When you eat chocolates, have you wondered why different chocolates taste different? Every step from growing the cacao to making the finished product can affect the underlying flavour of the chocolate ultimately:

Terroir

As cacao is a plant, therefore it is not surprising that cacao beans from different parts of the world will have different flavour characteristics, due to variation in soil composition, climate, local geography etc.

For example, although our 65% dark chocolate and 85% dark chocolate both come from Colombia, they are grown in different regions (even though the two regions are only a few hundred miles apart) and you will notice that they have very different flavour characteristics:

Our 85% dark chocolate comes from a small area between the Pacific coast and the tropical forest and jungles in the Narino department in Colombia. It has a warm humid climate.

Our 65% dark chocolate comes from the Huila department in Colombia, which is a drier region with the Magdalena River flowing through the department. Apart from cacao, this region is also suitable for growing coffee beans.

Good Practice & Agroforestry

The skills of the cacao farmers and their farming practices also play an important part in the yield and quality of the cacao. Every step from planting the tree through maintenance of the plantation (regular pruning, looking out for pests and diseases on the cacao trees) to harvesting the mature cacao pods is vital.

To improve the amount of cacao grown in an area, it’s not a matter of planting the cacao trees as closely as possible and in the maximum number you can squeeze in. For Criollo and Trinitario, the trees prefer to have shades, and so it is important to take into consideration how to plant other taller trees amongst cacao trees in order to protect the cacao from wind and strong sun. How to fertilise the soil and replenish its nutrients also plays a crucial role in ensuring high quality cacao.

Post-Harvesting: Fermentation

Once the cacao pod is harvested, the cacao beans are removed from its pod together with its pulp by the farmer. They are then placed in wooden boxes and exposed to micro-organisms naturally present in the environment. These micro-organisms decompose the pulp – and it is this fermentation process that sets off a whole chain of biochemical and physical processes that develop the precursors of the aromas and flavours found in chocolate.

The duration of fermentation is important because under-fermented beans will not have the full aroma and flavour potential to be developed, while over-fermented beans would introduce unpleasant acidic taste. The local climate and weather (eg temperature, humidity) can affect the duration of fermentation also, and so it’s only through skills and experience, will the farmers know how long the beans need to be fermented in order to reach their full flavour potential.

Post-Harvesting: Drying

This step is also undertaken by the cacao farmers. After fermentation, the beans are then exposed to sunlight for several days, in order to reduce the water content and to eliminate some of the acids that are present in the cacao naturally. 

It is essential to get this step correct, if mould and fungus are to be avoided, and to guarantee a good flavour. 

After drying, the beans are then usually stored before transporting them to the production plants for the final steps to turn these beans into chocolates. Therefore it is important that the mould doesn’t develop during storage or transportation, otherwise the final product will be spoiled.

Roasting

When the beans arrive at the production plant, they are first cleaned, and then they are roasted. The cacao nibs are exposed to very high temperatures – this step is where the aroma and flavour of the final chocolate product finally comes together from the precursors that have developed during the fermentation process.

Conching

This is the final step in the production plant, and it provides the finishing touch to the flavour and texture of the chocolate. A very smooth texture in the chocolate is often due to a longer duration of conching. Acids that are still present are eliminated. 

The roasting and conching processes go hand-in-hand, as different combinations will affect the final flavour of the chocolate. Also these are not one-size-fits-all for all beans – the roasting and conching will need to be adjusted accordingly depending on the beans.

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All these steps occur before we, as chocolatiers, use the chocolate to make them into various products. Hats off to the cacao farmers especially – without their dedication and hard work in growing the cacao and processing the beans post-harvest, there will be no materials to turn them into delicious chocolates in the first place!

Last year we started using dark chocolate from Colombia for many of our products, and we have often got a surprised look on our customers’ faces, as they tend to associate coffee plantations, and not cacao plantations, with Colombia.

Earlier this month, we went to Colombia, and visited two cacao farmers who grow and process the cacao that are used in our chocolates, as part of our trip to gain a better understanding on how our single-origin chocolates are produced in Colombia, before we turn them into our handmade chocolates in London. Here’s a video on our visit:

Due to the recent history of Colombia in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the country has not got the most positive image in most people’s minds. However, once you are there, you’ll find the contrary. Yes, there are still some troubled spots in the country no doubt, but all the time we were in Colombia, we felt safe, and we could really enjoy everything this beautiful country has to offer. The Colombians are some of the friendliest people you’ll find on this planet!

The trip to the plantations involves a domestic flight from Bogota to Neiva, and then a 2-hour drive further south. We visited Mr Martinez who, apart from having his own farm, he also runs the local association that works with the farmers in his area – the sense of community is evident and the support network is important in ensuring good quality beans as well as improving on the farming method. He is also working on renewing the cacao trees in his farm and promoting best practice in cacao plantation, in order to improve the yield and the quality of the beans. We love his energy and passion in his work.

We also visited the Torres family who not only spent their valuable time showing us their beautiful farm, but also cooked us a wonderful breakfast at their house – tamales washed down with delicious hot chocolate (what else to drink?). The aroma of cacao fills the house and their backyard. Apart from growing cacao, they also have sugarcane, mangoes and many other types of tropical fruits. In addition, they have quite a few animals at the farm also – a few turkeys decided to follow us back to the house, and Mr Torres also introduced us to his donkey Camilo (who managed to photobomb us when we had the group photo taken!).

We asked them what the biggest challenges that they face – we were half-expecting answers such as climate change or diseases affecting the cacao trees. However, by applying best practice in their cacao farming methods, that doesn’t seem to be the problem. They are more concerned about the younger generation wanting to work in big cities after university and not in cacao plantations, and also losing fertile land for cacao plantations due to other economical development or modernisation such as giving way to hydroelectric projects.

After visiting these farmers, every time we use the chocolates, we appreciate even more their hard work. Without true dedication and skills in growing and processing the cacao, there would not be such good ingredients for us to work with. 

The International Chocolate Awards 2016 World Final was held in London on the 14th October 2016, and we were very lucky to have won 3 awards for all the chocolates we have entered into this competition.

To say we’re “over the moon” is an understatement! Chocolatiers from all around the world have to win at their regional competitions first, before they are even eligible to enter the World Final, and so the competition is pretty tough. The judging took place during Chocolate Week in London, with judges coming from all around the world. The judging system looks pretty daunting as so many aspects of the chocolates are being assessed, and after this round of judging, there’s another round of judging by the Grand Jury to determine the final results. This year there’re over 1700 entries for the World Final alone!

Last year we won our first award in the World Final for “Bangkok” (Mango & Passion Fruit Caramel). This year, in the British National Competition, we won 3 awards, and so we thought we’d put in all 3 into the World Final. Knowing what the standards of the entries were like, we had hoped to walk away with one award, and thought that we would be extremely lucky to get two awards. So imagine how we felt when we got an award for all 3 chocolates we entered into the competition, especially with our “New York” (Apple & Calvados Caramel) winning a Gold award in the “Milk Chocolate Enrobed Caramels” category! Usually there’s only one gold award in each category, but in this case, it’s a joint gold with Theo Chocolates, as the grand jury couldn’t decide which one was better! We are so honoured to be sharing the top spot with this experienced chocolatier, and to be the British company to win gold in the caramels category.

The other two chocolates won bronze awards: “Hong Kong” (Soy Caramel) in the “Milk Chocolate Enrobed Caramels” category; and “Kagoshima” (Yuzu & Pink Peppercorn) in the “Ganaches or truffles using mixed dark/milk/white for coating and fillings” category. 

Below is a video clip on the announcement of the milk chocolate enrobed caramels category (sorry for the rather poor videography – trying to hold the camera above the head and zoom in, at the same time of trying to contain any excitement, wasn’t the easiest thing).

At Fifth Dimension Chocolates, we often get asked by our customers “Why ‘Fifth Dimension’?”

We believe that the 5th dimension in food evokes the memory. Often past experience or the snapshot of a particular moment in life comes flooding back when we taste the food again in a completely unrelated situation. Imagine our delight when the distinct fragrance and taste of lemongrass and ginger at an English countryside restaurant on a cold winter day sent our minds straight back to a tropical seaside holiday in Thailand thousands of miles away. The thought of delicious Thai dishes being cooked at an open-air restaurant by the beach on a beautiful evening was so powerful that for a moment we forgot that we were not in Asia.

Through our chocolate creations at Fifth Dimension, we would like to share with you our experience and memories from our travels. While souvenirs, travel writings and pictures can do this too, we choose to connect this powerful memory and emotion through the use of flavours and other food dimensions in chocolates.

Each of our filled chocolates is inspired by our travel experience in different parts of the world, and we have named each flavour after a place in the world. Some of the flavours are more classic, such as salted caramel (Rennes) and hazelnut gianduja (Turin). We have also created a few interesting flavours based on some of the local ingredients or local produce that we have come across. For example: pandan (Penang) which is a screwpine leaf that is widely used in Southeast Asian cooking and has a distinct nutty flavour, and wholegrain mustard (Meaux) which is more commonly used as a condiment and flavouring for savoury and cheese dishes.

So if the 5th dimension is the memory and experience, what are the other four dimensions? They are the ones that relate to the different senses that we possess:

• The look and presentation of the chocolates are related to sight
• The aroma of the chocolates and the fragrance released by the flavours in the mouth are related to smell
• The delicate complex flavours of the single-origin chocolates complemented by various fillings are related to taste
• The texture in the chocolates and the fillings is related to mouth-feel

We hope that our chocolates would satisfy all these senses and produce a powerful journey into the 5D world of chocolates for you. Welcome to our journey!