COCOA FROM FLORES

If you looking for unique cocoa beans from micro plantations, then Flores is the place to go. If you are wondering where on earth is Flores, it 8 degrees below the equator, one and a half flying hours from Denpasar, Bali. There is only one flight a day do plan on staying the night.

Flores enjoyed a brief moment of glory in 2003 when paleoanthropolgists discovered a species that existed on this lush, volcanic island as recently as 11,000 BC. They closely resembled the hobbits.

The island, one of Indonesia's 17,000, is 330 km long at 70km at the widest point. It has an area of 13,540 square km and a mountainous, volcanic backbone. The highest point is 2,370 meters. Mount Kelimutu, near the sleepy capital of Ende, have a lake crater. It is unique because the waters, fed by volcanic gases, keep changing colour from bright red, to green to blue. Very recently it was turquoise.

The population of over 1.5 million is almost all Catholic. A legacy left behind by the Portuguese traders who discovered the spices of Flores back in the 16th century.
Flores devoutly produces more priests per head than any other place on earth.Several are at the Vatican.

Flores is also home of the Giant Rat, the Whales Sharks, and the notorious Komodo Dragon. This creature is grows to about 3 meters long with a face than uncannily resembles Dick Cheney's. A giant lizard, it looks deceptively docile, is a flesh eater and known to attack and chomp off bits of unsuspecting people.

Flores has suddenly come into the coffee limelight with the latest notable origin.
Flores Coffee is described by experts as being, heavy bodied,sweet, chocolaty, floral(of course)with woody notes.It is not yet listed at Starbucks menus in Jakarta.

Cocoa planted by smallholders is gradually being converted to coffee, as it is seen to be a more attention-getting and a better cash crop for now. Flores plantations that lie mainly on the Indian Ocean side of the island in the provinces of Bajawa produce just under 1000 tons of dried cocoa beans.Some fermentation is done on the island.

It is safe to conclude that Flores cocoa beans would have as much an exotica value and fine flavors and aroma to match the coffee. Purists like De Vries may find it worth days of journeying, dodging Giant Rats and Komodo Dragons, to discover some excellent beans. But they better hurry.

WHAT REALLY IS JAVA?

I had a few emails asking for more information on Java. And why is it so important, in my opinion,to chocolate? Well here is a lesson on Java.

It"s one of the 17,000 island of Indonesia. The most populated. About 124 million people live on this island which is approximately the size of the United Kingdom. It is 1300 km long and 300km broad at the widest point. It has a very impressive mountain range as a backbone with volcanoes; some live, some simmering and some dormant. This much perhaps, and the tourist attractions,you can get from the Internet if you search for Java, Indonesia.

But what the Internet does not tell you is that almost 60% of the Javanese are engaged in some way or other, big, medium and small, in the industry of preparing food to sell. Everyone in Java knows, some one involved in the food industry. My wife sells chocolates(of course) and recently health foods.Her uncle is in fried rice. Her aunt makes tempe. A C Neilsen, will give you nice categories of occupations which they say occupy the Javanese. But they don't mention the numbers engaged in the food industry.

Along any street in Java you see carts, makeshift tents, little hole in the wall establishments offering straight from the pan absolutely superb assortment of foods with intriguing combinations of tastes, flavours and textures and immensely satisfying for prices no more that $2.

Javanese work very hard at it. The street out of the housing complex, I live in,springs to life at 4am with offers of porridge, soups, noodles and rice dishes, the flavours and tastes of which,I guarantee, Ferran Adria or Heston Blumenthol, could not possibly imagine.

These establishments are depleted of their stock by 9am. At 11am a new crop,of similar establishments spring up to serve lunch. A bigger bunch of restaurants now winding into side lanes and car park spring up for dinner. Some switch menus at 11pm to serve some innovative suppers till 2am. You see this happenning all over Java.

These are separate from the posh air conditioned and chic sidewalk cafes, restaurant which often reach to the heavens of fine dining. There are in Jakarta, the capital city, over 3000 such institutions. This does not include McDonalds, Dunking Donuts, KFCs, Burger King, Wendy, etc etc.

Java is also home to the world largest instant noodle industry. Coming soon, the instant rice-porridge industry. All with a fascinating array of flavours and mixes.

Then there are the small snack industries; Home enterprises that compete with the numbers bakeries. I believe that Bandung, a hilltop city, about two hours drive from Jakarta, is the world's cap[ital of snacks. I all my travel I have never seen such a variety of snacking foods, baked, fried or steamed.

It is possible for each Javanese entrepreneur to stay in business, support their families(some send their sons and daughters to US and Australian universities to specialise or learn new trades) and be competitive because the backyard is simply alive and bristling with appropriate resources.

Java for centuries was the hub of the Spice Islands.Here exists every spice known to man, cloves, herbs,flavours, aromas, sugars, medicinal plants and other culinary treasures. There are notorious recipes from almost each of the 17,000 islands. There are also resources from the seas that surround these islands and 360million chickens strutting around.

Here came, among others, Ptolemy and Marco Polo. Indian, Arabs, Chinese, Malays, the Portuguese, Dutch and the English came. Nearly all of them stay long enough to blend their cuisines with the Javanese. The result is that there is lot to be inventive on.

Many of the recipes have been copied and taken inside the posh restaurants where they have been prepared with the "finest ingredients money can buy". But is not the same as sitting on precarious bum-hurting stools, under a canvas roof,with the perspiring cooking stirring up your breakfast or dinner, in a noisy sizzling wok hidden under a aromatic haze of smoke. So many of those copy cats have dropped out of the race and tried Italian or Turkish.

Coming back to chocolate, what makes Java so special is the unique soil of Java, the mighty amount of culinary resources and the inspiring inventiveness that hangs around like a holy aura. This is an ideal chocolate laboratory.

Java chocolate has made a small impact on the world scene. I particularly like a review on the l'artisan de Chocolate's Java. 72% cocoa. "An Indonesian on the wild side. Unlike anything in the chocolate world. Components of leather and bizarre peaty flavours.Suggestion of smoke and tobacco." Spicy and Satin smooth.

What possibilities and opportunities to start from.

CHOCOLATE AT THE OLYMPICS

At what is going to be the grandest Olympics ever, Chocolate will be participating. Snickers has been appointed the Official Chocolate of the Beijing Olympics. This rich chocolate bar studded generously with peanuts will provide athletes, officials and spectators will the energy they are going to need. In Indonesia, Snickers distributed by Nirwana Lestari, will in Indonesia shy away from any publicity.

The China English Language Daily reports the some athletes have included chocolate as part of their training diet. Among them are swimmers, Australian Libby Trickett and American Katie Nott. The latter preferring a peanut-brittle bar coated with chocolate.

The Swiss Embassy will be holding a chocolate exhibition of their products during the Games. Hershey's, though not officially connected will be running an interesting and involving promotion supporting the US athletes, called"Taste of Victory".

George Bush, getting int right, send off the US Olympic team with a dinner at the White House.
For dessert the President served the "Chocolate Olympic Torch"- a dark chocolate tart with raspberries and a brown-sugar Olympic flame.

CNN reports that taxi drivers in Beijing have nicknamed the city, "Chocolate City" because of the large presence of Africans.

In the meantime chocolate consumption in China is increasing, according to conservative estimates at 8% per annum, and by 15% by other estimates. With the current percapita consumption at 100-150gm there is obviously great opportunities. In Shanghai it is one kilogram of chocolate per head per year. If the Chinese in the Eastern, affluent seaboard cities alone, eat as much chocolate as the Japanese(2.2kg) chocolatiers will have a potential of 800,000 metrics tons of chocolate per year.

That's why Barry Callebaut has set up a factory there(operational this year). That is why BT Cocoa of Indonesia have smartly networked themselves in the China chocolate market also taking advantage of the removal of import taxes.

The China chocolate market as a whole is the second biggest in the region, after Japan. China Food Industries says that the annual consumption worth CNY3billion is projected to reach CNY20billion(about USSIbillion) by 2012.

If this figure is reached it will make China the Gold Medal winner of the world chocolate race.