A single piece of chocolate melts a person’s woes away into sweet nothingness for a few seconds. It’s safe to say that even the most disagreeing personalities can’t help but agree that the cacao bean, the origin point of things chocolate, is hands down one of the best things man has discovered. It was initially nothing but a bittersweet tea brewed by Aztecs, but today, thanks to us, chocolate can now be incorporated into almost anything.
The chocolate business is a primary source of income for many economies. Here are a few that are renowned for their chocolates.
United Kingdom: The UK is the ground that saw the birth of a brand that is synonymous with chocolate: Cadbury. The British chocolate market has hit a whopping 4 billion dollars, which includes not just Cadbury, but several other world-famous chocolates like Kit Kat, Galaxy Bar and more. One of the biggest confectionery brands in all of the UK, Buchanan is also known as the ‘Confectionery Clan’ and is well known for its Chocolate Caramels and Chocolate Peppermint Creams. Montezuma and Charbonnel & Walker are amongst other popular British chocolate brands that you must get a taste of whenever in the UK.
Ghana: A heavy-duty factory for chocolate production, Ghana is responsible for 22% of the world’s cocoa, which is nearly 8,50,000 tonnes a year. Surprisingly, Ghana is usually not mentioned along with Switzerland in casual conversations about international chocolates. It’s the Ghanian cacao bean that makes Swiss chocolates what they are! ‘57 Chocolate is all you’ll hear of when in Ghana. Started by two charismatic sisters, Kimberly and Priscilla Addison in 2016, it is an impactful initiative of producing Ghanian chocolate from Ghanian beans in Ghana.
Ivory Coast: The name of this little place doesn’t come up often, except when conversing about chocolates around the world. Ivory Coast or Cote d'Ivoire is the biggest producer of chocolate in the world. A rich legacy, the life of Ivorians is immersed in chocolate. Instant Chocolat is an Ivorian chocolate brand that blends local odors and flavors into chocolate. With the home ground advantage, Instant Chocolat stands apart from bigger chocolate brands.
St. Lucia: The Caribbean hotspot for chocolates, St Lucia goes gaga when it comes to chocolates. Chocolate tourism here will include chocolate spas, hotels, tasting tours, bean-to-bar tours and anything else that one can think of. The bars here inhale chocolate and exhale chocolate beer! St Lucia should let you have enough chocolate for a lifetime in every possible manner.
Belgium: Another country whose name pops in your head when you hear ‘chocolate’. It was in the 17th century that a Belgian bought chocolate and had a little too much fun commercializing it. In the coming decades, the world saw chocolate in different avatars, like chocolate with fillings, or in the shape of figurines. See that box of Nutella on your kitchen shelf? Thank the Belgians for getting so creative with chocolate. It was Côte d’Or, a luxurious Belgian chocolate brand, that introduced chocolate spread for the first time in 1952. Belgium’s Beer and the Chocolate tour is bound to introduce you to a whole new side of chocolate, for it is led by chocolate and beer connoisseur Werner Callebaut.
