Monday, November 29, 2004


coffee farming in pluma & chocolate from ecuador

long-time readers may recall that i have in the past really enjoyed a bag or two of mexican pluma hidalgo. the one that struck me most recently came of course from david haddock of counterculture coffee.

thus i was really moved this morning to see a fantastic and in-depth article on the situation of a coffee farmer near pluma hidalgo. it's easy when you are drinking a beautiful single-origin or estate coffee to focus on the artisan who roasted it for you.

and of course i would never give short shrift to the talents of great roasters. but the true loveliness of the coffee does come from the farmer; and sadly it's so common to overlook that. . .

reading this article really makes me want to catch another bag of pluma!

also, i bought a bar of the rainforest-alliance certified (hiya sabrina! when are we going to yoga together?) single-origin plantations arriba 75%, a new-ish chocolate line, which features beans from ecuador.

this chocolate hasn't gotten the best reviews (scroll down to read the comments). i think the lack of vanilla in the bars is a mistake; a careful touch of vanilla isn't an adulterant to chocolate, but rather a positive addition, to my mind.

it's true some chocolatiers use too much vanilla; i won't deny that at all. but that of course doesn't make proper use of vanilla bad.

i have to agree with the reviews, personally: the 75% bar is a bit dry, and it's no valrhona in the mouth. long-time bccy pal clay gordon believes we should support this line for its positive social & environmental benefits.

i am somewhat sympathetic to this argument, but i do also want a higher-quality product. i do hope that the makers of this line will work to improve the chocolate!

a few tweaks to the production and they would have a wonderful, distinctive candy.

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