TCHO Chocolates

www.tcho.com

Visit date: February 01

Chocolate has come a long way from the days of Montezuma and the Aztecs. In addition to the spices they used, we now have sugar and other sweeteners for an even tastier drink. We’ve learned to temper chocolate so we can form it into candy bars ranging from dark (my favorite) to milk to white (is it really chocolate?) chocolate. Pastry chefs are using chocolate to create extravagant show pieces and chefs are using chocolate in their cooking.

TCHO is a small chocolatier in San Francisco that is taking chocolate one step further. (Nowadays, very few chocolatiers make their own chocolates, but instead, buy pre-made chocolate.) Rather than making chocolates strictly by a percentage measuring cocoa butter and solids and labeling it as such, as many fancy chocolatiers do, TCHO creates their chocolates based on flavors. Flavors reveal much more about the chocolates than a percentage – common sense as they call it. While all their chocolates contain between 65-70% chocolate, one bar containing 67% percent and another bar containing the same percentage can differ greatly in taste depending on origin and the environment the beans are grown in.

To this end, TCHO created a flavor wheel of 6 flavors. Currently 4 flavors are being made:
“Chocolatey” comes from West Africa where majority of beans are grown
“Citrus” comes from Madagascar
“Fruity” comes from Peru
“Nutty” comes from Ecuador

Quotation marks are used because these adjectives describe only a part of the taste. There are many more nuances to the chocolates, similar to wine. See their flavor wheel for more detailed taste descriptions. I also ask about “earthy” and “floral” which they are working on, but just haven’t found the right beans they’d like to use.

Another unique aspect of TCHO is their techy background. A few key people are veterans from the Silicon Valley tech world. Namely, co-founder Timothy Childs, has on his resume, developed machine vision systems for NASA. In keeping with this vibe, TCHO has refurbished used chocolate equipment and outfitted them with the latest technology. They worked with a Silicon Valley company to create an iPhone app that allows for control of all steps of the chocolate making process from anywhere in the world. Weather stations are also installed in each country to quickly understand climate conditions and make adjustments as necessary. From the marketing aspect, the techy-ness is maintained in their packaging by using “algorithmic guilloche patterns to look like a modern form of currency” similar to how the Aztecs used cocao beans as currency to barter.

Lastly, TCHO goes beyond fair trade. To get the best quality bean, they work very closely with the farmers and co-ops. Education is key as TCHO developed new fermenting and drying processes to optimize each bean and keep consistency. Processing the beans into nibs is done in each country to help the local economy. Each country also has their own flavor lab to create the finished product so workers understand what it is they’re doing. More often than not, workers have no idea what the finished product looks or tastes like. Education and communication is key. TCHO is also very proud to recognize that a partner co-op named Oro Verde in Peru won Peru’s 2008 National Cocoa Competition!

Free tours are offered everyday at 10:30am and 2pm. Walk-ins are welcome although reservations are recommended, especially on weekends. Due to the noise level on the production line, our guide covers all relevant points via slideshow and virtual tour first. Walking through the line takes about ten minutes since the factory is small. We are asked to wear hair nets and beard nets. For sanitation reasons, no jewelry, cell phones, and cameras are allowed. But still, I managed to sneak in some pictures.

Of course, all this information and more is laid out on their website, but the tour is nice for the lazy people who don’t care to read. My main reason for coming is to try their hot chocolate. I was at Christopher Elbow chocolates a few months ago and a fellow hot chocolate drinker recommended TCHO which offers the traditional, plain hot chocolate. Delicious! Tastes just like their "chocolatey" bar. (Elbow offers hot chocolate with about ten different flavor combinations using spices and fruits.)

The length of the factory is partitioned into three sections: retail shop, video/slideshow area, and production line. This picture is the actual production line divided in two by plastic sheets – first is the de-molding and packaging half while the back is where all the magical mixing, conching and molding happens.

chocolate making half of the production line

chocolate making half of the production line

Chocolate bars have been de-molded. Empty molds come back down the conveyor belt to be filled with more chocolate.

Empty molds go through to be filled with chocolate, then cooled halfway down where the machinery starts to look different. This machine sits between the two parts of the production line separated by plastic sheets. There is a noticeable temperature difference between the creating half and the cooling, de-molding and packaging half.

de-molding

cocoa bean pod, about 10" long