Chocolate makers taste sweet success again
Cassowary Coast growers recognised for producing some of the world’s best cocoa beans at the 2019 Cocoa of Excellence Awards in Paris last month.
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CHARLEY’S Chocolate Factory owners Lynn and Chris Jahnke have once again tasted international success with their homegrown cocoa beans.
In 2017, the Mission Beach chocolate makers were delighted to be recognised as one of 18 recipients of the prestigious Salon du Chocolate International Cocoa Awards and now their company, Australian Chocolate Pty Ltd, has again received international acclaim as a producer of some of the world’s finest cocoa beans.
Their cocoa bean samples were selected as one of the top 50 cocoa samples for the 2019 edition of the Cocoa of Excellence Awards in Paris after a long and complex assessment that began back in February.
The top fifty were chosen from more than 200 samples of the finest cocoa beans from 55 countries across the world.
It is a first for Australia to earn recognition back to back at this biannual event, a fact Lynn Jahnke is very proud of.
“It puts Australian cocoa on the map,” she said.
“It shows we can compete with the world’s absolute best cocoa growers from well-established regions like Africa and the Ivory Coast – not in terms of volume of course, but certainly in terms of quality.
“It gives the cocoa recognition here in Australia.
“It’s a developing industry still in its infancy but when you start winning awards like this (Salon du Chocolate) it helps it in the future.”
Ms Jahnke was in Papua New Guinea judging a chocolate competition when she heard the good news that the cocoa beans used to make chocolate for Charley’s Chocolate Factory had once again won over the Cocoa of Excellence technical committee.
Her initial surprise was made even greater by the fact that fellow cocoa growers from Taiwan and PNG were also selected in the top 50.
“I read the email and was delighted,” she said.
“I turned to Warren Hsu (Fu Wan Chocolate, Taiwan) and said we’re top 50 in Paris and then he said so am I.
“It was great and also really terrific for the PNG growers to receive acknowledgment for their hard work.”
Originally published as Chocolate makers taste sweet success again