{"id":8361,"date":"2016-06-21T13:31:51","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T20:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=8361"},"modified":"2024-10-24T15:36:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T22:36:57","slug":"a-cacao-tree-grows-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/outsidechocolate\/a-cacao-tree-grows-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"A cacao tree grows in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chocolate
It’s not just me, right? That building totally looks like a giant chocolate fondue fountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On our May 2016 trip to Japan, we wanted to see what local artisan chocolate is like in Tokyo and Kyoto.<\/p>\n

We were, of course, super excited to visit our own SFBA Dandelion Chocolate\u2019s<\/strong> Tokyo location<\/a>, but we were also curious about what\u2019s happening with Japan\u2019s homegrown artisan chocolate scene. Although Cacaopod & I don\u2019t speak Japanese, we figured chocolate would be enough of a common language that we could learn what\u2019s unique and interesting there.<\/p>\n

We got a warning before we started: Our Airbnb hostess in Tokyo, Margo, turned out to be a fellow chocolate fanatic, whose mother sends her chocolate from Europe because, as Margo explained, \u201cChocolate is the one thing the Japanese do not do well. They do many great things, but chocolate isn\u2019t one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scene\u2019s the thing<\/h2>\n

We checked out a few places for ourselves, and concluded that Margo is not entirely wrong. The shopping experience is wonderful: Pretty shops, pretty packaging, interesting-sounding flavors, and very polite staff make for a fun time, which I think might be more of the point for most Japanese than the actual chocolate.<\/p>\n

\"Chocolat
You can count on the packaging of Japanese chocolates to make any gift recipient feel special<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I understand it, chocolate is a customary gift on Valentine\u2019s Day, as it is here in the U.S., but with a twist: women are expected to gift the men in their lives with chocolate on this day, and not just those in whom they have a romantic interest. They give store-bought chocolate to co-workers, bosses, and guy friends. Boyfriends and husbands get handmade chocolates, because that\u2019s true love.<\/p>\n

[Japanese women: you have my sympathy; not only do you have to hand-make chocolate for your beloved (I do not cook), plus buy something appropriate for every other man in your life (I am not a shopper), but on your special day, when the men in your life reciprocate with chocolate presents, they tend to give you white chocolate because the holiday is named White Day (I dislike white chocolate). Triple ugh. ]<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Meiji
There\u2019s more to the Japanese chocolate scene than unusual \u00a0KitKat flavors from Nestle\u2019s and bars like these that sound like they should be really super dark, but contain milk powder and other additives (from Meiji, the Hershey\u2019s of Japan).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since it\u2019s usually an obligatory gift, it seems there is less at stake in making chocolate in Japan. As a result, the shopping experience is great; the chocolate, not so much.<\/p>\n

Olde Tyme Bean-to-Bar<\/h2>\n

It shouldn\u2019t be that way: Chocolate has a long history in Japan. In the early 1900s, Japanese confectionery company Morinaga started selling its own domestically produced chocolate, becoming, according to its website<\/a>, \u201cthe first bean-to-bar manufacturer\u201d in Japan. (However, it also states that the cacao beans were grown in Japan, which seems doubtful because Japan isn\u2019t close enough to the equator.) When we visited the Advertising Museum in Tokyo<\/a>, we saw a couple of Morinaga\u2019s rather trippy chocolate commercials from the 50s & 60s (one for a bar called \u201cYell\u201d featured a man in a hot air balloon leading people on the ground in a rousing cheer). Morinaga continues to sell chocolate candies today, although most Americans probably know them better for their soft, fruity Hi-Chew candies.<\/p>\n

Other longtime chocolate-making companies in Japan include Meiji<\/a>, Lotte<\/a>, and Mary Chocolate<\/a>. And there are lots of other chocolate options in Japan: International food conglomerates like Nestle\u2019s make products specifically for the Japanese market<\/a>, department stores carry a large variety of local and imported chocolate brands (French brands are particularly easy to find), and there\u2019s novelty chocolates everywhere \u2014 we even saw chocolates shaped like little sumo wrestlers<\/a> when we went to a sumo tournament. But while those chocolates were interesting, they didn\u2019t compel me to eat them. (Although next time I go to Japan, I will definitely try the chocolate slices \u00e0 la Kraft Singles<\/a> made by Bourbon<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Instead, we focused our tasting on local artisan chocolates in the 2 cities we visited, and while I can\u2019t claim to have experienced the whole gamut of artisan chocolate there, I can say I found some good chocolate in Japan.<\/p>\n

In addition to Dandelion Chocolate\u2019s factory+store, we visited 2 artisan chocolatiers in Tokyo, D\u00e9cadence du Chocolat<\/strong> and Mus\u00e9e du Chocolat Th\u00e9obroma, <\/strong>and one in Kyoto, Chocolat Bel Amer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No language barrier<\/h2>\n

We were very lucky when we visited D\u00e9cadence du Chocolat<\/strong><\/a> in the Ginza because the counter person had spent a lot of time in California so language was no problem. Higashi wasn\u2019t a chocolatier, but she was helpful in showing us which chocolates were uniquely Japanese.<\/p>\n

We tried the Ume,<\/em> a dark chocolate flavored with plum wine; Ocha,<\/em> a dark with green tea; Litchi,<\/em> a dark with lychee puree & liqueur; Satsuma,<\/em> a dark with a milk ganache flavored with Imojochu (sweet potato spirits) and sweet potato; and Sansho,<\/em> a dark with Asian pepper.<\/p>\n

\"decadence
D\u00e9cadence du Chocolat\u2019s line of 29 truffles includes uniquely Japanese flavors like the Satsuma,<\/em> flavored with sweet potato spirits, and the Ume, flavored with plum wine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These are good chocolates with a very smooth ganache and strong chocolate flavor. We liked them, but found the flavorings too subtle. I couldn\u2019t taste plum wine in the Ume, just felt a little alcohol numbing at the end. The Satsuma had a distinct taste, but it didn\u2019t seem like sweet potato or even booze. In fact, each one tasted different from the others, but if I didn\u2019t know what was in them, I wouldn\u2019t be able to guess. We had the same problem with their new product offering: the brightly colored \u201c7 crayons\u201d \u2014 nice tasting chocolates, if a bit too sweet for me, but I couldn\u2019t tell what flavors they were supposed to be without looking at the menu.<\/p>\n

We found this to be a common theme in the Japanese artisan chocolates we tried: very subtle flavors supporting the chocolate. I prefer flavored chocolates that run through a progression of flavor notes, or have big bold tastes. I liked D\u00e9cadence\u2019s chocolates \u2014 they are not overly sweet, they have a lovely chocolate flavor and creamy, smooth ganaches \u2014 but I would prefer the unique flavors do more than support the chocolate.<\/p>\n

\"decadence
D\u00e9cadence du Chocolat is housed in this cool, funky Art Nouveau-meets-The Hobbit store underneath an elevated expressway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We asked Higashi what their best-seller is, but she wasn\u2019t sure because they had only been in this space for 9 months and she was fairly new to the business. But she did tell us her personal favorite was the Rocher Noir,<\/em> so we tried that too. This was a different experience: A dark chocolate with almond & hazelnut praline and cacao nibs, it was a creamy\/crunchy chocolate with a strong hazelnut taste. We West-Coasters must think alike. There was no mystery about what we were eating.<\/p>\n

Higashi also recommended their \u201ccigars,\u201d which are brandy-infused truffles rolled in chocolate flakes and shaped like cigars. These were more satisfying to us than the subtle truffles because there were more brandy notes in the chocolate so the taste seemed more balanced to us.<\/p>\n

D\u00e9cadence du Chocolat<\/a>,<\/strong> \u3012104-0061 T\u014dky\u014d-to, Ch\u016b\u014d-ku, Ginza, 1 Chome\u22122\u22123<\/p>\n

Mystery at the Mus\u00e9e<\/h2>\n

Our next visit was not as easy. Mus\u00e9e du Chocolat Th\u00e9obroma<\/strong><\/a> is tucked away on a small street near the Harajuku district and other interesting sites, so it seemed easy to get to, but even with GPS on our iPhones, we got lost and wandered a bit before we found it.<\/p>\n

Once we got close, there was no overlooking it though: A series of brown awnings with Th\u00e9obroma written on them, windows crammed with chocolate references \u2014 plus their little white truck parked on the sidewalk in front and prominently displaying their logo \u2014 all told us we had found the place.<\/p>\n

\"theobroma
Th\u00e9obroma is within walking distance of the Harajuku district and Meiji Shrine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inside they have a loooong display case with lots of chocolate inside. Like D\u00e9cadence, they have a variety of truffles, although with a more European flavor profile: liqueurs and hazelnut paste, which makes sense since Th\u00e9obroma\u2019s chocolatier spent 6 years in Paris learning how to make chocolate.<\/p>\n

\"Musee
Since we can\u2019t read Japanese, we just took a chance on this one.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They also have a lot of bars and molded chocolates, so you can find gifts for any chocolate lovers on your list. At the end of the space is a small caf\u00e9 where you can enjoy hot chocolate and desserts \u2014 kind of like a mini-Angeline<\/a>\u2019s, transported from Paris. A really lovely place to hang out for a bit.<\/p>\n

However, the staff\u2019s English was minimal, so while we could communicate enough to purchase chocolates, we couldn\u2019t ask any questions about the chocolate. I couldn\u2019t find out about their unique products \u2014 like the little tins of \u201ccaviar\u201d or the bags of what looked like polished pebbles or what was in the special white truffle we bought \u2014 beyond what little English or French there was on the packaging and signs.<\/p>\n

So we bought a few truffles to try and a box of their chocolate \u201cflight\u201d \u2014 eight squares of chocolate, each with a different amount of cacao, from 46% to 90%.<\/p>\n

\"theobroma
Theobroma offers a lot of cute gift options in addition to a full line of truffles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like D\u00e9cadence, the chocolates were good quality chocolate, and again the added flavors were very subtle. We could not decipher what the white chocolate truffle was even after tasting it \u2014 it seemed a little sour\/fruity\/citrus-y to us, but remains a mystery. Even the Parapara<\/em> truffle, which was listed as pepper flavored, was subtle \u2014 instead of a hot pepper, there was a ground black pepper flavor at the end along with some peppery grit from a sprinkling of black pepper on the outside of the chocolate.<\/p>\n

Of the samples we tried, only the Zea,<\/em> which was coffee flavored, had a strong taste aided by the crunchy coffee grinds in the ganache. I was intrigued by the Tomate<\/em> (tomato) listed on the menu \u2014 that\u2019s not a chocolate flavoring that you see everyday \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t in the case that day.<\/p>\n

Musee du Chocolat Theobroma<\/a>,<\/strong> near Meiji Shrine and Harajuku neighborhood, \u3012151-0063 Tokyo, Shibuya, Tomigaya, 1 Chome\u221214\u22129<\/p>\n

We were only in Tokyo a few days, so we haven\u2019t even skimmed the surface of local artisan chocolate there. Others we look forward to checking out in the future: Le Chocolat de H<\/a>, Mont St. Clair<\/a>, and Green Bean To Bar Chocolate<\/a>. Just another reason for planning another trip!<\/p>\n

\"Bel
Chocolat Bel Amer\u00a0was a popular shopping destination when we visited<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chocolate in a tea town<\/h2>\n

On this, our first trip to Japan, we also visited Kyoto, which is known for its temples and tea \u2014 it\u2019s where the tea ceremony originated. Although it was only May, it was super hot and humid in Kyoto. Not ideal weather for chocolate touring: we skipped the hot chocolate and chocolate fondue, which left us with not a lot of options for exploring the local chocolate scene.<\/p>\n

In fact, the time to check out chocolate in Kyoto is probably around Valentine\u2019s Day. A lot of local tea companies and other food companies create special chocolate-themed items for the holiday. I would love to try the fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate, then rolled in matcha green tea offered by one of the tea shops there, but they only make them in wintertime. As in Tokyo, there were mainstream chocolates everywhere, including imported French chocolates, but the artisan scene is small.<\/p>\n

We met up with fellow CBTB chocolateer, Martha, who was visiting Kyoto at the same time, and checked out Chocolat Bel Amer,<\/strong><\/a> a Japanese chocolate maker with stores in several cities. They are known for their extensive line of chocolate mendiants, 2-1\/2″ rounds decorated with fruits, nuts, candies and chocolate paints, in a wide range of flavors from green tea to sake to black bean. They also make \u201cStick Chocolate,\u201d which look like very pretty ice cream-sicles, but are chocolate with different flavors and decorations.<\/p>\n

\"Bel
Bel Amer\u2019s Stick Chocolat packaging and display mimics upscale cosmetics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We opted for a sampling of their traditional truffles and their line of tea-flavored jelly chocolates. They also offer the jelly-filled chocolates in sake flavors, but since we were in a tea town, we thought we\u2019d try local.<\/p>\n

\"Chocolat
If you\u2019re OK with sweet-sweet-sweet chocolates, Bel Amer\u2019s Matcha truffle (far right) is an interesting sensation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bel
Chocolat Bel Amer had a cacao-themed Japanese garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The traditional truffles we tried were more flavorful than we expected based on our recent experiences, but very sweet. For example, the Praline had a strong sesame flavor, which was a nice Asian twist on praline, but it was in a super sweet milk chocolate. The matcha green tea truffle had a very matcha tasting smooth ganache with a powdery texture afterwards \u2014 pretty cool taste sensation \u2014 but the white chocolate base was too sweet for me.<\/p>\n

The tea jelly chocolates were similarly too sweet. The jellies were really interesting: firm, chewy, with unique tastes (the \u201cdeep steamed\u201d green tea from Shizuoka Prefecture was the weirdest: vegetal\/grassy with mushroom overtones), but the chocolate wrapping the jellies was disappointingly sweet and a little grainy. Better chocolate would have helped \u2014 or maybe forget the chocolate and just put the jelly in mochi<\/em> balls<\/a> for an extra-chewy treat.<\/p>\n

\"Bel
Bel Amer\u2019s jelly-filled chocolates shine like little jewels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chocolat Bel Amer<\/a>,<\/strong> 66, Masuyacho, Nakagyo-ku Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, 604-8111<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t have enough time in Kyoto this time to get a real feel for the chocolate scene. Next time I visit Kyoto, I\u2019d like to check out Dari K<\/a> (and their chocolate sake in a bottle shaped like a cacao pod), Cacao 365<\/a> (to see the uniquely Japanese designs on their chocolates), and Cacao Magic<\/a>, a raw chocolate shop. But first, I must learn some chocolate-related Japanese phrases so I can converse with Japanese chocolatiers and find out what\u2019s happening in their own words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Possibly there are cacao trees in Japan. At the very least, imitation cacao pods and some real chocolate were found<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,13,169],"tags":[560,848,857,859,860,846,849,852,850,855,856,584,853,505,854,858,624,221,847,851],"class_list":["post-8361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chocolateroundtheworld","category-outsidechocolate","category-reviews","tag-bourbon","tag-chocolat-bel-amer","tag-decadence-du-chocolat","tag-ginza","tag-harajuku","tag-japan","tag-jelly","tag-kitkat","tag-kyoto","tag-lotte","tag-mary-chocolate","tag-matcha-green-tea","tag-meiji","tag-mendiant","tag-morinaga","tag-musee-du-chocolat-theobroma","tag-sesame","tag-tea","tag-tokyo","tag-valentines-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8361"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44506,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8361\/revisions\/44506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}