Read the full transcript of Merjem Hamzic’s talk titled “What You Didn’t Know About Chocolate” at TEDxSarajevo 2024 conference.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Introduction to Chocolate: A Love Affair
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, chocolate enthusiasts and curious minds. I stand before you today to unveil some bittersweet but interesting facts that lie underneath the world of chocolate.
Now, I’m pretty sure that 99% of you sitting and someone standing here are in love with chocolate, but what’s with that 1%? There is a saying that says that that 1% is actually not telling the truth. As a chocolate business owner, I’d like to believe in that, but as a mother whose daughter does not like chocolate, I need to tell you that those people really exist.
Trust me, I’m trying hard, and I’m not giving up. Every now and then, I come to her with some new chocolate flavors, asking her quietly, “Would you like to try some?” And every time she tells me, “Mom, you know that I don’t like chocolate.” So more chocolate for all of us who do love chocolate!
The Origins of Chocolate
When we hear the word “chocolate,” the first images that our mind evokes are the ones of chocolate bars and other chocolate sweets and desserts. But let’s hop together into a time machine and journey back through a simple, modest era where the only picture that our mind erases is the one of a steaming mug filled with foaming elixirs made from cacao beans.
Today, I want to take us all together on a journey through a rich history of chocolate, a history that spans over 5,000 years. The tale actually begins in the land of Americas, where a cacao tree native to that region gave birth to cacao beans.
It is believed that the Mayans were the first ones who domesticated this precious fruit, I would say, and then introduced it to Mesoamericans, which is present-day Mexico. The word “chocolate” has its traces in an Aztec word, “xocolatl,” meaning “bitter or sore water or drink.” Originally, chocolate was consumed as a cold drink, with the addition of some spices or corn puree.
The Mesoamericans actually believed that it was an aphrodisiac, while the Aztecs elevated their admiration towards chocolate to divine proportions, believing that it was a gift from God.
Indeed, at that time, cacao beans were more valuable than gold. They even served as a currency in the Aztec culture. Today, the tradition of making such drink is still present in South Mexico, and it is called “chilate.” So, please, when in South Mexico, don’t miss chilate!
Chocolate’s Journey to Europe
Until the 16th century, chocolate, cacao bean, or tree, however you want, was totally unknown to the rest of Europe. The Spanish were the first ones who brought chocolate cacao beans to Europe, using them at first for medical purposes, for relieving abdominal pain. But very soon, they started adding honey and sugar to it, as well as heating it. It was said that the cacao drink was for Spanish people, while tea was for English people.
Now, what’s interesting from today’s perspective is that it took almost 100 years for cacao beans to spread to the rest of Europe, with the two countries who first adopted it being Italy and France, so not Belgium.
The Cacao Tree and Its Fruit
I am not sure how many of you had the opportunity, or I would rather say privilege, to see a cacao tree, but I would like to take us all together and to see the transformation from the cacao tree to the chocolate bar that we all so much love. The scientific name of cacao tree is Theobroma cacao, meaning “food of the gods.” Cacao tree is an evergreen tree that blossoms through the whole year, growing beautiful cacao pods.
Cacao pods grow directly from the tree trunk, and they can be in various colors, from yellow, green, orange, red, maroon, depending on the genetics, of course, but also on the degree of ripeness. Now I want you to listen to this carefully. It takes almost five to six years for a cacao tree to grow its first fruit, and then five to six months for that fruit, cacao pods, to mature and to be ready for the process of harvesting.
One cacao tree can grow up to 40 cacao pods, and one cacao pod contains from 20 to 60 cacao beans that are wrapped in a white pulp. Now I want you to imagine that tree with all the 40 cacao pods and with all the beans. Don’t let me do the math. Just imagine that, because we will need it, the entire, to make one kilogram of dark chocolate. Why did I say dark chocolate? Because dark chocolate has the largest amount of cacao mass in it. So remember this next time you grab that dark chocolate from the shelves in the shop.
The Composition of Cacao Beans
These are some titles that I personally like to hear when it comes to chocolate. And usually, they very often come with the prefix “chocolate.” But what if I told you that they do not really refer to every chocolate? They refer to cacao beans. And the largest amount of cacao mass in a chocolate, the closer we are to these claims, but also to these numbers.
Here is a picture of a cacao bean. And as you can see, 50 to 55 percent of it is fat, which we call cacao butter. 30 percent are fibers and sugars, 10 percent proteins, 3 percent antioxidants, and 2 percent minerals such as zinc, magnesium, iron, et cetera. We can say that dark chocolate, I’m highlighting it, dark chocolate, is rich in natural fibers, sugars, and fats, and a little less in proteins.
The Journey from Bean to Bar
As I mentioned already, I want you to try to imagine that fascinating journey that it takes from a cacao tree or a bean to come to the bar, chocolate bar that we all know.