The next chapter of the L’Esterre journey is in the works.
Some of you may have noticed we’ve been sold out of chocolate since late last year. My fault for dangling the good stuff in front of you and snatching it away without warning. A lot of the reason is because there was only so much I could fit in my suitcase. A lot also because I naively assumed I’d never be able to sell more than 10 chocolate bars. Idiot.
To Grenada and back again
And so last month’s trip to Grenada culminated in the first (official) export of cocoa nibs from L’Esterre to myself in the UK. Sorting, roasting, packing, transporting and plenty paperwork changes later, with some good family time in between, we made the first shipment to ourselves possible.
If I didn’t give the game away already, I was making everything from nib to bar from my wee cottage kitchen, hand tempering every single button—learning A LOT of lessons of how chocolate behaves. Those unwelcome, but necessary lessons to understand what needs to be solved to progress to the next stage.
So I asked myself; how do I get to a place where I can produce 300 bars in a day instead of a labour-exhaustive 30? More crucially, how can I one day run it like a business and maybe even pay myself for the noble act of introducing L’Esterre chocolate to your tastebuds.
A question of scaling, a factory in the making
And so a little farm shed has been offered to me on my boyfriend’s family farm, with the intention of being converted to house a tiny chocolate factory.
So instead of trying to do it all at once and only bringing you limited amounts of chocolate at a time, I’m going to dedicate my chocolate time to doing things properly, not returning until I can promise you consistent, quality supply.
That does mean it might not be until summer that you’ll see our virtual shelves fully restocked. But rest assured, drips and drabs may come available until then. The sacrifice to your taste buds now will be worth the wait. Trust me. I’ll be keeping you updated along every step of the journey.
Third decade wisdom
Call it thirty years around this sun, call it learning hard and fast lessons from my twenties, particularly the past year. From thinking the world is your oyster and everything could be possible. To realising the world needs you to just make one damned decision and live with it. So you better make it achievable and only do things within the capability of your one small, irreplaceable life.
Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to have a glossy, functioning factory with chocolate dripping from the taps, but I’m going to enjoy the process instead of getting too caught up on the goal itself.
So here’s to all of us and the next stage of life wherever that may be for you. Pace it just right to enjoy the journey, because the destination is ever changing.
Love, as always,
Bobbie
