Chocolaty Facts

Published on September 21, 2011 in Cacao, Chocolate and General Ag News and Notes.

We all love chocolates, in all kinds and flavours. They’re there to comfort you when you’re sad, to satisfy your sweet tooth, to show the one you love how much you miss them and to give you a pat on the back when you truly deserve it. No matter how much we love chocolate, we still take it for granted, MSN News reports. We uncover it and start eating it so fast that we don’t sit and indulge the magical taste.

1. White chocolate isn’t really chocolate. Being made of butter and milk, it does not contain any chocolate liquor and so Under Federal Standards of Identity, “white chocolate” is just a misnomer.

2. The reason why chocolate literally melts in your mouth, is because the melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature.

3. Hawaii is the only US state that grows cacao beans to produce chocolate. Whereas American chocolate manufacturers use on average 1.5 billion pounds of milk, which is only exceeded by cheese and icecream.

4. Chocolate scientifically makes you happy. It contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is known to stimulate serotonin release (the happy hormone) acting as a natural anti-depressant.

5. Chocolate contains Theobromine, which suppresses coughing activity.

6. On average, a chocolate bar in the US contains eight insect pieces. “The Food Defect Action Levels”, a book published by the US Department of Health, lists unavoidable food defects allowed by FDA – like bug parts. That means that your chocolate may contain traces of nuts, and bugs. Continue reading ‘Chocolaty Facts’

Hawaii Agriculture Research Center | Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.)

Published on August 26, 2011 in Cacao, Chocolate and General Ag News and Notes.

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is native to Central and South America and has been cultivated since prehistoric times in Mexico. For cacao production to be profitable in Hawaii, high tonnage and superior quality are required. However, Hawaiian cacao plantings are variable in both quality and yield, and are not necessarily adapted to Hawaii’s growing conditions. The genotypes of these trees are unknown, and growers are not able to identify the types of cacao trees on their farms. Through the use of DNA marker techniques, we are now able to Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. of superior cultivars based on their parentages/pedigrees. By the use of simple sequence repeat DNA markers, many individual trees have been fingerprinted. The survey group was found to include Criollo, Trinitario, Forastero and their hybrid types, plus genetically unique trees. The large genetic variation among Hawaii’s cacao trees currently grown here suggests it may not be necessary to import additional cacao genotypes to supplement locally available germplasm. The existing variation allows us to select and produce superior genotypes specifically suited for a grower’s production environment.

Hawaii Agriculture Research Center

Know Your Land and Eat It Too

Published on August 25, 2011 in Ag Tourism, Cacao, Coffee, General Ag News and Notes and Taro.

IN YOUR FRIDGE / Farmers’ market managers, Pamela Boyer and Annie Suite have joined hands with local farmers to create Oahu Agri-Tours. There’s no fancy farmhouse or massive farm machinery; what you see is what you get. You’ll experience first-hand how farmers are committed to practicing clean, organic farming.

Poamoho Farms is one of the farms on tour, and guests learn how the fruit orchard uses natural pest management and fertilization methods. Tin Roof Ranch farmers Luann Casey and Gary Gunder butcher their chickens the day before selling them at the market.

Na Mea Kupono wetland taro farm practices old school taro farming methods that most locals don’t even know about. Here you can also watch a traditional poi-pounding demonstration.

At Mohala Farms you’ll see how simple and natural farming is still possible (and still exists). Continue reading ‘Know Your Land and Eat It Too’

List of Cacao Growers, Processors, Propagators, Artisan/Chocolatiers – The Chocolate Life

Published on August 25, 2011 in Cacao, Chocolate and General Ag News and Notes.

Hi! I am Madel, a Fulbright Scholar currently working with Dr. Skip Bittenbender on a research on cacao at the UH . Right now we’re listing the cacao growers, propagators, Chocolatiers/artisan with a hope that we can meet sometime to discuss on the cacao industry in Hawaii and aim to have a wonderful Hawaii Cacao industry in the future.

Will you care to email me your name, Farm/bussiness location, home address, email address. Please state the no. of cacao trees you have; the products you sell or produce.

Hope to hear from you ASAP. Mahalo and God bless you all!
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List of Cacao Growers, Processors, Propagators, Artisan/Chocolatiers – The Chocolate Life

Lei Chic | Sugar Crush: Lei Chic taste tests Hawaii-grown chocolate – A birthday. A great first date. Fitting back into your sk… | Chocolate, Dark, Milk, Malie, Cacao

Published on March 31, 2011 in Cacao and General Ag News and Notes.

A birthday. A great first date. Fitting back into your skinny jeans. When you take the cake you celebrate with the ultimate gooey brownie.

Another birthday. Being stood up. Getting so stuck in your skinny jeans that you have to call your least-catty friend to cut you free. When life serves you unjust desserts you drown those dark moments in cocoa and oreos.

And recently, it seems, life’s ups and downs have you constantly refilling your secret stash of chocolate. But your usual sweet imported standbys are getting a little stale.

As the only state that grows cacao, Hawaii is turning out local chocolates with unique finishes that could become your next favorite comfort food. We took on the difficult task of tasting some made from 100% Hawaiian-grown cacao to find the ones that really set the bar. Continue reading ‘Lei Chic | Sugar Crush: Lei Chic taste tests Hawaii-grown chocolate – A birthday. A great first date. Fitting back into your sk… | Chocolate, Dark, Milk, Malie, Cacao’

RECOGNIZING FEBRUARY 2012 AS “HAWAI’I-GROWN CACAO MONTH”

Published on March 16, 2011 in Agriculture Grants, Cacao and Chocolate.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
H .C.R. NO. 300
STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, cacao, derived from the theobroma cacao tree, is the dried and fermented seed from which chocolate is obtained, native to the central and western Amazon region and is widely distributed throughout the humid tropical regions with commercial production concentrated in Brazil, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia and Nigeria; and

WHEREAS, cacao was first introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in 1850; and

WHEREAS, Hawafi’s environment and climate position it as the only state in the United States that can commercially grow cacao and as the state which is in the closest proximity to both Asia and the continental United States and is ideally located to capture and prosper from the opportunities of a growing cacao market which currently generates $75 billion worldwide annually; and
Continue reading ‘RECOGNIZING FEBRUARY 2012 AS “HAWAI’I-GROWN CACAO MONTH”’

Chocolate is locally grown product

Published on March 15, 2011 in Cacao, Chocolate and General Ag News and Notes.

Bob and Pam Cooper acquired more than 1,800 cacao trees in Holualoa over a decade ago and established the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory. They’ve been processing 100 percent Hawaii-grown cacao into chocolate products ever since. Bob also grows and sells cacao trees, encouraging others to grow this valuable crop. West Hawaii now has many cacao growers and several budding artisanal chocolate makers.

Cacao originated in the Amazon and Orinoco River basins of Ecuador and Brazil, and has been cultivated in Central and South America for thousands of years. Theobroma, the genus of the cacao tree, translates to “food of the gods” and the resulting chocolate was once reserved solely for the pleasure of Aztec kings.

Today, cacao growing and chocolate making is a global industry, but with more local growers and those making chocolate with locally grown ingredients, localvores can satisfy their chocolate urge with a reduced carbon footprint.

Cacao is a tropical rain forest tree and thrives in areas with temperatures above 50 degrees and about 60 inches of annual rainfall or good irrigation. It is especially well-suited to areas in Kona that get a cool afternoon cloud cover. You might consider adding a few cacao trees, if your growing conditions are suitable. Continue reading ‘Chocolate is locally grown product’

6 Important Things You Didn’t Know We’re Running Out Of

Published on February 28, 2011 in Cacao and General Ag News and Notes.

Without even checking the actual stats, we’re 100 percent sure that about half of all the commodities available on the free market include chocolate. With such an amazing demand for the product, surely there must be a sophisticated system in place to ensure that the world never runs out of the stuff. Because if, say, the whole chocolate industry was based entirely on Third World back-breaking manual labor, slave wages and actual child slavery that would be reason enough for a worldwide panic.

Actually, the majority of the world’s cocoa supply comes from West Africa, where the plantations are often tended to by slave children, but there is such thing as fair trade cocoa beans, with guaranteed “No slave labor!” certificates and stuff. Problem solved, right? Nope. (And it’s a little depressing when taking slavery out of the equation doesn’t immediately fix something.) The fact of the matter is that, currently, cultivating cocoa beans just isn’t worth it to the average West African farmer.

Not only is tending to cocoa trees insanely time-consuming (it takes up to five years to grow a new crop), but everything has to be done by hand in often unbearable heat. And at the end of the day, the average cocoa farmer can expect to earn about 80 cents a day for his trouble. That satisfying feeling that his product is contributing to America’s obesity epidemic is just not enough anymore, so in fewer than 20 years, chocolate might become an expensive rarity, like caviar. When was the last time you had caviar? Continue reading ‘6 Important Things You Didn’t Know We’re Running Out Of’

Chocolate lovers flock to Hawaii Chocolate Festival

Published on February 26, 2011 in Cacao and General Ag News and Notes.

It was a chocolate lovers dream come true Saturday the at Dole Cannery.

Chocolate of all kinds were featured at the Hawaii Chocolate Festival.

From chocolate fountains and candy, to the more unusual chocolate lotion and even vodka.

The Hawaii Chocolate Festival had it all.

“We’re the only state in the United States growing chocolate so we kind wanted to showcase all things great here that we have chocolate,” said event coordinator Amy Hammond. “We’re hoping that Hawaii chocolate can become one of the most friendly ambassadors of aloha.”

Event organizers are hopeful that the growing cacao business in Hawaii will be a boost for the economy as well.

Chocolate lovers flock to Hawaii Chocolate Festival | KHON2 Hawaii’s News Leader

AAD: Consuming Pure Chocolate May Worsen Facial Acne

Published on February 22, 2011 in Cacao and General Ag News and Notes.

NEW ORLEANS – Could chocolate exacerbate acne after all?

Dermatologists have long dismissed the idea that diet is related to acne, despite some patients’ insistence that eating chocolate, for example, seems to worsen their skin disease. But a new study has demonstrated that the consumption of pure chocolate does, in fact, exacerbate acne in a dose-dependent fashion.

Previous studies have failed to show a link between acne and the ingestion of chocolate. But these negative studies were conducted with chocolate candy, which contains sugar, milk, and other adulterants, according to Samantha Block. What’s different about the new study is that it was performed with unadulterated chocolate made of 100% cacao, Ms. Block explained at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

She reported on 10 male subjects (aged 18-35 years) with one to four acne comedones and/or papules on the face, but no nodules, pustules, or cysts. The investigators sought subjects with this minimal degree of facial acne so that any changes during the study period would be easily detected. The participants were invited to eat up to 12 oz. of Ghirardelli unsweetened, 100%-cacao chocolate at a single sitting, or as close to it as they could come. They were instructed to consume their customary diet for the next week. They returned for facial acne lesion counts and photographs on days 4 and 7. None of the participants was on any prescription or OTC medication.

The mean total acneiform lesion count climbed from 2.7 at baseline to 13.4 on day 4 and to 18.2 on day 7.

“We saw a dose-dependent relationship. If you ate more chocolate, you developed more lesions, supporting the idea of a causal relationship,” Continue reading ‘AAD: Consuming Pure Chocolate May Worsen Facial Acne’

Raw Chocolate by Sacred Chocolate: Cancer Prevention Properties of Chocolate and Cocoa

Published on February 21, 2011 in Cacao and General Ag News and Notes.

Summary: Cocoa was originally cultivated by ancient societies in Central and South America, where it was consumed as a fermented beverage for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. Cocoa and chocolate, its fermented byproduct, are rich in flavanols—potent antioxidants associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Two types of flavanols, called catechins and procyanidins, have been shown in experimental studies to reduce markers of inflammation and angiogenesis, two processes closely linked to cancer development. While more study is required, cocoa and chocolate have significant potential for chemoprevention as a dietary supplement.

Cocoa, the seed of the cocoa tree, is believed to have been cultivated over 3,000 years ago by native inhabitants of Central and Northern South America. These inhabitants prepared cocoa as a fermented beverage, similar to tea, which was used for medicinal and ceremonial purposes, and the beans themselves were used as a form of currency. Spanish explorers brought cocoa back to Spain in the early 1500s, and from there it spread to France, Italy, and eventually to Great Britain. In the middle of the 18th Century, chocolate manufacturing was introduced to Massachusetts using cocoa imported from the West Indies and Central America. Commercial chocolate become available in the mid-19th Century when a London company added sugar to chocolate liquor and cocoa butter.

Chocolate, the fermented byproduct from processed cocoa, contains high levels of bioactive flavanoids (polyphenols) that are formed during the fermentation process. Two flavanoids in particular, catechins and procyanidins, are highly concentrated in dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Observational studies indicate that catechins and procyanidins derived from green tea, red wine and soy may protect against a number of chronic diseases, notably cardiovascular disease and cancer. Continue reading ‘Raw Chocolate by Sacred Chocolate: Cancer Prevention Properties of Chocolate and Cocoa’

Cacao celebration

Published on February 20, 2011 in Ag Tourism, Cacao and General Ag News and Notes.

Derek Lanter clearly remembers his first date with the “dark side.” In 2001 he was living in Berkeley, Calif., when Scharffen Berger, the company that reputedly makes America’s finest dark chocolate, was setting up its operation there. He and a friend decided to visit Scharffen Berger’s factory for a tour and tasting.

“Having worked with coffee as a buyer and roaster for Uncommon Grounds Coffee Co., I had experience processing coffee beans and evaluating the brew made from them, but that was the first time I saw cacao beans being roasted, ground and manufactured into chocolate,” Lanter recalled.

“Scharffen Berger was using beans from Colombia, Madagascar, Ecuador, Ghana and Indonesia. We learned about the equipment and process, and tasted chocolate at different stages and in different forms, from the roasted nib to pure cacao liquor; sweet milk chocolate; and semisweet, 62 percent; bittersweet, 70 percent; and extra-dark, 85 percent chocolate. It was such a mind-opening experience!”

Today, Lanter tastes chocolate nearly every day as the sales and marketing manager for Waialua Estate, a subsidiary of Dole Food Co. that grows 20 acres of cacao and 155 acres of coffee on Oahu’s North Shore. According to Lanter, chocolate made from locally grown cacao is being favorably compared with world-renowned brands such as Amano, Amedei, Guittard and Michel Cluizel. Continue reading ‘Cacao celebration’

Cocoa farmers stockpile beans as export ban threatens mid-year crop | South Africa News | IOL.co.za

Published on February 18, 2011 in Cacao and General Ag News and Notes.

Cocoa prices at the farm gate in Ivory Coast are falling sharply and farmers are fast running out of money, with potentially damaging consequences for the cocoa mid-crop, according to farmers.

Farmers said yesterday that they were stocking their cocoa beans in the hope they could preserve them long enough to sell when the political crisis was over, but that there was little enthusiasm for tending to the April to September mid-crop.

A one-month cocoa export ban imposed by presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara is meant to starve his rival Laurent Gbagbo of funds, and is backed by Western powers and African leaders who see Ouattara as president-elect, after a November 28 poll Gbagbo refuses to concede. Buying has drastically dropped.

Ouattara has indicated he might extend it next week, but even if he does not, EU sanctions on the pro-Gbagbo ports mean there are few ships to deliver it.

In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers said they were not able to pay their workers to maintain their farms and the mid-crop would therefore fall.

“We are in a crucial phase where we need to care for, clean and treat the cocoa trees. But we don’t have any money to pay workers to do this or buy agri-chemicals,” said farmer Innocent Zamble, who farms in Meagui. Continue reading ‘Cocoa farmers stockpile beans as export ban threatens mid-year crop | South Africa News | IOL.co.za’

TESTIMONY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL RELATING TO THE CACAO INDUSTRY

Published on February 11, 2011 in Cacao.

TESTIMONY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011 ON THE FOLLOWING MEASURE:
H.B. NO. 1598, RELATING TO THE CACAO INDUSTRY.
BEFORE THE: HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Friday, February 11, 2011
State Capitol, Room 312
TIME: 9 : 00 a. m.
TESTIFIER(S): David M. Louie, Attorney General, or Damien A. Elefante, Deputy Attorney
General Chair Tsuji and Members of the Committee:

The Department of the Attorney General has the following comments on this bill. If enacted this bill may be challenged as violating the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.

This bill creates a general excise tax exemption to favor products that are raised or produced exclusively in the State, specifically, domestically produced or processed cacao. “No State, consistent with the Commerce Clause, may ‘impose a tax which discriminates against interstate commerce . . . by providing a direct commercial advantage to local business.’” Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias, 468 U.S. 263, 268 (1984), citing Boston Stock Exchange v. State Tax Comm’n, 429 U.S. 318, 329 (1977) .

In Bacchus, the United States Supreme Court found that an exemption similar to the exemption proposed in this bill violated the Commerce Clause. At issue in Bacchus was the Hawaii liquor tax, which was originally enacted in 1939 to defray the costs of police and other governmental services. Because the Legislature sought to encourage development of the Hawaiian liquor industry, it enacted an exemption from the liquor tax for okolehao (a brandy distilled from the root of the ti plant, an indigenous shrub of Hawaii) and for certain fruit wine manufactured in Hawaii. The united States Supreme Court concluded that the exemption violated the Commerce Clause because the exemption had both the purpose and effect of discriminating in favor of local products. The general excise tax exemption for local agricultural products, as created by this bill, appears to have similar purpose and effect as the exemption that violated the Commerce Clause in Bacchus.

We recommend that this bill be held.

Ivorian farmers fear cocoa to rot as buying halted | guardian.co.uk

Published on February 10, 2011 in Cacao and General Ag News and Notes.

By Loucoumane Coulibaly

ABIDJAN, Feb 10 (Reuters) – A halt to cocoa-buying in Ivory Coast is leaving beans to rot in farm warehouses, while smuggling through Ghana intensifies and some growers switch to other crops, farmers said on Thursday.

Economic sanctions, a cocoa export ban and a liquidity shortage since incumbent Laurent Gbagbo seized the central bank’s local branch has left the cocoa industry in chaos in the world’s largest grower as beans pile up in farms or are smuggled out.

Alassane Ouattara, who beat Gbagbo in a Nov. 28 presidential poll, according to U.N.-certified electoral commission results that Gbagbo refused to concede, last week called for a one-month cocoa registration ban to starve his rival of tax revenues.

Cocoa exporters, fearing sanctions by Western powers that recognise Ouattara’s win, have played ball.

In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers and one cooperative manager said in interviews they no buyers were taking their beans last week and they feared the poorly dried beans stashed in their warehouses would rot. “Nothing’s moving, everything’s stopped,” said farmer Innocent Zamble, who runs a farm in the Soubre town of Meagui.

“Our stores are stuffed with beans and there’s no more space to stock them. We fear the quality is going to perish because we don’t have the capacity to stock big quantities long term.” Continue reading ‘Ivorian farmers fear cocoa to rot as buying halted | guardian.co.uk’

Why Your Chocolate Fix Is Costing More

Published on February 2, 2011 in Cacao and General Ag News and Notes.

The summer of 2010 saw cocoa prices shoot up, much to bears’ skepticism. They said there was no fundamental reason for the move: It was just a hedge fund manipulation.

On that notion, coca prices fell from a 33-year high at over $3,400 a metric ton down to about $2,600 in September. But the bearish view proved wrong in the end.

Any intelligent observer can see the big problems brewing in the Ivory Coast. Accounting for 40% of global supplies, the country is the world’s largest coca bean producer.

That key chocolate ingredient factors in heavily to the Ivorian economy. Cocoa is its biggest source of revenue, with sweet bean sales valued at $45 billion annually.

But the country’s cocoa trees have long-term problems, not to mention major political problems. And the latter has pushed coca prices back up above $3,300 once again.

Never Mix Chocolate and Politics… at Least not in the Ivory Coast

On November 28, 2010, the Ivory Coast elected a new leader, Alassane Ouattara. But while the United Nations certifies that victory, sitting president Laurent Gbagbo refuses to leave … and he has the full support of the military.

Countries around the globe are imposing sanctions on the Ivory Coast, but Ouattara has taken that idea a step further. He has called for a 1-month ban on cocoa exports and most other nations – including the U.S. – have signed onboard. Continue reading ‘Why Your Chocolate Fix Is Costing More’