Man! How could I miss it???
The other day I watched a special Follow that Food episode (on the Lifestyle Network) where the subject was chocolate (I suppose in line with Valentines). The show format takes viewers from the raw produce to the finish product of an item. On that particular episode, the host went from the cacao plantation to a chocolate cake on a birthday celebration.
I honestly learned a lot on that 30-60 minute presentation. Now I know that the best cacao beans (much like coffee beans) are sourced from Africa and Latin America in countries like Venezuela (LatAm) and Madagascar (S.A.). At the Scharffen Berger factory in SanFo, it takes time and scrutiny to turn those beans to become one of the best chocolates in the world. The owners of the company was firm in telling that they did not want to produce so much chocolate, afraid that the quality will suffer. In fact, their annual production volume is only as large as the volume of what the next biggest chocolate factory produces daily.
I want to try Scharffen Berger. I have heard a lot about it (see MarketManila post here) but do not know where to look for it locally if there is. When I went to San Francisco (where the factory was located) a long time ago, I was not familiar with the brand (I was super happy with Ghirardelli). But now, it seems something is missing. My passion for chocolate draws me to want to try Scharffen Berger. Hopefully sooner than later.
(The episode ended with the host following that bar of chocolate to the grocery and then following a buyer to her home where she bakes a yummy cake (chocolate, of course!) to take to a friend's birthday).
See Scharffen Berger website here.
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