Defining Specialty | #PodSaveChocolate Ep73

By Clay Gordon | 8 hours ago | 6 min read

Original image: Mick Haupt / Unsplash. Pod graphic: Sara Scodeller.

Episode 73 of #PodSaveChocolate is a continuation of the exploration of fine, craft, artisan, specialty, and other terms and phrases used in cocoa and chocolate today.

When and Where to Watch

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The LIVE episode starts at 10:00 AM PDT/MST (11:00 MDT, 12:00 CDT, 13:00 EDT), on Friday, September 20th, 2024.

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Join the conversation LIVE!

Links to watch/comment LIVE – or to view the archived episode – on all three platforms:

Click to watch on YouTube in a new tab or window. Please subscribe (free!) to the @PodSaveChocolate YouTube channel, like this video, comment, and share to help grow the #PSC community.

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Episode 73 Overview

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Words inform beliefs.
Beliefs inform actions.
Actions have consequences.

When two or more people use the same words but ascribe different meanings to them, they often talk past each other, and accepting and using different meanings can lead to acting on those meanings differently – with potentially serious consequences.

One example is the use of the word “fair” in terms like “fair trade.” What does fair mean? Who gets to decide what’s fair?

A recent back-and-forth in the /r/chocolate subreddit reinforced (at least to me) the need to be clear and precise about the language we use.

TL;DR – In this case, the word “husk” was used to refer to the part of the cacao pod that is not seeds, pulp, or placenta, as well as to the shell removed from the dried beans. Part of the ensuing conversation was at cross-purposes as we were using the same word to talk about two different things and neither of us was making sense to the other.

The image from the /r/chocolate subreddit post in question.

This exchange followed a response from a ChocolateLife member to something I wrote in the September member newsletter.

Scroll down to the **blogthoughts** section.

The ChocolateLife member, in response to my thoughts on the use of specialty vs fine, sent me the following definition from a 2017 article (link below) penned by Dr Carla Martin of the FCCI. Those two definitions follow and the first thing I am going to do is review the definitions explaining where I think they miss the mark, and why:

Specialty cacao (FCCI)

... cacao produced with craftsmanship and intention toward the sales goal of receiving a premium above the bulk commodity market price. Specialty cacao production is based on a notion of quality that is linked to lack of defects and the presence of fine flavor and aroma(s).

Specialty chocolate maker/manufacturer (FCCI)

... a bean to bar chocolate maker working with mostly specialty cacao and using less than or equal to 200 metric tons of cacao annually.

Sharon Terenzi asked, in a post on LinkedIn, the following question recently:

Should machines be included in the definition of Craft Chocolate, or is the final quality of the chocolate the only thing that matters?

My immediate response to Sharon’s question (Absolutely NOT!) echoes some of my objections to the FCCI definition of specialty chocolate makers.

In this episode ...

I will do a deep dive and present an ordered set of definitions that you can use to help you communicate about specialty chocolate and cocoa to your customers, friends, and family members.

Links & Resources

Originally published in 2017 this is the source of the two definitions attributed to Dr Carla Martin quoted above.

Questions?

If you have questions or want to comment, you can do so live during the episode or, if you are a ChocolateLife member, you can add them in the Comments below at any time.

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