From its chocolate factory in the French Alps, Stephane Bonnat’s family has been nurturing ties with cocoa farmers around the world for over a century, and together they are now driving a green revolution.
Long dismissed by cocoa-loving gourmands as poor in texture and flavor, organic chocolate has broken into the luxury end of the market, promoted by master chocolatiers like Bonnat who have made it an “ethical choice.”
Bonnat decided to go organic 17 years ago, after taking over the family chocolate business in the Alpine town of Voiron. For him this meant building on its decades-old ties with growers around the world, starting in Mexico.
PHOTO: AFP 照片：法新社
“Back then they wanted to sell me their cocoa for three euros a kilo. I offered them nine!” the chocolatier told AFP at the giant Salon du Chocolat trade fair in Paris last week.
“Today they make a good living, they visit the Salon in Paris, get to see the finished product,” said Bonnat, whose firm — one of Europe’s oldest — was a pioneer of high-quality organic chocolate.
Two of its growers in Brazil were awarded the 2009 Best Cocoa award, handed out each year at the Salon du Chocolat.
Fully 80 percent of the world’s cocoa plantations are thought to be de facto organic, run by farmers who cannot afford chemical fertilizers or pesticides, Bonnat told AFP.
But only a tiny fraction of that output is certified organic, since few can cover the cost of a complex formal labelling process.
Meanwhile most of the world’s chocolate production is in the hands of a global industry for which, Bonnat says, quality is not a priority.
“The paradox is that cocoa producer countries are not the ones that make the chocolate,” he said.
Parisian chocolatier Jean-Paul Hevin, who buys organic cocoa directly from producers in Haiti, started sourcing ethically a decade ago in a bid to “defend the sector” from industrial excesses.
The choice comes at a price — adding 20 percent to his production costs — but he does not tack this onto the retail price for his chocolate, which sells for 3.90 euros (US$5.3) a bar.
“I wanted to do something for Haiti, cutting out middlemen to provide growers with a better wage. I believe in ‘art de vivre’, in quality. And quality always depends on the grower,” he told AFP.
(AFP)
在法國阿爾卑斯山脈巧克力工廠的史蒂芬‧波那家庭，與世界各地的可可豆農培養關係已經超過一世紀，他們攜手努力，希望將這產業帶往一場綠色革命。
有機巧克力因為質地與口味欠佳，因而長期受到巧克力愛好者排擠，無法打進頂級巧克力市場。但因為有像波那樣的巧克力大師不遺餘力的推廣，「道德選擇」終於成為市場中的要角。
波那於十七年前決定接手家族於阿爾卑斯山脈上瓦隆小鎮的巧克力事業。他開始跟世界各地的巧克力農家建立至今長達數十年的關係，最遠的農人甚至遠在墨西哥。
這位巧克力大師在巴黎上週的巧克力大展告訴法新社，「想當年他們要以每公斤三塊歐元賣巧克力給我。但同樣的量我卻出九歐元。」
波那表示，「如今他們生活過得很好，他們也來巴黎看展覽，看到下游成品長什麼樣。」波那的企業是歐洲最古老的企業之一，是高品質有機巧克力產品的先鋒。
波那兩家在巴西的供應農家，獲得二零零九年巴黎的巧克力大展最佳可可豆獎。
波那告訴法新社，世界上足足有百分之八十的可可豆事實上都是有機的豆子，是由無力購買化學肥料或殺蟲劑的農夫種植。
但是其中只有一小部分才獲認證為有機豆子，因為少有農家有足夠財力支付整個正式認證的所有費用。
波那補充說，此外世界上大多數的巧克力生產掌握在跨國企業手中，但這些企業的首要考量卻不是巧克力的品質。
他說，「矛盾的地方就是可可豆生產國自己並非自己生產巧克力成品。」
巴黎巧克力師傅尚保羅‧何文，十年前就開始直接從海地購買有機可可豆，這麼做就是為了「保護有機可可豆」以免受巧克力工業的摧慘。
這種選擇是有代價的─這會增加百分之二十的生產成本─但他並沒將這額外的成本加在每條巧克力三點九歐元（約五點三美元，新台幣一百六十四點三元）的零售價上。
他告訴法新社，「我想要為海地做一點事情，避開中間人的剝削，可以給種植的農家更好的收入。我深信『生活的藝術』與生活品質。而品質永遠都得仰賴種植的農家。」
（法新社／翻譯：吳岱璟）
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