Single-origin Syrup Features Omanhene Chocolate
July 3rd, 2008
Mont Blanc will soon have a market first in the form of its single-origin syrup, which goes into production next week. I am excited about this new product, since it is the first time that any company has made a chocolate syrup using single origin cocoa, and the idea of single origin and sustainable production fits nicely with single-origin coffees that so many of our café customers serve in their drinks.
I purchase the cocoa from Omanhene, the company that introduced the concept of single-origin chocolates to the United States 15 years ago. Omanhene founder Steven Wallace has done something unique in the world of chocolate manufacturing. Chocolate manufacturing is dominated by a handful of multinational companies mostly unknown by those outside the industry. Even the largest chocolate brands such as Hershey’s rely on these companies to process bulk chocolate from cocoa beans.
Chocolate production follows a typical commodity supply chain paradigm. That is, the commodity, cacao beans, are grown in a third world country, extracted and sold for a small sum. The beans are then transferred to an industrialized country where they are processed. The finished product is then sold for significantly more than the cost of the commodity itself. I know of one artisanal chocolate maker who pays higher than market rates for cacao beans (currently about $1.00 a pound). He sells his finished chocolate bars for almost $50 a pound.
What makes Omanhene unique is that it has set up a factory in Ghana so beans are processed in the country where they are produced. The end result is that significantly more money from each sale stays in Ghana rather than going to an industrialized nation elsewhere.
This guarantees higher pay for farmers, creating a sustainable cycle for the farmers, growers and processors.
Chocolatier Michael Szyliowicz is an innovator who crafts quality syrups in his Denver lab. Michael's adventurous spirit takes him around the globe in search of trends and best practices. He shares his musings, observations and experiences.
What I don’t understand is why something like fine chocolate is supposed to matter once it’s been processed into a crude syrup. There are tequilas that aren’t meant be be sipped straight, but I wouldn’t use my best sipping tequila to make some strawberry margarita bomb served by a Chevy’s Mexican restaurant.
Wouldn’t all that care and quality for the chocolate be better expressed in something less processed?
Comment by confused — July 21, 2008 @ 4:37 pm
There is an adage in cooking that great-tasting products can only be made using good ingredients. When you compromise on the quality of the ingredients, you compromise on the finished product. So we at Mont Blanc Gourmet don’t compromise on the quality of our ingredients.
We spend a lot of time sourcing our cocoa powders from different regions of the world, using different ones to give us unique taste profiles that will stand out in finished coffee drinks. We buy vanilla based upon its flavor and aroma. And when we produce our products in one of nine different production plants across the country, there is nothing crude about its processing or the finished product. Crude describes oil, not chocolate.
And when our customers, all well-known retailers selling drinks daily, pair their chocolate syrup with their carefully roasted coffee beans to serve mochas, I don’t think that any of them consider what they serve to be the equivalent of a cheap margarita. - Michael
PS I happen to like Chevy’s and have spent many a delightful afternoon on their deck drinking their strawberry margaritas and enjoying their homemade chips, guacamole and salsas!
Comment by Michael — July 24, 2008 @ 1:26 pm