• Most trade DIRECTLY with farmers – by cutting
out brokers the farmers get all the money
• Many help encourage better farming and
fermenting processes
• Choose these suppliers not because they
donated but because they are ETHICAL &
FLAVOURFUL and change the world
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

7. Cocoa Growing Region
Image by @cocoaRunners who sell many bean to bar chocolate bars – www.cocoarunners.com
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

8. Three Main Types of Cocoa
Forastero
• Primarily cultivated in W Africa – Ivory Coast, Ghana et al
• Fast growing tree with a high yield
• Very resistant to disease
Trinitario
• Indonesia, Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago
and some Caribbean and Latin American countries
• Result of accidental cross-fertilization of criollo and forastero cacao trees
in Trinidad around 1730
• Combines taste of criollo bean with resilience of forastero
Criollo
• Primarily cultivated in Central America and some parts of the Caribbean
• Around 5 - 7% of the world's production is criollo.
• Fragile tree with low yields
• The most rare and sought as it produces high grade cocoa with premium
flavour
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

9. How Chocolate is Made
• Trees take up to 5 years to produce commercial
levels of fruit
• Pods are picked by hand and cut open
• Beans are fermented in their own mucilage for up
to a week, then dried and bagged for shipment
• Beans are the roasted, cracked and winnowed
• Beans are then ground into a paste, sugar & cocoa
butter and milk powder are added
• Further conching for flavour and mouth-feel
• Tempering and making it into a bar comes last
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

10. #Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc
Cocoa Pod
with Cacao
Beans

11. Fermenting Cocoa Beans
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

12. Tasting Your Roasted Bean
• Place it in your hand and crush it
• Cupping your hands smell the scent of
the beans
• Deep chocolate
• Red fruits
• Acidity
• Anything else?
@Paul_A_Young
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

13. Refining to Cocoa Liquor
sibusura.com
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

14. Tempering Chocolate
kauaibotanicalgardens.com
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

15. How To Taste Chocolate Like A Pro
• Look at the piece of chocolate - check for shine
• If possible, break the piece of chocolate - listen for a snap
• Smell the piece of chocolate repeatedly – see of you can
pick out distinctive flavour notes before you taste them
• Place the piece in your mouth and DO NOT CHEW IT –
allow the chocolate to melt slowly
• As the chocolate melts, exhale through your nose and see
how many different flavours you can detect
• Finally once the chocolate is gone from your mouth, how
long does it linger?
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

16. Original Beans Beni Wild Harvest
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

17. Original Beans Beni Wild Harvest
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

18. Original Beans Beni Wild Harvest
Tasting Notes:
Coffee
Honey
Honeydew
Jasmine tea (fleetingly)
@Original_Beans
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

19. Original Beans Beni Wild Harvest
Delicate yet distinct, with floral honey, Sun-dried
cranberries, melon and jasmine tea.
Original Beans has been actively involved in
the conservation of this rare source of 100%
wild cacao for several years. the cacao grows
on “chocolatales” or “cocoa islands” dating
back to a pre-Columbian civilization. During
the wet season, the expert collectors from
several indigenous tribes go out, for weeks at
a time, in canoes to collect the wild beans in
spots only they know about.
@Original_Beans
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

20. Original Beans Piura Porcelana
Tasting Notes:
Raspberry
Lime
Kumquat
Light fruit
Intense flavour
@Original_Beans
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

21. Original Beans Piura Porcelana
Vibrant, luscious with kumquat, lime, apricot,
raspberry flavours and notes of toasted
pecan. Discovered by Original Beans in 2007
in the foothills of the Andes, this “forgotten”
white cacao, or “Porcelana”, in its original
state is ultra-rare and appreciated for its
exceptionally vibrant, fruity flavours. Nearly
extinct, Original Beans’ collaboration with the
regional farmer cooperative has brought this
variety back into production. The replanting
programme allows local farmers to make the
transition from rice to cacao, which is much
better for their income and for nature.
@Original_Beans
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

22. Duffy’s Panama Tierra Oscura
Tasting Notes:
Light red fruits
Gentle flavours
Bit of leather
@DuffyRedStar
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

23. Duffy’s Panama Tierra Oscura
I buy all the beans from a little island
off Panama, buy them direct from
Dorothy, the farmer, pay a good price
for the beans and donate to an
educational project there too. And I
love the taste! Light cherries &
liquorice with leather & raisins in the
aftertaste.
@DuffyRedStar
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

24. Pump Street Bakery
Madagascar
Tasting Notes:
Citrus
Acidity
Heavy yellow fruits
@PumpStBakery
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

25. Pump Street Bakery
Madagascar
We are lucky to have been able to
source organic cocoa beans from
Bertil Akesson’s 2300 hectare
family estate close to Ambanja in
the Sambirano Valley. Our bar has a
medium roast with a long conch
and yields a chocolate with subtle
fruity-sweet tartness and high
notes of citrus and yellow fruits.
@PumpStBakery
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

26. Willie’s Cacao Peruvian
Tasting Notes:
Dried red fruits
Acidity
Raisins
Plums
Dried purple fruits
@williescacao
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

27. Willie’s Cacao Peruvian
Delectable single estate cacao,
with notes of raisins and plums.
Chulucanas 70 is instant
gratification. An adventure in taste,
it melts taking you to the
mountains of the Morropon
province of Peru, with their native
Criollo beans and their distinctive
notes of the raisins and plums
(check your map!)
@williescacao
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

28. Askinosie Tanzania
Tasting Notes:
Nutty on the nose
Slight acidity (tingle in cheeks)
Earthiness
Roasted notes
Some fruits – yellow
Tannins
@Askinosie
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

29. Askinosie Tanzania
We handcraft this single origin 72%
dark chocolate (69% cocoa liquor and
3% cocoa butter, pressed in our
factory) with cocoa beans we source
directly from farmers in Tanzania plus
28% organic cane sugar—that’s it.
Notes of strawberry, blueberry, and
graham met with a creamy, velvety
smooth texture.
@Askinosie
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

30. Willie’s Cacao Rio Caribe
Tasting Notes:
Plastic-y
Nuts
Roasted chocolate
Powdery chocolate – the
particle size I was talking about
@williescacao
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

31. Willie’s Cacao Rio Caribe
My favourite road trip runs ten
hours east of Caracas, along the
magical Caribbean coat to the
Paria Peninsula and the sleepy
village of Rio Caribe. This
delectable chocolate, made from
the extraordinary beans grown
there is an adventure in taste with
its complex nut and coffee notes
(check your map provided by Willie)
@williescacao
#Tree2Tummy @MostlyAboutChoc

32. QUESTIONS?
?