THE TRUTH ABOUT CHOCOLATE
Taken from this month’s Cotswold Life magazine
When you’ve tried Coco Caravan’s Bean to Bar range, you know what real chocolate is…
They say we eat with our eyes first. At no other time is this more true than at Easter. Rows upon rows of brightly coloured, foil-wrapped, shaped confections, all clamouring for our (or rather our children’s) attention. Every year, some new concoction, so Willy Wonka-like it seems impossible that it’s made of chocolate.
But how often does what is inside the shiny wrapper disappoint? In this dizzying display of the power of packaging, it’s so easy to forget that it’s what’s on the inside that really counts to our tastebuds.
One of my favourite Cotswolds chocolate brands, Coco Caravan, embodies this philosophy perfectly. The packaging is beautiful rather than flashy - 100% biodegradable, it is printed locally using plant-based inks - giving a hint at the promise of what’s inside.
As for the chocolate itself - well, it’s in a different category to all that mass-produced confectionery we see flooding the shelves at this time of the year. This is a product that is as pure - in terms of flavour but also ethics - as it can be.
That’s all down to Coco Caravan’s founder, Jacques Cöp, aka the Indiana Jones of the chocolate world. From farming to ecologist to chocolate-maker, Jacques is driven by creating a product that gives back - and in a big way. He sources beans directly from farmers, often paying them double the Fairtrade standard, and looks to build ongoing relationships, supporting ethical projects, in the communities he works with. .
At any one time you might find him tracking through the jungles of Ecuador or Papua New Guinea, on the hunt for heritage cacao beans, or sampling cacao beans from the Arhuaco people in Colombia. These beans are used to create Coco Caravan’s Bean to Bar chocolate range, award-winning single origin chocolate bars from Brazil, Mexico and Bolivia to Jamaica and Tanzania, with unique flavours - and stories - to match.
At other times, Jacques is in his chocolate studio in Stroud, elbow-deep in tempering, moulding and dipping. It is here that he perfects his chocolate-making techniques, getting to know the whims and ways of the raw beans, teasing out their flavours, and adding to the growing range of products. As well as the Bean to Bar range, there are chocolate-covered fruits (the Chocolate Plums are my go-to dinner party gift), chocolate-coated nuts (the Chocolate Tamari Almonds are a revelation) and drinking chocolates.
So, if you find yourself over the next few weeks fighting off foil-wrapped bunnies and garishly coloured eggs to placate the children, seek out the calm of Coco Caravan - chocolate has never tasted so good.
Choice chocolates to try from Coco Caravan
70% Lachuá Guatemala: grown deep in the jungle of Guatemala, Lachuá is one of the most remote and environmentally pristine origins Jaques sources from. Sweetened with evaporated coconut nectar, this Great Taste award-winning chocolate bar has a creamy and fruity flavour profile with hints of espresso.
100% Arhuaco, Colombia: to honour the ecologically sensitive and spiritual way that the Arhuaco people grow their cacao in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada, Jacques keeps this chocolate pure. The simplicity of the recipe and craftsmanship bring out the bean’s natural flavours, earning it a Gold Medal in the International Chocolate Awards in 2019.
50% Piura Oat Milk with Nibs: this 2-Gold Star Great Taste award-winning bar is made with ultra rare cacao from the Piura Valley in Peru, a bean that is so special it is white when harvested (unlike other cacao varieties that are purple). To complement the natural flavours of toffee, dark fruit and caramel, Jacques complements it with coconut sugar, ultra fine gluten free oats, plus cacao butter and nibs, both from the same bean.