FORBES INDONESIA

LUXURY & LIFESTYLE

JAVAS HIDDEN CHOCOLATE

Java criollo, one of the worlds best chocolates, is disappearing even as demand for it grows.
By Alissa Gwynn

FROM TOP: PIPILTIN COCOA SIGNATURE DISH; SOME CHOCOLATE BARS; INDONESIA CHOCOLATE CUP 2013 AWARD-WINNING PLATED DESSERT FROM PIPILTIN.

Fruity, leathery and complexthese may not be the rst adjectives that come to mind to describe gourmet chocolate. Yet cocoa connoisseurs insist that the explosive avors of Java criollo, a type of cocoa bean found only in Java, qualify it as the crme de la crme of chocolate. The irony is that Indonesiathe third largest cocoa producing country in the worldis pushing cocoa production to Sulawesi and converting cocoa plantations in Java to palm oil. The result is that one of Indonesias most valuable agricultural commodities, the prized Java criollo, is slowly disappearing despite demand for it increasing. Criollo beans constitute only 3% of the worlds cocoa production. Despite their reputation for making the worlds best (and most expensive) chocolate, criollo cocoa plants easily get sick and require special care, which is why most farmers instead typically favor the related forastero or trinitario (a hybrid of criollo and forastero) cocoa plants, which are easier to grow. Most likely the original cocoa plant from Central America was criollo, and criollo was the rst type of cocoa grown in Indonesia from the 1500s and the most widely grown for decades. Even in the 1980s, there was some 30,000 hectares of cocoa plantations in Java. Today that number is 2,000 hectares; all run by the state-owned Perkebunan Nusantara XII (PTPN XII) plantation rm. Today Java criollos scarcity has given it almost mythical status. To make an analogy with coffee beans, forastero cocoa beans are like robustaplain, bitter, thats itwhile criollo is like the micro-lot of arabica, says Irvan
40 | FORBES INDONESIA OCTOBER 2013

FORBES INDONESIA

LUXURY & LIFESTYLE

THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

TISSA AUNILLA AND IRVAN HELMI, CO-FOUNDERS OF THE PREMIER CHOCOLATE OUTLET, PIPILTIN COCOA.

Helmi, co-founder of the Pipiltin Cocoa, a newly opened premier chocolate outlet in Jakarta. Because of its exclusivity, Java criollo is about 20% more expensive than forastero beans, according to the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute. Java cocoa is prized for its distinctive avor; the volcanic soil in Java creates cocoa beans that have a different taste and aroma than beans produced elsewhere. In addition, Javas perceived mystiquevolcanoes, the Ring of Fire and the East Indiesappeals to many people, says Mervyn Pereira, principal of the Chocolate School in Jakarta. However, about 90% of the chocolate produced in Indonesia is low quality, known as compound chocolate, while that from Europe or the U.S. is higher quality, known as couverture chocolate. In Europe, those numbers are reversed; with 90% of local chocolates couverture. Few here want to buy The volcanic soil in Java the expensive high-end cocoa beans creates cocoa beans that to make couverture. The demand have a different taste for criollo domestically is very low, and aroma than beans says Tissa Aunilla, Irvans sister and co-founder of Pipiltin. produced elsewhere. Thus, nearly all the Java criollo is sold to high-end chocolate makers such as Felchlin in Switzerland, which has a single-origin Java criollo chocolate on its website. However, that is all about to change. Pipiltin recently acquired Java criollo beans from PTPN XII, despite the plantations initial reluctance to sell such small quantities of criollo beans300 kg, in Pipiltins caseto local companies. Irvan and Tissa have already begun the trial and error process to create their own ne dark chocolate criollo recipe. Once ready, they plan on including the criollo chocolate with their current offerings and encourage couverture chocolate production in Indonesia. Irvan says: Indonesians like to buy chocolate from Belgium, Switzerland and the U.S., but the cocoa isnt actually from those countries. Basically, the appetite for good Indonesian chocolate is there, but it needs to be ignited and localized. F
42 | FORBES INDONESIA OCTOBER 2013

THE PIPILTIN COCOA FACTORY AND CAF IS LOCATED AT JL. BARITO II NO. 5 KEBAYORAN BARU, JAKARTA, WWW.PIPILTINCOCOA.COM.

COURTESY OF PIPILTIN COCOA, AHMAD ZAMRONI / FORBES INDONESIA

Opened in March, the Pipiltin Cocoa Factory and Caf is a unique experiment. Although some other high-end chocolate makers have recently sprung up, such as Monggo chocolate in Yogyakarta, Pipiltin is the rst to create its own chocolate entirely inhouse in Jakarta. It is run by brother and sister pair Irvan Helmi and Tissa Aunilla. The pair had always loved chocolate and teamed up for their rst business venture together after Tissa studied at the Condirama Training Centre run by Felchlin in Switzerland and Irvan co-founded the Anomali Coffee chain. Irvan was visiting a coffee plantation for Anomali and noticed the cocoa plantation right next to it. He was, why dont we start something? and from there I started practicing tempering chocolate in my own house for different recipes, says Tissa. Pipiltinnamed after a Aztec noble classhas a menu that includes desserts such as crunchy chocolate cheesecake, truffle chocolate cake and chocolate fudge cookies. Its most popular items are the eggless chocolate cake and the carrot cake. The caf sits on top of a chocolate mini-factory on the ground oor where chocolate is made from the bean to bar. Irvan and Tissa want to bring chocolate to a new level. It comes down to how you present and package chocolate, says Irvan. The pair wants to show that Indonesia can produce chocolate of the same quality as other countries, using only Indonesian cocoa. Although the chocolate-making area is small, the standards are world-class, such as taking several days for the conching, a stirring process that ensures smoothness. When ready, this chocolate is used in various chocolate treats in the shop. Irvan tries to produce only as much chocolate as needed daily, so the chocolate remains as fresh as possible. A small amount of extra chocolate is molded into bars to be kept as backup. Ironically, Irvan can sell chocolate desserts, including hot chocolate and fondue, but he is not allowed to sell simple bars of chocolate, due to regulatory issuesthe closest product to a bar are small chocolate covered nut clusters.