T issa Aunilla recalls the day she brought a sample of her company’s chocolate to a group of farmers who grew the cocoa beans it was made from on the Indonesian island of Bali. “When they tasted it, they started to cry,” said lawyer-turned-chocolatier Aunilla. Though the farmers had grown cocoa for years, they had never eaten the product made from their beans. The farmers in Tabenan, Bali, now set aside 80 per cent of their output for the single origin Bali bar made by Pipiltin, the Jakarta-based company Aunilla founded in 2013 to produce premium chocolate from Indonesia-grown beans. Malaysia aims to be chocolate king of Asia Aunilla switched from corporate law to chocolate making after she discovered her favourite European brand sourced its beans from Java. Although Indonesia has been one of the world’s top producers of cocoa beans for years, almost all of it gets exported to be processed into chocolate abroad. Aunilla felt Indonesia could be a producer of high-quality chocolate as well, and saw potential in its domestic market of 264 million consumers. Krakakoa, founded in 2013, produces two tons of organic “farm-to-bar” chocolate a month, for sale across the archipelago, in Singapore and the EU. Pod, based in Bali, makes more than 20 chocolate products – about ten tons a month, said founder Toby Garritt, sold only in Indonesia . View this post on Instagram Introducing Bali Chocolate Roll Cake! Enjoy #Buy1Get1Free promo until April 14th 2019! . It is perfect to be enjoyed in any time of the day. Available at Pipiltin Cocoa Sarinah and Pipiltin Cocoa Grand Indonesia. Get yours now! ___ #PipiltinCocoa #CokelatKitaKini A post shared by Pipiltin Cocoa (@pipiltincocoa) on Apr 5, 2019 at 2:25am PDT <!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!-- //--><!]]> “We’re making chocolate where it’s grown, creating a great local product that rivals better known European chocolates,” said Garritt. Industry experts say Indonesia is facing a decline in the quantity and quality of its cocoa beans, and more needs to be done to ensure sustainability of the sector. Not only are its cocoa trees ageing, but farmers have in recent years faced pressure to switch to other crops. WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEAN Indonesia has accounted for nearly 20 per cent of global cocoa production since 2000, and consistently been the only Asian nation among the world’s top producers, behind the Ivory Coast and Ghana. New generation of chocoholics may turn China into a major chocolate market Although government figures put Indonesia’s 2018 cocoa bean output at as much as 700,000 tonnes, the chocolate industry estimates actual output was less than half that. Cocoa is also facing competition from other crops, said Diany Faila Sophia Hartatri, a researcher at the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Initiative (ICCRI), supported by the Ministry of Agriculture. With the Indonesian government’s increasing focus on food security, farmers are being encouraged with incentives to plant staple crops like rice or lucrative oil palm. “This can lead to cocoa which isn’t well-maintained, further impacting productivity,” she said. View this post on Instagram This is after five days of fermentation, and the cocoa bean needs to be dried on top of perforated tables and hand-sorted before our farmer partners can ship it to us. ___ #PipiltinCocoa #CokelatKitaKini #CokelatIndonesia #ChocolateBar #SingleOriginChocolate #BeanToBar A post shared by Pipiltin Cocoa (@pipiltincocoa) on Mar 28, 2019 at 3:56am PDT <!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!-- //--><!]]> ICCRI, which trains farmers in good agricultural practices to improve the flavour and quality of their produce, has been encouraging younger people to grow cocoa too, she added. Industry experts say major chocolate retailers and home-grown chocolate makers alike have an interest in supporting Indonesia’s cocoa farmers to continue producing premium beans. Our love affair with chocolate goes back 1,500 years longer than we thought The company has set its sights on sustainably sourcing 100 per cent of its cocoa beans by 2025, up from 44 per cent today. Commodities giant Olam Cocoa, Asia’s largest cocoa exporter, has spent about US$20 million in the last 15 years to support 65,000 Indonesian cocoa farmers across six provinces in adopting sustainable growing practices, said Singapore-based Yeong Chye, head of global cocoa business for Olam Cocoa’s Asia-Pacific division. This support has included seedling distribution, and training farmers in growing techniques to maximise their profits from cocoa. “A successful initiative in Indonesia is the development of high-quality nurseries to provide the supply of seedlings farmers need, giving them confidence the seedlings they purchase will turn into high-yielding, disease resistant trees,” Barry Callebaut Asia Pacific President Ben De Schryver told food industry monitor Food Navigator Asia this year. There are 50 community-run nurseries across Sulawesi and Sumatra under this model, which in 2017 produced over 300,000 cocoa tree seedlings, he said. Callebaut maintains multiple processing facilities across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Olam Cocoa last year processed more beans than ever in its Singapore factory, and acquired Indonesia’s largest cocoa processor, BT Cocoa. Richard Fahey, the association’s chairman, said Asia is not only a major producer of cocoa, but also has a growing appetite for chocolate products. “It starts with the beans being here, but it’s really about the consumers being here,” he said. “Asia is the fastest growing region for chocolate globally. It’s not just chocolate bars – it’s dessert cafes, bakeries, ice cream. Consumers here are constantly interested in new things.” View this post on Instagram Try over 20+ chocolate collection at @podchocolate Factory, decide your favorite taste and bring it home for your loved ones. Have a lovely day everyone. - #podchocolate #podbali #podchocolatefactory #chocolate #balichoklat A post shared by Pod Chocolate Bali (@podchocolate) on Mar 9, 2019 at 11:31pm PST <!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!-- //--><!]]> Pod founder Garritt also emphasises the importance of the trees and the farmers who cultivate them, taking a holistic approach to the chocolate supply chain. “The creation of chocolate begins as a tree that’s being cultivated by communities who we have relationships with.” The growth of local processing facilities for beans grown in the region means that increasingly, chocolate consumed in Southeast Asia is grown and produced within the region. Bean to bar chocolate makers are springing up across the region. The likes of Malaysia’s Chocolate Concierge and Singapore’s Fossa and Lemuel are catering to the growing market for premium chocolate made and eaten in Southeast Asia. Fahey said Southeast Asia’s growing cafe and bakery scene represents the future of Asia’s chocolate market. In Jakarta, Aunilla showcases her high-end products at Pipiltin’s sleek dessert cafes. Diners can try a selection of pralines, macarons and cakes, all made from grown-in-Indonesia cocoa beans and processed every step of the way at home. “We’re creating a new market for premium chocolate in Indonesia,” said Aunilla. “Local Indonesians are our long-term target as our primary market, because the market is so big.” ■