Loco for Cocoa

In the last few weeks a purchase of pure gold reached a record high of over $2,400 an ounce. Thanks to uncertain global markets and a stepped-up demand from China, the precious metal is a more popular investment than ever. I find it amazing you can stroll into your local Costco and add gold bars to your shopping basket.  The promo was so popular however, Costco ran out of their allotment in a couple of months.  But here’s an even bigger concern. I’m worried Costco’s going to run out of chocolate.

It takes a bold headline to get me to read the article, and here’s a recent example: Chocolate Might Never Be the Same.  What I hoped would be several paragraphs about a newer or even healthier spin on my favorite confection was anything but.  Instead, I was stopped dead in my reading glasses when I saw the words “global shortage”.  It seems the world’s supply of cacao beans, which come primarily from West Africa, has been threatened by climate change.

precious metal ingredient

What I found interesting in the story was not so much the reasons for the shortage (drought, disease, aging cacao trees) but rather the speculation on how chocolate as we know it will change.  Right away, of course, the cost of high-end products will increase (chocolate was already up 10% in 2023).  Down the road, the powers that be may even relax the definition of “chocolate”, which currently requires (only) 10% of a product’s weight in cocoa.  And further down the road you’ll find faux chocolate, which doesn’t contain any cocoa at all.  Kind of like an Impossible Burger.

My relationship with chocolate, one that has matured beautifully over sixty-plus years, feels a little threatened.  Like most kids growing up in the 1960s, I loved Hershey bars… and a lot of other candies that gifted me a mouthful of cavities.  Then as a teenager, most of those candies fell by the wayside in favor of chocolate bars like 3 Musketeers, Milky Way, and Snickers.  But technically each of those is a “candy bar”, where the only chocolate to be found is the outside coating.

childhood chocolate

I credit three products for developing my taste for “just chocolate”.  First, Nestle’s Toll House Morsels, a bag of which could always be found in my mother’s pantry.  Second, Chunky’s foil-covered blocks, which brought appeal to, literally, consuming chunk chocolate.  Finally, Ghirardelli’s “Flicks”, colorful foil-covered tubes of what can only be described as oversized Toll House Morsels, sold alongside the popcorn and boxed candies at the movie theater.

theater chocolate

Little did I know at the time, I was nowhere near the best that chocolate had to offer.  A college year in Europe introduced me to more exotic brands like Perugina, Lindt, and Toblerone, and my taste for chocolate quickly matured from the milk to the dark varieties.  Here’s how far I’ve come since then.  The percentage of cocoa in a pure bar of Lindt chocolate starts at 70% (and goes all the way to 100% if you’re so bold).  My preference? 78%, a far cry from the minimum 10% definition of chocolate.  And a far cry from the chocolate bars of my youth.

We’re fortunate to have an authentic Belgian chocolate shop here in our small town.  Its proprietor was trained as a chocolate artisan in Belgium, and her creations start with Callebaut chocolate (also from Belgium).  Her truffles, as you can imagine, are exquisite.  The pure chocolate nibs she sells by the pound are even better.  And yet, as if to underscore today’s topic, her shop’s website now warns in a big, bold font: … at this time we are no longer able to accommodate wholesale prices.  Meaning her big buyers are now paying as much as we smaller ones.  Meaning chocolate is getting more expensive.

If the quality chocolate I’ve learned to love rises to price points I can’t digest, I might be forced to relive my childhood and settle for the “satisfaction” a milk chocolate Snickers bar claims to provide.  It’s a regression I don’t look forward to, but at least it beats faux chocolate.  Come to think of it, I should pick up a few of those gold bars at Costco. Maybe my Belgian chocolate shop takes more than cash or credit these days.

Some content sourced from The Atlantic article, “Chocolate Might Never Be the Same”, and Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.

Author: Dave

Four hundred posts would suggest I have something to say… This blog was born from a desire to elevate the English language, highlighting eloquent words from days gone by. The stories I share are snippets of life itself, and each comes with a bonus: a dusted-off word I hope you’ll go on to use more often. Read “Deutschland-ish Improvements” to learn about my backyard European wish list. Try “Slush Fun” for the throwback years of the 7-Eleven convenience store. Or drink in "Iced Coffee" to discover the plight of the rural French cafe. On the lighter side, read "Late Night Racquet Sports" for my adventures with our latest moth invasion. As Walt Whitman said, “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Here then, my verse. Welcome to Life In A Word.

32 thoughts on “Loco for Cocoa”

  1. “rises to price points I can’t digest”–best line. And seriously, what? You can pick up gold bars at Costco??

    I’m not too worried about chocolate trees, etc. Some enterprising people will plant new trees and eventually all will be well again, but that dropping quality is frightening. If companies can get away with selling less than 10% cocoa due to a shortage, once that shortage is over, what’s to make them change the rules back again? The companies that boast 10% will then be able to charge more. Hmm. Maybe the other companies will have to step up then too, to be competitive. I think it will all be okay, Dave. Also, for reasons I can’t put my finger on, though I’ve tried, I can’t seem to like Toblerone. For me, it’s Lindt for the win all day long.

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    1. We agree on Lindt (thumbs-up) and Toblerone (not so much), Betsy. As for the changes in chocolate, there’s one more I didn’t have the space to talk about – taste. Even if farmers plant new trees, the changing environmental conditions will change the taste of the cocoa. I’m sure it’ll be so gradual we won’t even realize what’s happening (kind of like the ever-reducing sizes of chocolate bars). And yes, you really can buy gold at Costco, although it’s not nearly as impressive as my final photo. The one-ounce bars they sell look like a foil-wrapped fun-size chocolate bar.

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  2. oh no!! I am really going to have a closer look at my relationship with chocolate. I am now on a hunt for Flicks, since I have never heard of that.

    I will eat any chocolate, except Hershey’s. I grew up with Nestle’s in Brazil.

    You made me get up and go get a UNREAL dark chocolate coconut bar 🙂

    I didn’t get a Costco gold bar, but it was tempting.

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    1. UNREAL is a good example of a newer trend in chocolate, Ana, where all of the ingredients are healthy and/or organic. Hu is another good one. The high-end brands I mention aren’t as good for you but they sure taste good. As for Nestle’s, I don’t buy their chocolate but I do drink their coffee. They are the parent company of Nespresso.

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      2. We “upgraded” from Kuerig to Nespresso as well, Ana, several years ago. We’ve never looked back. The coffee is noticeably superior and we like how Nestle is environmentally sensitive with their growers and the disposal of the coffee pods.

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  3. Okay, you’ve convinced me – time to build a large greenhouse in my backyard and figure out how to grow cocoa trees. Have to come up with something for when China finishes buying all my gold. I know, I know, I live in the silver state, but we have some gold around here.

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    1. “The Silver State!” Good one. I’d love for you to become a cocoa tree farmer but I’m pretty sure it would mean a very small crop or relocating further south in search of more humidity.

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  4. I have heard of the coming chocolate shortage and it is concerning. The chocolate in Switzerland was some of the best I’ve had. We recently remembered we still had a bar left from our trip, so we’ve been enjoying that. Tony’s Chocoloney bars are really good especially the pretzel toffee one.

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    1. Like my Belgian chocolate shop, I’m sure the best products come from small, independent businesses (and mostly in Europe). I do like a chocolate bar with other ingredients – even a Nestle’s Crunch still gets me – but my favorite is still pure chocolate.

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  5. Not a Costco shopper, is that true (gold bars)? Having lived in Europe for a couple of years and a more recent trip to Belgium, chocolate is beyond compare there, and I was a regular consumer, especially the hot chocolate in Belgium. If I lived in a climate that could grow cocoa trees, I might give it a try!

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    1. I’ve heard that claim about Belgian hot chocolate before, Ruth. Belgium is a bucket-list destination for the chocolate alone (and the waffles!) Costco really does sell gold, albeit in one-ounce bars, which are a lot smaller than the one in that last photo. 

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  6. Oh NO! A few years ago, I remember when chocolate prices went up in August, close to Halloween. Then, recently, I saw a headline mentioning that chocolate prices were going up again, but did not have time to read the article. I just did a quick read. It says companies will start diversifying … LOL… more jelly bean type products. Peeps might be on the rise too. Certainly doesn’t compare to chocolate.

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    1. Exactly, Monica – another “change” to chocolate will be more offerings where chocolate is no longer the principal ingredient. The manufacturers can keep their costs down by using less cocoa. Reminds me of Mercedes these days, where you see one of their cars go by and say, “That’s a Mercedes?” Maybe we’ll be saying the same thing about Lindt.

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  7. Toblerone! I haven’t had that in years yet couldn’t tell you why. I know I’ve read about a possible chocolate shortage, but will do my best to not let it discourage me. I’m sure that manufacturers will find a work around, less actual chocolate on a bar, more junk inside. Same price at first then… up… up… up!

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  8. Oh wow – well, that is sad Dave, just like when I was eating my Ghirardelli chocolate with the highest cacao perceentage for heart health, then learned that I was ingesting a high intake of the metal cadmium. I have since switched to a lower cacao percentage. But I know they said the highest percentage was best … I give up sometimes. I do like Lindt dark chocolate too – very creamy and satisfying. It’s been years since I had a Toblerone bar with that creamy chocolate and nougats. We went to a German butcher shop for years, mostly for their rustic bread and also they were the only ones that carried Toblerone and Ritter bars.

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      1. Ha ha – I was pretty horrified hearing that and decided to stop for a long time to get that cadmium out of my system! Now I only have chocolate in the 70% cacao range … it is sweeter at least. I also liked Hershey’s Kisses … the plain ones ’til they started adding lots of stuff to them … the Hershey Hugs were nice with the brown and white chocolate. I’ve not had them in years.

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  9. I’ve read that cocoa is grown in 58 countries on more than 17 million acres world-wide. It seems probable that a changing climate could have a negative impact on some cocoa producing areas but a positive impact on other areas! Time will tell!

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    1. Good to know (and something of a relief, actually). I certainly hope the prognosis for quality chocolate is not as dismal as my article made it out to be.

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  10. Each evening I consume one dark chocolate square, either Lindt or Ghirardelli–for the health benefits and anti-oxidants, of course. I vote for Medicare to help compensate for rising cocoa prices, like they help with some prescriptions!

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    1. Dark chocolate is one of those wonderful foods (like red wine, like blueberries): good for you AND tastes good. I like your suggestion for Medicare changes, Nancy. Write your local congressperson! 🙂

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    1. 3 Musketeers gets a lot of flack for being so light and airy but I always loved them. I’ve had a few in my adult years (impulse buys at the cash register) and they’re usually past their prime and a little too chewy. Makes me think they aren’t purchased very often anymore.

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  12. I will confess that if I never have another plain Hershey bar, it will be too soon. I might say the same thing about a Three Musketeers, but I prefer those to a plain Hershey bar, which I find has an unpleasant flavor.
    But as for really good chocolate, I’m all in! And I am another who prefers dark chocolate to milk chocolate.

    Now you have me really Jonesing for a hunk of dark chocolate, and we have none in the house. But wait, I think there is a bag of Nestle morsels around here somewhere. Any port in a storm!

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    1. The Nestle morsels are my Kryptonite. They sit quietly in the pantry unopened, waiting to be added to some baked good. More likely they come to my rescue – like you – when I have a chocolate craving and no other option. And agreed, I’d have to be pretty desperate to step back down to a Hershey bar. ”Waxy” comes to mind.

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