Chocolate maker in search of the origin of his own confection

A Wairarapa chocolatier's mission to find the best cacao product has led him halfway across the world to Peru. 

Johnty Tatham started his chocolate business, Lucid Chocolatier, following the lockdown. It gave time for him and his brother, Paddy, to think about how they could best use the family's sheep and beef farm for their own ventures.

Now he's handcrafting chocolate from a cottage on the family farm and his sleekly packaged Lucid Chocolatier products can be found at Wellington restaurants and artisan chocolate shops.

So why Peru?

Tatham told Country Life it started as a point of difference to showcase the variation and complexity of flavour that could be achieved from one part of the world. 

"Chocolate is very similar to fine wine, there are lots of different genetics."

Tatham said Peru was the perfect choice due to the unparalleled genetic biodiversity and diversity of farmers. 

Plus, the sustainability and care given to farmers in Peru was another selling point, Tatham said. 

"In the chocolate world, there are still unjust activities occurring and if I were going to pour my heart and soul into something, I didn't want to put it into chocolate that wasn't ethically sourced.

"Peru is one of the safest countries in general to source cacao from. They are the world's leading producer of organic cacao and they have one of the highest average rates of pay for farmers."

All of this was confirmed when Tatham made the journey to Peru in July. There he travelled for a month to meet farmers who grow cacao he then ultimately turns into chocolate in the kitchen where he used to bake as a child.

Tatham described it as a "trip of a lifetime" which opened his eyes to the world of cacao.

The main area he spent time in was up north in the San Martin department, technically in the Amazon basin, he said. 

There, the climate was hot and humid, with lots of surrounding jungle. 

"The average size of a farm was two hectares - quite a bit smaller than New Zealand. Typically the farmers would produce a variety of fruits or vegetables and occasionally have some animals, but it is pretty rare. 

"The tall trees are there to provide shade and underneath there are banana plants and cacao trees."

Tatham said farmers harvest cacao to then give to a local fermentary or sell to a local co-op.

"Pretty much every farm I went to had their own way of operating the eco-system in a rotational way. They would use the rest of the cacao pods and break them into fertiliser to use on other plants."

Tatham said the organic way of farming cacao in Peru was less of a nice-to-have and more of a necessity.

"They produce in an organic fashion not because they have to, but because that is the only way they know how and the only way they have done for many many years.

"It's just something that comes naturally to them."

Tatham said the history of cacao in Peru is extensive. In fact, there is ongoing debate as to whether Peru was the birthplace of cacao. 

However, 20 years ago it was not the leading product harvested.

"A lot of the farmers were farming coca, the leaf that is used to make cocaine. What they were doing was exporting it over to Colombia where it was made into cocaine and exported around the world."

San Martin, where Tatham spent most of his time, is close to Colombia and renowned for coca leaves. 

"Since the government has started to make some positive changes, they offered to subsidise the production of cacao and coffee. 

"That has allowed them to be in a stable position not necessarily at the mercy of criminals who wanted to exploit them."

And as a result, it's given Tatham the opportunity to make some delicious chocolate in coastal Wairarapa.