Chock-full o' Chocolate

Foodie News

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Ask a Jamaican about 'chocolate tea' and he might possibly recall memories of his mother or grandmother stirring a piping-hot brew with a greasy surface caused by the presence of cocoa butter.

Stir in cinnamon, vanilla, lots of condensed milk before straining and serving in an enamel mug, and the memory is complete.

This aromatic old-time favourite is perhaps best enjoyed on those cold, wet mornings when savouring the scorching-yet-spicy concoction -- both a lesson in skill and caution -- seems more appealing.

Alas, many of the charms of Old Jamaica are being overtaken by modernity, and the idea of drying cacao pods on a sheet of zinc or banana leaf, grinding the seeds with a mortar and pestle and using bare hands to roll them into golf-sized balls is for many the stuff of antiquity.

Enter John Mahfood, executive director of Caribbean Dreams/ Tetley Tea Company (Jamaica) Limited.

He has sought to give the 'chocolate tea' beverage a facelift, tailored to the grab-and-go habits of the modern consumer.

"The Caribbean Dreams teas are based on the idea of producing traditional Jamaican favourites," Mahfood shares, speaking to his original line of teas like peppermint and fever grass.

"Having done that and seen how Jamaicans received what's theirs, we decided to introduce the Jamaican Old Style Chocolate," Mahfood adds, pointing out that though chocolate products exist, they're not authentic and are devoid of the sentimental attachments many Jamaicans feel when they think of 'chocolate tea'.

"The process of rolling the chocolate powder by hand, mixing it with cinnamon and so on...most people don't have time for that these days," Mahfood says.

"So we thought...let's try and make it convenient, hence we made the sachets," he adds.

"Parents would be able to give it to their children and in a way preserve the tradition."

Going forward Mahfood says he and his team came up with a formula that, "was as close to thing real thing as possible."

The formula led him to partner with a Manchester-based company called Pioneer Chocolate, which produces the instant powder under the Tetley brand.

But how much different is it in taste from the real thing?

Hardly noticeable, and there's no trace of that oily surface in this more aesthetically pleasing mix.

"We tried to make it authentic, so there is the ground chocolate, milk powder, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, perfectly balanced and packed into airtight containers," Mahfood says, pointing out that the reception from the market has been "pretty good".

Mahfood pointed out that the product, which retails for J$280 plus GCT for a pack that contains 10 sachets, has been on the market for about a year and that Tetley has been working at gaining even more consumer awareness.

"We have been doing several in-store tastings and events to ensure that people become aware of the product," informs Mahfood.

He tells Thursday Food, too, that though there are plans to tap into the Jamaican Diaspora through export, the focus is for now on the local market.

"We want to solidify it in the local market, as when this is done it will no doubt be more successful in the foreign market," he shares.

The cups of chocolate are presented and in respect to the tradition they're piping hot, just the thing for a rainy day.

"It's true that people drink more tea when it's cooler," Mahfood says with a laugh.

Do you agree with proposals submitted by the Private Sector Working Group on Tax Reform, calling for an end to the 50 per cent cut in corporate income tax enjoyed by companies during their second five years as listed entities on the Junior Market?
	Yes
	No

View Results
Results published weekly in Sunday Finance

Username:
Password: