Tobago Cocoa Estate

RSR Reviewed in February 2011 by Jill Wooler

Who loves chocolate? Who lusts after chocolate?  Who cannot function without chocolate? Who deserves to indulge themselves with some of the finest chocolate in the world? Surely we would all answer "Yes, I do". Like a promising and pleasurable, but often ultimately doomed, love affair, much of the available mass-produced chocolate can be highly disappointing and leave a nasty, bitter aftertaste. So, how and where is this exquisite, organic chocolate grown and manufactured and how can we get hold of it?

During our 2011 visit to Tobago, we were invited to view the Tobago Cocoa Estate, owned by cocoa planter Duane Dove, an artisan and sommelier of high repute. This is Tobago’s only cocoa heritage park, located beside the Argyle Waterfall in Roxborough and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived for our morning tour and were greeted by our friendly and knowledgeable host, Duane, whose family came to Tobago as cocoa planters some hundred and fifty years ago.

Cocoa trees only grow in an area 20 degrees north or 20 degrees south of the equator. Tobago, at latitude 11° north, has a warm tropical climate with an average day time temperature of 29C (83F) which is ideal for cocoa production.  Historically, cocoa was one of the main crops of Tobago and was grown throughout the island. However, cocoa production declined rapidly after hurricanes devastated Tobago in the 1970s. In the decades following, there were no longer any skilled artisans with the required knowledge of cocoa production.

  

As we set off along the immaculately manicured grassy hillsides, set with stepping-stones, Duane explained that when he first saw the Roxborough Estate it was completely overgrown, mainly with bamboo, and was going to rack and ruin. It took a large team of men some four months to clear enough bamboo to allow the planting of the very first organic cocoa crop. Cocoa needs perfect soil conditions and just the right amount of sun and shade. Many of the existing Immortelle trees, their vivid orange flowers resplendent amongst the green foliage, were retained to provide essential shade for the cocoa, and new young Immortelle trees planted.

Duane told us that his aim was to plant about five thousand cocoa trees every year. We were shown examples of his oldest trees, now four years old, and as the tour progressed, trees of three years, two years and just a year, all planted two metres apart, in neat straight lines. Five different cocoa hybrids have been planted, two of which are now mature enough for harvesting. Great care must be taken of the young trees; careful pruning of excess growth, with judicious watering utilising reserve tanks should the wet season fail, and regular examination of pods for pest damage. The biggest threat to the crop are the small parrots (parrotlets) that exist in great numbers in this area of Tobago - just one bite and the whole pod is destroyed! The cocoa crop is totally organic, so no sprays are used and no shooting of the pesky birds allowed. Instead, Duane relies on the services of Kelton Thomas of the Tobago Birds of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre, whose falcons keep the parrotlets under control. 

Duane’s first cocoa harvest was in 2009 – after considerable hard work by his team of artisans. Amongst the cocoa he has also planted other crops, to provide shade and also to add visual interest, including bananas, papaya, cassava, mango’s, various citrus fruits and even sugar cane and coffee. Further along we saw a traditional mud/dirt oven used for baking estate-grown cassava bread. This can be seen in operation when larger tours are expected, and various tools used for the preparation and baking of the bread.

Throughout the tour, we had been steadily climbing and in the distance we could see a gazebo set on a high hill. A refreshing breeze was blowing in from the Atlantic, glittering and shimmering below, as we approached the gazebo. Upon a table were placed some rough, leathery split-open cocoa pods filled with a sweet pulp enclosing about 30-50 large seeds, fairly soft and white to pale lavender in colour. There was also sugar cane, cassava and bananas. Duane explained that there are three main varieties of cocoa: Forastero is used for 95% of cocoa production; Criollo is the highest quality bean and considered a delicacy but has lower yields and is less resistant to diseases that attack the cocoa plant; and Trinitario. Duane works closely with the Cocoa Research Unit of the University of the West Indies, and after considerable research decided to plant five different Triniario hybrids. We tasted beans from two of these hybrids and found that both had distinctly different flavours.

Descending the hill, we returned to the entrance of the cocoa plantation and were shown what happens to the mature cocoa pods. They are harvested by hand, with a curved knife on a long pole, when the rind turns a yellow/orange colour. They do not all ripen at the same time, so harvesting is done throughout the year. Then, the cocoa pods are split open with a machete where the pulp and seeds are removed and the rind discarded. Pulp and seeds are then fermented in a layer of banana leaves in a cedar wood chest, where the thick pulp liquefies as it ferments. The fermented pulp is then drained away, leaving the cocoa beans - from which cocoa solids are extracted.  It is very important, for superior quality, that the fermentation takes place at exactly the right temperature and that the process is not interrupted as this can result in a mildewed, bitter, ruined crop.

  

The beans are then laid out on cedar wood tables with sliding roofs that can be closed if it rains, and slowly turned and constantly raked, allowing them to dry in the natural sunshine.  It is important that the beans are dried naturally so that no extraneous flavours are introduced that could taint the flavour of the beans.  The beans are turned over and around by the plantation workers, who shuffle around in their bare feet. The beans are then carefully sorted to ensure purity and to remove any that are the wrong size, or damaged in any way. Incidentally, it takes some 75-90 fermented dried cocoa beans to produce a 100gram bar of 75% chocolate. The cocoa beans are then shipped to Roanne, in France, where they are refined into chocolate by a chocolatier of high repute, Francois Pralus.  Chocolate from the Tobago Cocoa Estate’s 2010 harvest can now be purchased at selected shops in London, Paris, Stockholm, Malmo and Trinidad and Tobago.

Finally, foreplay having been entered into and indulged, and the appetite whetted, comes the climax of our love affair with chocolate - the sampling of the finished, beautifully wrapped article. Unlike, some love affairs, this exquisite chocolate does not disappoint or leave you feeling disillusioned and uninspired. It is delicious, delectable and very much desired! But expensive as all the best love affairs invariably are!

If you are prepared to be seduced, tempted and completely satisfied by the ultimate chocolate experience, the Tobago Cocoa Estate, offers Drop-in Tours on Mon-Fri at 9am and 11am. However, the best way to experience this unique project is to book either the Cocoa Estate Creole Breakfast & Argyle Waterfall Tour or the Afternoon Tea Tour with Tobago’s top tour service, Yes Tourism.

Contact Information

Further information can be obtained from the Tobago Cocoa Plantation website or by email. General questions and visitor reports should be posted in our Sightseing, Tours, Sports & Activities forum. Please contact Yes Tourism for tour price and availability information.

Yes Tourism

c/o Bamboo Walk Hotel
LP 171 Old Milford Road
Hampden / Lowlands
Tobago
West Indies

Telephone: (868) 631-0286
Fax: (868) 631-0287

Email: email now
Website: www.yes-tourism.com