Nitin Chordia is India’s first Certified Chocolate Taster and Judge at the International Chocolate Awards, London. His initiative Kocoatrait was set up to promote knowledge, production and consumption of fine chocolates in India. He is the first external faculty at the Institute of Fine Chocolate Tasting, UK. Kocoatrait operates the only one of its kind virtual chocolate tasting club in India with an aim to connect chocolate lovers with chocolatiers. In an exclusive interview with The Organic Magazine, Nitin elucidates on the sustainability actions his chocolate brand follows, including zero waste packaging
Your insights on the sustainable organic chocolate market in India? How do we compare internationally?
In my opinion, being organic is just the 1st step towards being sustainable. Sustainability is a large effort area which starts at the source and needs to continue till the final product consumption. The market in India for sustainable organic chocolates is at its very nascent stages. There are only a handful of Bean to Bar chocolate makers who use organic ingredients. Internationally, using organic ingredients is more common when it comes to Bean to Bar chocolate makers. While our chocolates compare quite well with international offerings, from a sustainability standpoint, we have a long way to go.
How do you source your beans organically? How can quality and traceability be maintained?
We work with farmers and organisations that sell to us organically certified cocoa. Maintaining the quality of the product is completely our responsibility and we undertake that inhouse. As far as traceability is concerned, since there are no middlemen involved between us and the farmers or the organisation, it is not such a big issue.
What about flavours and essential oils like Lemongrass? Where are these sourced?
As a sustainable chocolate brand, we have ensured that we do not use flavour (essential) oils in our chocolates. We use the actual spices or fruits to lend the flavour. What this means is that the flavours are usually subtle in most of our chocolate experiences. Adding to this, the flavour extraction process is highly debated and alcohol is commonly used in the process. In our opinion, flavour / oil extraction itself is not a sustainable process and hence it has no place in our scheme of things.
How does organic cacao bean farming benefit the farmer?
We purchase fine flavour cocoa and always pay a premium of at least 50% over the regular bulk variety. This goes directly to the farmer or the organisation. We are proud that we pay a higher price, and in the bargain, have access to fine flavoured beans and benefit the farmer almost always.
Your packaging is sustainable. Comments.
We decided to extend the zero waste concept of a cocoa farm to our packaging as well. Our aim from the start was to develop packaging without any paper or plastic used. We think the packaging is an important and integrated element towards achieving our sustainability goals.
Why is dark chocolate called so? Are Indians evolving to these more refined variety of chocolates?
Chocolates are called as dark when there is no milk used in the recipe. Usually they are also healthy without the addition of milk as the body can absorb the antioxidants when milk is not present. It is quite safe to say that the top set of Indian chocolate consumers have already started to warm up to appreciating dark chocolates. I have always observed that many have not liked wine or beer on the first attempt but got used to it with increased consumption. I see the same thing with dark chocolates. India is certainly the most exciting and interesting market for dark chocolates in the world.
Future plans for Kocoatrait? (How did the name come about?)
Kocoatrait was started to set benchmarks for the industry to emulate and follow. We wanted a name that could resonate with us deeply and register it easily. We chose the name because each cacao bean has a trait and it is our endeavour to bring that out in our chocolate. The future plans for the brand is pretty clearly laid out. We simply have to be the first adopters of any sustainable measures, efforts or approaches that will help us set a benchmark for others to emulate in the business.
