Tell me the size of your microns
“Thing is yeah, it started in a small club, and now it’s in a big club, so obviously… the movement is working”
I’m reminded of the opening line taken from U.K. Grime artist Novelist’s track ‘1-sec.’ Something similar can certainly be said for the bean to bar chocolate movement in 2021.
Having grown and evolved considerably since the days of John Nancy’s early Alchemist blog and passionate exchanges on Clay Gordon’s Chocolate Life Forum (RIP clay’s thesis-like responses to simple forum questions lol), a movement that has stretched and nudged its way out of the cocoon of its genesis moment, experiencing metamorphosis into the genuine alternative to industrial chocolate and cacao’s answer to craft beer, specialty coffee and natural wine (bio dynamic wine we’ll be with you in a bit, hold your pony mane).
But where there’s a collective of people working on the same “problem” (using the silicon valley pitch-deck application of the word) it’s not uncommon for herd consensus to build around certain elements of the business/movement, and for patterns to emerge around communication among, other things.
“My microns bring all the boys to the yard”
In the early days the likes of the late Mott (David) Greene and John Scharffenberger made a concerted effort to de-mystify the process of chocolate making previously veiled behind a complex industrial curtain, largely not understood by the public. Hence naturally one of the great mission statements of the bean-to-bar maker’s manifesto was to break down the process of chocolate making into essential steps so that the public could understand it, and learn where/how craft chocolate was making a departure from it’s industrial 18th century aging sibling.
Hence with time the words crack/winnow/grind/conche would slowly emboss themselves on the up-cycled labels and wrappers of craft chocolate makers around the world. As the industry matured and became more technical, so did the explanations.
Having spent my earlier career in the cocktail/mixology circles of London during the 2000's I am well accustomed to the double speak of things conveyed either behind or across the bar. As the average corporate professional assumes their position at the bar of their choosing at 6pm to unwind from a day at the office over a daquiri, they may enjoy tales of Earnest Hemingway enjoying the same variation of the libation in front of them, punctuated with a dash of grapefruit at Bar Floridita. However this fun anecdote to their post work cocktail hour may be of far greater interest than the yeast strain a bartender just discovered on a recent distillery tour in Barbados. Similarly Smitha grabbing an 8g square of her favourite craft chocolate while looking over textile samples from a new supplier, is in all honesty less interested in how long the cacao was fermented, the torque speed of your Antique Spanish Conche and the PH level of your micro lot pre-grind during the monsoon. To the average consumer this information is NOT a marketing USP, it’s jargon! It really belongs, for all wants and purposes, behind the bar (excuse the metaphor and pun).
CRAFT CHOCOLATE MAKERS ARE NOT YOUR CUSTOMERS!
You heard that right! No maker will remain solvent by targeting other craft chocolate makers as their key consumer. It’s incumbent on us, the industry to yes, convey the virtues of craft over industrial but faaaaaar more importantly to capture the public’s imagination! Honest people really don’t want to hear how big your microns are. They want an experience! They want a narrative that’s captivating. I see far too many makers getting lost in the technical aspects of their craft, usually in search of critical acclaim from their peers, whilst neglecting a comprehensive customer experience that speaks to the romance of what chocolate really is.
We don’t sell chocolate, we share culture
In this era of social media consumers want to be addressed through a multi-faceted prism of word, static image and visual storytelling. This ultimately brings me to the subject of culture. We don’t sell chocolate, we share culture. After all is said and done a product and its virtues are meaningless without a mission and a message. It’s time more craft chocolate makers remember that the technical aspects of their craft are tools (mechanics) to create an experience (dynamics). Chocolate is meant to be sexy, to touch us in places, and there’s no thesis on anaerobic fermentation that’s going to do that. So next time you’re about to tell your customer the size of your microns, just keep it in your wrapper.
