I februar 2019 tilbrakte vi fem dager på Chocoa i Amsterdam, med konferansen Chocolate Makers Forum og sjokoladefestivalen i Beurs van Berlage. Som forberedelse smakte vi sjokolader fra tyske Georgia Ramon. Mexico-platen var enestående, mens Island Growers var flat og bitter. Selv dyktige sjokolademakere trenger gode bønner.
Første dag startet med et panel om hvordan kakaobønder i Afrika kan leve av kakaoen. På messegulvet sto sjokolademakere, kakaoleverandører og maskinprodusenter side om side, og Chocolataria Equador viste fram en snødekt landsby av sjokolade. Moving Cocoa presenterte en ny drikk av kakaofruktkjøtt uten tilsatt sukker.
Vi smakte de sjokoladedekte dadlene til Mirzam, møtte Julia Zotter, besøkte Dandelion Chocolate og svenske Kakaobolaget, og traff Nitin fra Cocoa Trait, en av klassekameratene fra sertifiseringen som sjokoladekjenner og en drivkraft i den indiske bean-to-bar-bevegelsen. Vi møtte også Sharon fra The Chocolate Journalist for første gang.
En omvisning i et stort kakaolager ved havnen viste hvordan bulk-kakao til de store sjokoladeprodusentene lagres løst i store, fuktige haller, i sterk kontrast til hvordan håndverksprodusentene tar vare på bønnene sine i jutesekker under kontrollerte forhold.
Som alltid kom vi hjem med en stor samling ny sjokolade, og et besøk på Central Market i Austin under SXSW-konferansen noen uker senere ga enda noen plater til. Les mer om Mirzam og Zotter.
Opprinnelig innlegg
19. februar 2019: Preparing for 5 days at the @chocoa.nl conference this week by doing some chocolate tasting of a new brand that’s been in my selection for a while!
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These bars from @georgiaramonbonn were quite interesting and well made, but a bit variable in flavour. The Mexico bar was outstanding with great flavours and balance, the Kongo bar was decent, while the Island Growers unfortunately had a flat and bitter profile, similar to what Hotel Chocolat has been making from the same bean origin recently. It just goes to show that even expert makers need quality beans to really shine!
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It was great to taste these however, and looking forward to meeting the maker behind these bars and many other chocolate people over the next couple of days!
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21. februar 2019: Day 1 of the Chocolate Makers Forum at @chocoa.nl is just getting started with a great panel lineup discussing the issues of making a living of cacao in Africa.
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22. februar 2019: Amazing beautiful snowy chocolate village displayed by @chocolatariaequador and @teresa_barros_almeida at @chocoa.nl!
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22. februar 2019: Lots of interesting chocolate makers, cacao suppliers and equipment manufacturers at the @chocoa.nl trade floor!
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22. februar 2019: Presented at @chocoa.nl trade fair today is an amazing new drink coming soon to the European market by @moving_cocoa: All natural no sugar added cacao pulp juice!
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23. februar 2019: It has been so much fun making new friends among all the chocolate professionals at the @chocoa.nl conference, including finally getting to meet Sharon @thechocolatejournalist in person!
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23. februar 2019: Trying out new chocolates at @chocoa.nl including the amazing @mirzamchocolate from Dubai with their sumptuous chocolate covered dates!
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chocoa craftchocolate beantobarchocolate smallbatch mirzam chocolatemaker sjokolade kvalitetssjokolade #
23. februar 2019: At @chocoa.nl this year I got to meet @zotterjulia who is one of the most interesting chocolate makers in our selection!
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24. februar 2019: At @chocoa.nl I also meet with old friends too, like Nitin of @cocoatrait who is one of my certified chocolate taster classmates and a main driver in the Indian bean to bar movement, here along with the Indian ambassador to the Netherlands!
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24. februar 2019: A potential future brand in our lineup is the amazing bars from Fredrik who founded the swedish chocolate maker @kakaobolaget!
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24. februar 2019: Great chocolate makers abound at @chocoa.nl, including @dandelionchocolate with their amazing chocolate cafe experience, represented by @gdalesandre!
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2. mars 2019: The great thing about chocolate conferences is that you always come across lots of new chocolate makers, as well as interesting new products from familiar brands! This means that I always end up bringing home a huge haul of chocolates, like those in the photos which is what I got at Chocoa just this year! 😄😄🍫🍫🍫
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15. mars 2019: Even after the haul I brought from @chocoa.nl a few weeks ago, I just had to get a few more bars when I stopped by @central_market in Austin when I was visiting for the @sxsw conference this week! 😄🍫🍫🍫
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Opprinnelig publisert på Instagram 19. februar, 21. februar, 22. februar, 23. februar, 24. februar, 2. mars og 15. mars 2019 og Facebook 19. februar og 2. mars 2019.
