October 2018 FORUM

October 2018
Bean to Bar in Brazil
by Arcelia Gallardo, AmSoc Member
I’ve been living in Brazil for four years, and
you would never believe that our decision
to move here was based on chocolate!
When my husband was offered a chance to
transfer to either Mexico or Brazil, there was
no question in my mind that Brazil was where
I wanted to take my chocolate career.
Most people don’t realize the importance
that Brazil plays in the world of chocolate.
First, cacao plants (where chocolate comes
from) are native to Brazil—they grow wild in
the Amazon, and unknown varieties are still
being discovered. Think red apple versus green
apple—there are many varieties of cacao that
can produce very different chocolates. Second,
Brazil was the largest producer of cacao up until
the 1990s, when a fungus hit the crop hard;
currently it’s in the top 5, behind Cameroon,
Ghana, and Ivory Coast.
And thirdly, Brazil is the largest consumer
of chocolate! Who hasn’t seen a chocolate
store in Brazil?! Who doesn’t know what
a brigadeiro is? Who hasn’t seen the chain
store Cacau Show with 2,000 locations just
in Brazil, making it the largest chocolate
franchise in the world?
But wait, there’s more. Twenty years ago
the United States sparked a new movement
of chocolate called Bean to Bar, wherein
chocolate makers control the whole process
American Society of São Paulo presents
from the cacao bean to a chocolate bar.
Although literal, the movement expands to
include other ideals: working only with the
highest quality cacao beans, paying a higher
price than the commodity market, directly
working with the farmer, and making the
purest form of chocolate: only cacao and
sugar. When I arrived in Brazil this movement
had just begun, with less than five chocolate
makers across Brazil. In the last four years
it has grown to over 40 chocolate makers, a
Bean to Bar Chocolate Week in São Paulo, and
a Bean to Bar Association (of which I am the
president). In a few months we will travel as
a group to a chocolate festival in Seattle to
represent Brazilian chocolate makers and sell
our chocolates, and next May we will host a
festival of our own in São Paulo.
Bean to Bar chocolate is a world of a difference
in taste and quality when compared to better
known brands such as Hershey’s or Garoto
chocolate. You can actually taste berry notes,
flower notes, herby notes, etc. Think of it as
wine. And when dealing with these smaller
chocolate brands, you actually get to meet
the chocolate maker. You will never meet
the chocolate maker at Nestle or Hershey’s,
but you have 10 chocolate makers here in
São Paulo waiting to talk to you about why
their chocolate is so special and different than
what you are used to. §
American Society of São Paulo’s
Add value.Connect with people.
"How Multinational Companies
See Brazil: Strengths & Challenges"
Monday, November 26, 2018 / 19:00
Reserve your seat at www.amsoc.com.br
Mark Copman
3M Brasil President
THE
AMERICAN
OF
Wednesday, October 10 th
7pm
Est.
SÃO
1950
PAULO
SOCIETY
R. Dr. Renato Paes de Barros, 994
Itaim
(11) 3044-1307
FriendsofAmSocwelcome!
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The American Society of São Paulo FORUM Newsletter