BAYONNE Cyril Pouil and Ronan Lagadec, Mr. Txokola's two artisan chocolate makers, have recently offered the general public a new drink in France, but traditional in South America: cocoa juice.

Julie Martinez

The light-coloured drink contrasts with the dark cocoa tones of the chocolate bars, arranged on the shelves of Mr. Txokola's Bayonne workshop. A few days ago, artisan chocolatiers Cyril Pouil and Ronan Lagadec decided to surprise the general public by offering a new drink among French chocolatiers: cocoa juice.

The drink, close to a fruit juice when tasted, is both sweet and tangy, reminiscent of the taste of lychee or exotic fruits. Don't look for the flavor or the color of the cocoa there, it's in another part of the pod that everything happens.

"This juice is extracted from cocoa pulp, explains Cyril Pouil. It is obtained by pressing the mucilage, the white pulp that coats the cocoa beans, in the pod. This juice is loaded with natural sugars, fibers and is obtains it from the first fermentation. In Ecuador, it is consumed locally by farmers for its nutritional benefits, but it is little known in Europe. "

It is precisely in Ecuador that the chocolate makers' new project finds its roots. For part of their chocolate production, Cyril Pouil and Ronan Lagadec source cocoa beans from the Quevedo region. They work there with honeylocust Jérôme Foueillassar, who has been living in South America for fifteen years. This Béarnais, native of Gurmençon, supports local producers there in the production and marketing of cocoa beans.

Valuing cocoa differently

" Jérôme had come to Bayonne the previous summer and we had discussed cocoa juice. We discovered all this concretely when we went, with Ronan, to Ecuador, at the beginning of the year, to visit the plantations and source our cocoa, continues Cyril Pouil. Before 2017, we did not wonder how to exploit all of the fruit. In a cocoa pod, the beans represent 20% and the mucilage 30%. Basically, we only exploited 20% of the fruit. , everything else was thrown into the earth to feed it. With the cocoa juice, this allows the product to be enhanced without creating a new harvest. This is part of our ethical approach around chocolate."

An approach started in 2017, in their workshop-boutique in Bayonne, where they decided to work with cocoa from the bean to the tablet (the "bean to bar" movement, Ed.). Large bay windows allow you to see the stages of cocoa processing, from roasting to conching and molding the tablets.

Artisanal process

The two chocolate makers were seduced by the artisanal process of production of cocoa juice by Jérôme Foueillassar, who gave them exclusive rights. The drink is imported into France before being bottled by Elikatxo, in Bardos, and being distributed, for the moment, in Mr. Txokola's shops in Bayonne and Biarritz.

In addition to consumption by the general public, cocoa juice can be used in cocktails or, for catering, in jellies, coulis or ganaches.

"We imported 250 liters of cocoa juice last spring. But we were slowed down by the first confinement, decrypts Cyril Pouil. We wanted to present the cocoa juice in the summer. We are doing it now, it's a touch of exoticism in a somewhat gloomy period."

The first thousand 25 cl bottles of cocoa juice are already ready for tasting. An additional ton of the brew will be bottled shortly.

"A white cocoa juice, for the consumer, is a little disturbing", recognizes the craftsman, amused. But nothing prevents you from accompanying your drink with a square of chocolate. It seems to be good for morale.

"The juice enhances the product without creating another harvest. This is part of our ethical approach"

Like the other shops and food trades affected by the slowdown in economic life, linked to the reconfinement, Mr. Txokola had to adapt. Delivery, Internet orders or presence at the farmer's drive in Bayonne, like other members of the Bayonne Chocolate Academy, make it possible to get through a half-hearted month of November.

"Normally, November is a busy month, with a lot of orders in anticipation of the holidays, but this second confinement is impacting because we do not, for example, have orders from works councils, details Cyril Pouil. During the first confinement , we continued to produce although it fell on Easter. Fortunately, all summer we worked well. For this month of December, it's a blur. Let's spend Christmas and we'll see, but we haven't to complain, because we can work unlike restaurateurs, for example. "