Mission Chocolate and Gallette were the winning brands in the bitter chocolate and milk categories
Mission Chocolate, by chocolatier Arcelia Gallardo, won gold in the best bitter Bean to Bar chocolate category, with its 70% bar, made with cacao from the Camboa Farm, Bahia. And Gislaine Gallette, from Gallette Chocolates, won in the milk chocolate category, with its 56% cocoa bar Pará Parazinho, from the Santa Tereza farm.
Indeed, Gallette also took another two awards: best milk chocolate and 70% cocoa in the public’s choice, with cocoa from the Santa Rita farm, also from Bahia.
Promoted by Chocoweb, 57 chocolate bars of 32 brands were evaluated, divided into two categories, bitter and milk. The jury consisted of 45 people, including chocolate makers, international experts (12 in total) and national experts, in addition to the general audience who registered for the role in advance.
The Bean to Bar 2019 awarded 13 bars and, in the Bitter category, the silver winner was the Black Sweet, from Caxias do Sul (RS). And the Bronze was divided between Casa Lasevicius (SP), Cacau do Céu (BA), Mestiço (SP and Bahia, being the only cocoa producer on the list), Andrei Martinez (RS) and Luisa Abram (SP).
The Bean to Bar Chocolate Week
The event was held at Unibes Cultural from May 16 to 19 and was attended by producers of special cacao from different regions of Brazil, chocolate makers, international guests and those interested in investing in the production of Bean to Bar chocolates. At the onset of the event, the president of the Bean to Bar Brazil Association, Arcelia Gallardo, made a point in emphasizing that the growth of the Bean to Bar chocolate market in Brazil is exponential, and has everything to do with the gradual improvement in the quality of Brazilian cacao, after the rise of the Witches Broom, in Bahia, that almost decimated the Brazilian production.
The event had two days of discussions and workshops aimed at both the cocoa producer and the Bean to Bar chocolate producers. Topics such as working conditions in cocoa plantations, special cocoa production, prices, investment opportunities, among others, were discussed in depth with a highly interested audience.
On the other hand, the presence of professionals from Bean to Bar from other countries, mainly the US, can foster the exchange of information, essential for the growth of the Brazilian Bean market.
“Now, our mission will be raising the numbers of the sector, since the researches on the market of chocolates in Brazil are based only on the performance of the great chocolate industry”, finalized the president.
Fotos: Alex Rosa