The Coco Fall Semester

When the large pods are harvested, they are picked green. The growers then go through an extensive process to develop the flavor and fragrance characteristic to vanilla. According to the article “Vanilla! It’s Everywhere!” written by Gail Kay Haines, “they [the pods] must be ‘killed’ in hot water, ‘sweated’ in the sun, dried in the shade, and ‘conditioned’ in a closed box until they turn brown”. Furthermore, the overall development of harvesting natural-grown vanilla and selling it to the market may take nearly five years. On the other hand, though, the creation of chocolate does not take nearly as long as vanilla. The article “The Sweet History of Chocolate” written by Christopher Klein stated that in 1828, a Dutch chemist by the name of Coenraad Johannes van Houten had constructed and invented the Cocoa Press which had the ability of creating chocolate efficient and definitely not a lengthy process like the creation of vanilla. To make the creamy ingredient, “the cocoa press could squeeze the fatty cocoa butter from roasted cacao beans, leaving behind a dry cake that could be pulverized into a fine powder that could be mixed with liquids and other ingredients, poured into molds and solidified into edible, easily digestible chocolate” (Klein). The modern way of growing and producing chocolate has made it affordable for everyone, while growing natural vanilla is considerably a much more expensive

When the cocoa beans arrive at the factory they are processed into the cocoa products that can be used in manufacturing chocolate. These include cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Most processing occurs away from the countries where cocoa is grown because it is more efficient to process and manufacture the products close to where they will be consumed.. What happens during processing has a direct effect on the flavor and qualities of the resulting chocolate.The taste and texture of a particular chocolate product depends on the each recipie , which remains a guarded secret of the company. Mars uses different types and proportions of cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and other ingredients such as milk and sugar to make their products consistent with the brand.

One of the most popular food in the world. Chocolate! This delicious food is made from cocoa beans which are grown in pods on tree trunks.The production of cocoa beans have expanded over the years, from South America to the Europeans to the U.S. They originally were grown only in South America until Columbus brought them back from his last voyage. Since then cocoa has only grown in popularity. (Background Essay) The production of chocolate is poor for the Ivory Coast. First, the Ivory Coast isn’t earning enough money from the total income from exporting the cocoa beans for chocolate bars. Second, the agriculture on the Ivory Coast is terrible. Lastly, the cocoa production is affecting the existence of animals on the Ivory Coast.

Clare’s Chocolate Cafes has always used good quality cocoa to make their chocolate products. This is, in itself, an amazing marketing product because customers know that while they may be paying a little bit more, the product is worth it. As well, the organization makes a wise customer draw when each hot beverage is served with a high quality chocolate product. The early practice of making chocolate products by hand and providing individual or pre-packaged products, of all sizes, for the customer to select, was

Human trafficking and child abuse are major problems along the west coast of Africa. Cocoa plantations are so notorious for the use of forced child labor (and forced adult labor) that U.S. Representative Eliot Engel and Senator Tom Harkin created a protocol to end child slavery and initiate labeling for products that are produced “slave free.” A joint committee was formed and called the International Cocoa Initiative, with the aim to have a

power costs the shopkeepers switch off the fridges at night. As a result the cocoa fat melts

There is a high bargaining power of suppliers because of the need of the key ingredients required for chocolate manufacturing and limited number of suppliers for this industry. Since cocoa trees require tropical climate, it forces the main producers in the west to import them from countries in West Africa or other hot places

While Europe and the United States account for most chocolate consumption, the confection is growing in popularity in Asia and market forecasts are optimistic about the prospects in China and India (Nieburg, 2013, para 9). According to the CNN Freedom Project, the chocolate industry rakes in $83 billion a year, surpassing the Gross Domestic Product of over a hundred nations (“Who consumes the most chocolate,” 2012, para 3).

We all encounter chocolate in our daily life, and whether we want to admit it or not, chocolate has been a major part of history, and it is still seen today.

Research has proved that humans have been consuming cocoa for over 2600 years from once upon a time being used as currency to becoming serious pirate loot to being the key ingredient along with sugar in producing chocolate today.

For over one hundred years, there has been only one company that has been on top of the candy industry in North America; Hershey. With over 14,000 employees, serving 70 countries worldwide and net sales of $6.6 billon, Hershey has come out on top. The Hershey company began in 1894 by Milton Hershey. The company has over 8 factories, but their main headquarters resides in Pennsylvania. The beloved Hershey milk chocolate bar has been a favorite by many, but would it still be if more people knew how it came to be that? One of chocolates main ingredients is cocoa. Cocoa, or cocoa beans come from tropical areas around the world, but is mostly found on the Ivory Coast in West Africa. Hershey, along with Mars and Nestle are the three major companies that buy their cocoa from West Africa, but with further investigation, it has been known that over 4,400 children work on those cocoa farms that they buy from.

The Ivorian government blames the farms and trafficking on war and politics. As said by the minister of agriculture "thirty years of political instability caused a lot of harm to our economy generally, and to the agriculture particularly. This being said, Rabola Kagohi the country director for the international cocoa initiative. Rabola says "I think the situation improved exponentially" the chocolate industry is finding a way to get through saying they do not want child labor and trafficking. Although less than 4%of cocoa growing communities had been helped. So overall the government and chocolate industry need to work and clarify what they are doing to

There are two distinct types of cocoa plants: Criollo and Forastero. The Criollo variety is the most sensitive of the cocoa plants, and any shifts in climate can have an adverse affect on its already low yield. In an attempt to blend the hardiness of the Forastero plant with the delicate flavors of the Criollo plant, the two were hybridized into a third plant, Trinitario, which accounted for 20% of all production in 2008, although it 's steadily developing a following. Regardless of the cocoa variety, the production cycle is the same. On average, cocoa trees take five years to reach maturity and bear fruit, at which time only a total of about 20 pods might be ready for harvest. As a rule of thumb, 10 pods produce 2.2 pounds of cocoa, so the average tree can produce only a little over four pounds of cocoa. Interestingly, the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia account for more than 70% of the world 's cocoa production, and most of that production comes from small plantations.

There are some foods that no one can refuse even if it’s forbidden for them. Chocolate is that sort of tempting item that most of the people can often resist. Old or young, every individual from different ages can not resist its sublime temptation. So, most people cannot resist the temptation of eating chocolates. Let it be a festival or an ordinary snack, chocolate may be there as one of the delicious dishes. The wonder of its taste is so wonderful that it develops even chocoholics like alcoholics. There are some people who even eat a lot of chocolates to get over tough times. Of course this mouth watering wonder from heaven can also serve the purpose of gifts, especially on romantic occasions and so on. Thus, this

The natural environment involves Cocoa beans that are needed by Whittaker’s to produce their chocolate products. Over the next few years, the world is expected to face a chocolate ‘drought’, leading to soaring prices of cocoa beans due to insufficient consumable cocoa to chocolate manufacturers. (Western farm press, 2011)