POTENT Issue #2 - The Women's Issue

on quality from a genetic level.
As “you have to control the
quality from the harvest to the
finished product,” Eric says.
And with their close watch on
what beans are shipped from
the Caribbean, the Reids are
conscious of the quality.
At their micro-factory in the
U.S., the Reids make smallbatch
chocolate. Crisoire is
head chocolatier, and in charge
of making the confections.
She decides on the flavors
of the bonbons and truffles
and assures that the roasting
and winnowing of the beans
is carried out properly. The
bonbons and truffles come
in many flavors including
Olive Oil, Honey, Amaretto,
Cranberry and Dominican
Rum Raisin. “They are all
delicious,” says Crisoire, but
she is partial to Cappuccino,
Passion of the Sea, and
especially Passion Fruit
because it uses Dominican
fruit in the recipe. As someone
from the Dominican Republic,
Crisoire believes that “when
you eat a piece of [Spagnvola]
chocolate, you are taken back
to the Dominican Republic.”
Eric and Crisoire do not have
a big outfit; from the family
hacienda to the business
partners and small staff they
employ at their boutiques,
Spagnvola is a family
business. The children help
out and even the staff at the
boutiques are behind the
Reids’ approach to chocolate.
This may be because the Reids have a simple
chocolate philosophy: “the best chocolate can
only be produced by farmers.” This belief not
only inspired the Reids to begin their journey
in 2009 to create their own chocolate, but it
has kept them on their continued commitment
to transform the cacao industry. Eric and
Crisoire are giving back to the Caribbean with
education on how to grow and make premium
chocolate. This education is important to the
Reids because many Caribbean nations are
exporting the raw ingredient,
but have no connection to
the final product. “We have
to work with the farmers to
participate in the value chain,”
Eric explains. In May 2014,
Eric signed a memorandum
of understanding with the
University of the West
Indies in Barbados, to open
a chocolate academy where
people from all over the
Caribbean can come to learn
about growing and harvesting
cacao, and also how to make
chocolate bars and confections.
They are also taking the
knowledge of Caribbean
chocolate to West Africa.
Currently, Nigeria ranks
highest in the world for
the export of chocolate, but
according to Eric, the majority
of the chocolate made in West
Africa is bulk cocoa. Bulk
cocoa goes from “harvest to
drying,” while premium cocoa
gets a more refined flavor
from the “fermenting and
developing of the flavor,” says
Eric. Since the countries of
West Africa have the same
POTENT Magazine | SIXTY-NINE