Looking back on the development history of chocolate, cocoa bean producing areas and the center of chocolate storm are far away from the Asia Pacific region. However, with the changes of the contemporary chocolate trend and the flavor trend of the producing areas, chocolate in the Asia Pacific region has gradually formed a force.
In the recently released Asia Pacific International chocolate awards 2020, chocolate from producing areas is ushering in a new era of “highlight”.
In the development of people’s lifestyle, chocolate has always existed in a certain form, sometimes as a symbol of noble status, sometimes as a witness of the industrial revolution, sometimes as a representative of fashion trends
Historically, chocolate originated in the Aztec era. Archaeologists have discovered the process of making chocolate in the hand of a Maya underground grave: “put cocoa powder into a pot, heat it, pour it into chili powder and cornmeal, and then stir it with a stick until the surface of the mixture has a thin layer of foam.”
At that time, the Aztecs and Mayans regarded cocoa beans, the raw material of chocolate, as “gods”. They believed that chocolate was a gift given to human beings by gods, and it was usually made into cocoa drinks during major sacrifices. Because of the precious value of cocoa beans, Aztecs and Mayans also used cocoa beans as currency. In addition, based on cocoa beans, the Mayans created a god named EK chuaj.
With the changes of the world trend, chocolate was introduced into Europe after 1519. On the basis of “bitter” taste buds, the flavors of sucrose and vanilla that Europeans like were added, which gradually led to the “sweet” trend of chocolate flavor. Since then, the birth of the world’s first cocoa grinder and cocoa butter centrifuge has made chocolate an elegant and beautiful food in Europe.
Since then, cocoa beans have been produced mainly in Africa and the Americas, while the real world chocolate center is in Europe, a trend that has been maintained for a long time. With the excavation of cocoa bean producing areas in Asia in recent years, as well as Asian people’s love and Research on chocolate, the Asia Pacific region has become a brand-new chocolate craze. It has become the current trend to de industrialize, return to handicrafts, and create bean to bar boutique chocolate from a single origin.
In the Asia Pacific International chocolate Awards announced this time, it is not difficult to find that more and more cocoa bean producing regions and chocolate producers from the Asia Pacific region have given full play to their creativity and set off a new round of chocolate fashion.
As for the origin of cocoa beans, most people’s impression still remains in Africa and South America. The natural climate and rich historical background make it a true kingdom of cocoa. Few people think of cocoa beans in Taiwan.
Xu Huaren, Taiwan’s first international chocolate taster, searched for local ingredients when he was the executive director of Fuwan manor. By chance, he discovered cocoa beans from Pingtung, and thus discovered the “new world” of Taiwan’s chocolate.
Taking advantage of the rising trend of chocolate in Taiwan, Xu Huaren began to try to cooperate with local cocoa farmers to improve the planting environment and better present the good flavor of cocoa from the land. Pingdong’s local cocoa fruit is fermented, baked and ground, all of which are completed in the local chocolate garden, thus creating an innovation from bean to bar to tree to bar.
Fuwan chocolate (70%), which won the gold medal of the world’s best dark chocolate, has the aroma of nuts, caramel, rum, liquorice, and some acidity of tropical fruit. The unique taste experience is the local flavor of cocoa in Pingtung.
In addition, Fuwan chocolate also combines Taiwan ingredients to create flavors of Cherry Blossom shrimp, red Chenopodium, mullet roe and Taiwan tea, making the local flavor more distinctive.
Cocoa produced in the Philippines is also little known. For a long time, it was just “self entertainment”. In fact, cocoa cultivation in the Philippines has a history of more than 300 years, Criollo cocoa was introduced from Mexico in the mid-17th century. After that, it became the main cocoa production area in Southeast Asia. A large amount of cocoa came from Davao region. The local climate is very suitable for cocoa cultivation.
Mark and Kelly, the founders of auro chocolate, like chocolate very much. They found the unique flavor of high-quality cocoa during their travel, and thus they had their own Philippine bean to bar chocolate.
In the Philippines and Spanish, uro means “gold”, and the chemical symbol Au “gold” form the name of auro, which shows their love for cocoa.
They cooperated with local cocoa farmers in the Philippines to improve the efficiency and quality of cocoa beans planting with more scientific and technological methods, and made chocolate blocks from the local flavor cocoa, so that people from all over the world could taste the magic of high-quality chocolate produced in the Philippines. This time won the world’s best milk chocolate Gold Award of 50% milk chocolate, Davao origin cocoa fragrance and milk aroma perfect combination, creating a unique local flavor.
People who can make really delicious chocolate must be those who love chocolate from the bottom of their hearts. Jasper and myrtle, who won the Gold Award for dark chocolate, is from Canberra, Australia. Before creating Jasper and myrtle chocolate, the two founders like to travel around the world to discover the unique flavor of chocolate produced in different places.
Back in Canberra, they found that there was no chocolate with a pure flavor, so Jasper and myrtle were born.
Among the cocoa beans that have been searched all over the world, they have never forgotten the Trinitario cocoa beans from Papua New Guinea, an island country in the western South Pacific Ocean. PNG 66% dark chocolate, which won the prize this time, chose the origin of cocoa.
Under the strong tropical rainforest climate, the flavor of this small cocoa producing area is pure and full. Many people joked: “it’s like the taste of earth.” Jasper and myrtle cooperated with farmers in the local cocoa manor to directly purchase cocoa beans from producing areas and add rich and interesting ingredients to create blueberry black chocolate, brandy and orange black chocolate, Himalayan rock salt and Undaria pinnatifida dark chocolate, ginger and coconut dark chocolate, etc.
In the midsummer of 2020, the lush “Xinfu Pavilion” in Kyoto opened the first flagship store of greenbean to bar chocolate in Kansai area. The original bean chocolate made from Malagasy fruit chocolate and Laowu kelp from laopu Yunye in Kyoto is full of creativity and elegance.
Fourteen years ago, Takeshi Yasuda, the founder of green bean to bar chocolate, fell in love with high-quality chocolate from a single origin when he was traveling. After returning to Japan, he and his partners built a laboratory for producing cocoa beans and collected high-quality cocoa beans from all over the world.
The characteristic of Japanese food fashion is that all “imported products” will be printed with local flavor and temperament. Green bean to bar chocolate is no exception. After roasting, crushing, grinding, refining, aging, tempering and molding, the cocoa beans found in the jungles of South America are packaged with Japanese characteristic “harmony paper”. Whether it is flavor or vision, it has a strong Japanese style.
In addition to green bean to bar chocolate, which won the Gold Award for original milk chocolate this time, the Japanese Bridge store’s one-year anniversary special souvenir, together with Matcha specialty shop ippuku & Matcha, has created the unique flavor of Matcha chocolate.
Source: iweekly weekend pictorial
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