If you’re a connoisseur, or even a fan, of chocolate, then you are probably aware that cocoa was first grown as a domestic crop by the Olmecs, sometime between 1500 and 400 B.C. By 250 to 900 C.E. chocolate had become the drink of the Mayan elite. Given this history, it could be said that chocolate is a pedigreed luxury food item, and not some new fangled food product like ham powder or truffle foam.
Most of the time, people assume that with a commodity as long in history as chocolate, the best way to approach producing it is as an Old World artisan, using tried and true methods that have been passed down over the centuries, lovingly preserved (sometimes lost and rediscovered) with each generation. So, it also could be safely said that that is the idea behind most chocolatiers and chocolate companies when they produce their chocolate and when they present their chocolate to their consumers.
But what if you’re someone who doesn’t think in the past? What if you’re someone who constantly reaches for the future, like say Timothy Childs who used to be with Shuttle Program? And what if someone like Childs decided to work with someone like Karl Bittong, who has spent 42 years setting up chocolate factories around the world? What happens to chocolate when its pedigreed roots meet the Space Age?
When Bittong and Childs founded TCHO (www.tcho.com) in San Francisco, California, they decided to approach the production of chocolate more like a software company and less like Old World chocolatiers. In fact, with this combination, it’s almost as if they recreated chocolate for the future.
As with many other chocolatiers that we have profiled in Chocolate Zoom, they began with the basics and set out about sourcing the best cocoa they could find. They developed relationships with cocoa farmers while looking for the best cocoa pods, and helped in nurturing those relationships. To support Fair Trade responsible methods of cocoa production, the people at TCHO developed TchoSource, a program that "partner[s] with growers and coops and transfer[s] knowledge about growing and fermentation to enable farmers to become premium producers and create a relationship of mutual self-interest that goes beyond Fair Trade" (http://www.tcho.com/tcho-is/no-slavery).
When TCHO introduced their first chocolate at the Entertainment Gathering at the Getty in Los Angeles they used their experience in the world of technology to develop their product. They considered everyone who tasted the chocolate as a Beta tester (or taster), similar to Beta users online who help companies develop software. Contrary to most chocolatiers at the event, they presented their Beta product in plain paper bags stamped with their name, and the name of their first chocolate product, "Chocolatey." This different approach to presenting their chocolate to the world was just the beginning of demonstrating their atypical viewpoint on chocolate.
Because they came at chocolate from a different perspective, rather than developing percentages of cocoa and separating origins when it came to their bars, they used their Beta tasters to see what the real differences in chocolate flavors were. They decided to use descriptions similar to those vintners use when describing wines. TCHO soon came up with what they call the Flavor Wheel (http://www.tcho.com/chocolate/flavor-wheel). Since all the chocolate they sell is considered "dark" (70% cocoa), they define the flavors using terms such as fruity, nutty, floral, citrus, earthy, and their original "chocolatey."
And just as in the tech world, once a product has passed all the tests and tweaks asked for by its Beta users, it is gets its own new and shiny final packaging. In the year or so since that first event, they have begun to use new packaging developed by a Berlin firm for their final products. The new modern string art type design represents their contemporary spin on chocolate as well as providing a visual aid so consumers know right away if they’re picking up a citrusy chocolate bar or a nutty chocolate bar.
In the end, we all know that chocolate is about personal taste, or what we all look for in our own chocolate experience. TCHO suggests a guide to help consumers fully enjoy their chocolate experience with all of their senses.
1) Smell the chocolate, and let it warm up a little in your hands to release some of the chocolate scent. Take note of what the chocolate smells like. 2) Look at the consistency of the chocolate and its color. Is the color even? Is it dull or shiny? The shinier the chocolate, the more it has been tempered. If there is a white, powdery substance on your chocolate, this is bloom. The chocolate is still good to eat (it is not mold), but it has not been tempered as well as it could have been. 3) Listen to your chocolate when you break a piece off. Tempering also effects the way molecules line up in the bar. The more it has been tempered, the harder it is to break the chocolate molecules apart. Good chocolate should make clean, bright snapping sound. 4) Texture – how does the chocolate feel in your mouth? Is it smooth? Does it melt easily or is it gritty? Or does it have a waxy texture? People have different preferences as to what they like, but pay attention. How does the bar feel in your mouth? 5) Finally, taste the chocolate. Really think about what it tastes like to you. Is it sweet? Bitter? Nutty? Is there an aftertaste? Does the taste get better the longer in your mouth?
Every one has a different idea of how they want their chocolate to taste. TCHO acknowledges that and has developed what it considers to be one of the best chocolate experiences on the planet. In fact, if you want to try some out, they even have what they call their "TCHO-a-day" canister of chocolate bits in 30, 60, and 90-day supplies, as well as why they think a chocolate a day is good for you (http://www.tcho.com/chocolate/tcho-a-day). I guess you could say, a Tcho a day keeps the doctor away.
