Glossary

Blend

A chocolate made with more than one flavor of cocoa beans.

Cocoa bean

Cocoa beans are the seeds of the cocoa tree. They are the basis for making chocolate; they are used to make cocoa powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, and finally chocolate. There are generally 40 to 60 beans in each cocoa fruit pod.

Cocoa fruit

The cocoa fruit grows on the trunks of the cocoa tree and takes four to five months to grow and another month to ripen. Altogether, it takes five to eight months from bud to ripe fruit.

The pod is green while maturing and turns yellow, orange, red, or purple when ripe.

The cocoa fruit pods can vary significantly in size, from 10 to 40cm in length.

Cocoa mass

Cocoa mass is a thick, chewy, and dark brown paste that forms the basis for all chocolate products.

Cocoa nibs

Cocoa nibs are cocoa bean fragments that have been separated from their shells, broken into smaller pieces, and roasted.

Cocoa tree (Theobroma Cacao)

The tropical tree that produces cocoa beans. Theobroma means "food of the gods".

The cocoa tree is very demanding when it comes to climatic conditions, which are only found in countries in the latitudes between 20 degrees north to 20 degrees south of the equator.

The plant is a moisture-loving evergreen tropical tree that needs shade. Cocoa seeds germinate and produce robust trees when they come from pods that are no more than 15 days green. Hybrid varieties can be harvested three to four years after planting. Criollo and Forastero cocoa trees take longer to produce fruit.

Factors such as farm management, soil type, diversity of cocoa trees, climate, diseases, or pests have a huge impact on productivity, i.e., the amount of pods a cocoa tree produces. 30 years after planting, the yield of cocoa trees begins to decline. Then, rehabilitation in the form of replanting or grafting is necessary to restore the tree’s original condition.

Cocoa varieties

As with wine or coffee, there are different cocoa varieties. The main varieties are Criollo, Trinitario (fine-flavor cocoa) and Forastero (consumer cocoa). The varieties also have sub-varieties which are often of regional origin (through mutations, etc.). In the case of Criollo, for example, there is Porcelana, which is only grown in Venezuela and Colombia.

Conche

The name of a machine and process of stirring, aerating, and heating chocolate in a certain way, in order to make it particularly smooth. Invented by Rodolphe Lindt, one of Lindt & Sprüngli’s founding fathers, in 1879.

Consumer cocoa

Cocoa with robust flavors (usually of the Forastero variety). Consumer cocoa accounts for the largest share, about 90-95%, of the world's total cocoa production. Ghana, the second-largest cocoa producer in the world after Côte d’Ivoire. Ghana is Lindt & Sprüngli's major cocoa bean origin and therefore also the first country in which our Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program was established in 2008.

Criollo

A fine flavor cocoa bean variety and one of the three main cocoa bean varieties. Criollo is the rarest, most disease-prone, and therefore most expensive of the three main varieties Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario. It grows in milder climates in South America and requires very fertile soil. The beans are very aromatic and have a low acidity, which is an advantage in the production of fine chocolate products.

Drying

Careful drying of the cocoa beans is an important step in the production of good chocolate. The best results are achieved by natural sun drying. Drying is done differently depending on the country of cultivation (sun, gas, fire, etc.). As the cocoa trees prefer humid areas, drying is a stressful affair for the farmers, as they always have to keep a close eye on the weather and, if necessary, protect the beans from rain. In addition, they have to turn them over so that the beans can dry evenly. If they are dried incorrectly, the cocoa beans are damaged and unpleasant aromas may develop. Depending on the variety and climatic conditions, drying takes 3 to 8 days. At the end of the drying process, the beans’ moisture content should not exceed 6.5%. If it is higher, the beans can start to mold during transport.

Fermentation

Process through which the flavors of the cocoa beans unfold. Fermentation is a natural process used after harvesting in the country of origin. During this process, the sugar in raw cocoa beans is converted into alcohol, which eliminates germs and develops the necessary elements that change the composition of the beans so that the characteristic taste and aroma of the chocolate develop during roasting.

Fine Cocoa

The varieties Criollo and Trinitario are usually called "fine or flavor cocoa". They are more valuable than the consumer cocoa Forastero, as they are less productive and more susceptible to pests but have a much more complex and interesting taste. Fine-flavor cocoa is a high-quality cocoa with nuanced, subtle flavors. It is mainly grown in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, fine-flavor cocoa varieties account for only about 5–10% of the world's cocoa production.

Forastero

Forastero is one of the three main cocoa bean varieties and the most widely grown worldwide, accounting for 90-95% of the world's harvest. It is highly productive and resistant to diseases. Its fat content is higher, and its breakage is lower than other varieties. Ghana is a major producer, known for its high-quality Forastero cocoa. The variety is also referred to as consumer cocoa (see our definition of consumer cocoa in this glossary).

Living-Income Differential (LID)

At the beginning of July 2019, the governments of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana announced the introduction of a new pricing mechanism that provides for a price premium (differential) of 400 US dollars per ton of raw cocoa to benefit cocoa producers. This differential is to be paid in addition to the prevailing cocoa market price. It is intended to enable cocoa producers in both countries to obtain a better cocoa price.

Nacional

Nacional cocoa grows only in Ecuador and is often counted as the fourth cocoa variety but actually belongs to the Forastero variety. Its special position is related to its distinctive aroma.

Origins

The cocoa tree is very demanding when it comes to climatic conditions. It only grows in countries in the latitudes between 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the equator – the so-called cocoa belt. Cocoa trees tolerate relatively high temperatures with a maximum annual average of 30 to 32 degrees Celsius and a minimum average of 18 to 21 degrees Celsius.

Lindt & Sprüngli sources its high-quality cocoa beans from the world's best-known cocoa origins, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea.

Price / in-kind premium

Lindt & Sprüngli pays market prices per ton of cocoa to suppliers, plus a "differential", which depends on the country of origin and the cocoa variety (see also Living-Income Differential (LID)). In addition, we pay a price premium per ton of cocoa into our own responsible sourcing program, the Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program.

It is important to us that our farmers benefit directly from these payments and that we thus sustainably improve their living conditions and those of their village communities. The price premium can be paid out directly or the cocoa farmers can benefit from it in the form of products (e.g., work clothes, tools) or services (e.g., tree pruning service). Depending on the country and the preferences of the farmers, we adapt our in-kind premium.

Production

The production of chocolate is a complex process. It begins in the country of origin, where the cocoa is harvested, fermented, and dried. The chocolate maker then crushes the beans, roasts, and mixes them with the other ingredients – which vary according to the desired chocolate recipe – and grinds the mass very finely. Finally, the chocolate mass is conched and further processed with various ingredients.

Pulp

The mass surrounding the cocoa beans within the fresh cocoa fruit. The pulp of the fruit is pale lavender in color and slippery in texture. It is edible and tastes sweet and fresh. The taste is described as vaguely lemony.

Sustainability Plan

The Lindt & Sprüngli Sustainability Plan is our strategy for optimizing our impact on the societies, environments, and economies in which we are present. It reflects our core company values of Excellence, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Responsibility, and Collaboration. Our Sustainability Plan centers around Lindt & Sprüngli’s priority focus areas, grouped under four purpose pillars: improving the livelihoods of people in our supply chain; contributing to an intact environment; fostering successful collaboration within the company; delighting our consumers.

Traceability

Traceability makes it possible to trace cocoa beans and other ingredients back to their place of origin. This is a prerequisite for Lindt & Sprüngli to take on responsibility for responsible cocoa cultivation in the countries of origin. We use different traceability models depending on the cocoa product. For cocoa beans, with the exception of a test delivery, Lindt & Sprüngli has a traceable supply chain which is considered as “Mixed Identity Preserved” or “Identity Preserved”. This highest level of traceability means that our cocoa beans from the Farming Program are traceable from the first point or purchase to our factory doors, and must be supplier from registered Farming Program farmers.

The following supply chain traceability models are generally used in our approaches to responsible sourcing of agricultural raw materials:

Identity Preserved: Unique identification of the material and traceability back to its origin, e.g., a specific farm, a farmer group or a mill
Segregation: Separation of materials with sustainability characteristics from conventional materials throughout the supply chain, but not necessarily traceable back to their origin
Mass balance: Physical mixture of materials with and without sustainability characteristics where the volume of sustainably produced materials corresponds to the volume purchased and reported.

Trinitario

Fine flavor cocoa beans and one of the three main cocoa bean varieties. A hybrid of the Criollo and Forastero varieties, named after Trinidad and Tobago, its place of origin. Grows in South America, on various Caribbean islands and a few other places.

Top