For Patricia Cosma, a Romanian lover of craft chocolates, a chance visit to an Indian coffee plantation alters the course of her life, and she ends up living here to help local farmers cultivate and market their cocoa.
What if we told you that a chance outing of a Romanian chocolate lover to a coffee plantation in India has led to the enrichment of India’s cocoa market? Disbelief is natural.
But here we are with Patricia Cosma, who after years of studying and understanding the Indian cocoa industry, has spruced up the cocoa trade by conceiving and curating India’s first and only cacao and craft chocolate festival.
To begin with, cacao is the seed of the Theobroma cacao tree, from which cocoa is made following fermentation and drying.
As Partha Varanashi, a third-generation cacao farmer from Karnataka educates us, “Cacao, originally from the forests of Latin America, is meant to grow in agroforestry conditions. When grown that way, the life of a cacao plant is over a hundred years.”
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Cacao came to India in the 1960s and craft or artisanal chocolate making started in 2010.
The prices of cacao had not gone up in the last 15 years leading many cacao farmers to stop its cultivation. The global crisis of 2024 led to price rise, including the prices of cacao in India.
“The prices of cacao had not gone up in the last 15 years leading many cacao farmers to stop its cultivation. The global crisis of 2024 led to price rise, including the prices of cacao in India,” added Varanashi.
Recounting her journey as a chocolate maker, Cosma says, “I have always loved chocolates and would have a craft chocolate everyday. I was on a ketogenic diet and I enjoyed the flavourful chocolate with 90 percent cacao and 10 percent sugar.”
It was in November 2018 that she first visited India following an invitation from a friend to visit a specialty coffee plantation in Chikmagalur, Karnataka.
“I had known India to have a fine range of impressive craft chocolates. I interacted with the local farmers to know more about the chocolate-making process and spent a lot of time visiting farms in Pollachi (Tamil Nadu) and Idukki (Kerala) to understand Indian cacao production in greater depth,” she further adds.
She was in Romania when the Covid 19 pandemic struck the world in March 2020. She had to spend eight months in a lockdown there. “I realised then that India is my home and it is here I want to settle down fully,” says Cosma.
Once the horrifying throes of the pandemic eased, Cosma returned to India and spent nearly a year experimenting in an abandoned cacao farm in Mysore, Karnataka.
“My stint in Mysore was a give-and-take experience. Working with a local partner in the village, I invested time in teaching the farmers about pruning, composting, pit-making and the like. It was a learning experience as it allowed me to get in touch with agricultural aspects of cocoa cultivation in India,” Cosma explains.
The chocolate lover turned entrepreneur rues that not many know about the “insane amount of labour” involved in growing cocoa. “It should justifiably be priced high.”
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Working with the industry stakeholders, Cosma realised the need for active marketing and networking forums for Indian cacao to claim its rightful position on the global scene.
It was during her Mysore days that Cosma met Ketaki Churi, a culinary studies graduate, and together they conceived the Indian Cacao and Craft Chocolate Festival, a first-of-its-kind marketing and networking forum in the country.
Cosma says that the festival evolved organically out of the farmers’ needs. “Farmers felt that it shall be productive and beneficial to have a networking forum to connect with peers,” she states.
The festival that was held in Bengaluru in November 2024 had nearly 2,500 participants enjoying craft chocolates by different Indian and international brands. Among the many other firsts to its credit, the festival also launched cacao juice which was well-received.
“This year we had five farmers showcasing their cacao and produce made with different parts of the cacao plant. We also had over 50 farmers attending as visitors. They see the festival as a platform to connect with new buyers,” says Cosma.
“The festival is doing a fantastic job in not only educating the customers about craft chocolates but also encouraging craft chocolate makers and giving them a stage to display their amazing produce,” points out Partha Varanashi, who participated in the festival.
“Cacao, as the term Theobroma suggests, is the food of gods and is full of nutrients. I consume cacao in its raw form and artisanal chocolates are the closest to the raw form,” adds Varanashi, who is also a high-performance athlete and coach.
Hoping for increased cacao production and consumption in India, Varanshi notes, “It is great to see lots of people buying cacao plants and growing them.”
Cosma feels Indian cacao has to get its rightful due. “I aspire to put Indian cacao on the global map,” she says, signing off.
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The lead image on top shows craft chocolate lover Patricia Cosma at a cocoa farm in India. (Photo by Bhavya Pansari)
Rema Sundar is a development sector professional.
