CARIBBEAN
Grenada’s Paradise Beach
It’s no surprise that chocolate crops thrive across the islands of the Caribbean. The sunshine and rich, volcanic soil on many is ideal for nurturing the trees – a fact readily exploited by the colonial powers that historically tussled over the region.
The Spaniards first planted cacao in Trinidad in 1525.
From the late 16th century, as European demand for the crop grew, more slaves were shipped from Africa to the West Indies to work the fields to satisfy a distant continent’s growing cravings.
The Grenada Chocolate Company is a leading light in ethical – and delicious – production. In 1999, an
Organic Cocoa Farmers’ and Chocolate-makers’ Cooperative was set up by visionary American Mott Green and Grenadian farmers Doug Browne and Edmond Brown.
It proved a game-changer, demonstrating that it was possible to produce chocolate on Grenada and also benefit local people.
The company’s success has led to the island becoming a real hub for the sweet stuff.
It also inspired other artisan chocolatiers and, in 2014, the founding of the Grenada Chocolate Festival, held each May in capital St George’s.
At the Grenada Chocolate Company’s shop, you can learn about the chocolate-making process and buy handmade truffles and awardwinning bars, including Salty-licious, made with Caribbean sea salt, and the punchy 100 per cent pure cocoa – so strong it’s almost savoury. grenadachocolate.com
People have been producing cocoa, coffee and sugar cane on Dominica’s Bois Cotlette estate for 300 years. When US businessman Jonathan Lehrer first found the place in 2011, it was a little the worse for wear. First settled in the 1730s by a French family from Martinique, Bois Cotlette was still owned by descendants of the original settlers.
Now, chocolate tours explore the site’s legacy of cacao cultivation – archaeologists surveying the site found a whole slave village there. There’s also the chance to process a pod into a bar, and plenty of tastings.
Lonely Planet’s Global Chocolate Tour, £14.99 lonelyplanet.com