When we think of Martinique’s agricultural production, images of sugar cane, bananas and exotic fruits come to mind. However, this is to forget that there are other crops of excellence in the island of flowers. Coffee and cocoa are perfect examples, their culture had fallen into disuse before finding a new breath recently. Let’s go and discover these two little known riches of Martinique.
If there is one thing that makes everyone agree, it is coffee. First of all because coffee is one of the few terms that are universal, it is the same word in all languages. This is the proof of a common passion for this beverage that is unanimously accepted. The origin of the word is already an adventure, and a perfect summary of de its history !
The origins of the coffee would be to seek the Ethiopian province of “Kaffa”. But it is the Arabs who mastered the culture in the fifteenth century in Yemen, it is there that it takes the familiar name of “qahwa”. Passed by the Ottoman Empire, it becomes “kahve”, then finally “caffè” after a short passage with the Venetians who ensured the import in the old continent.
Coffee was then very popular in the Muslim world, and the scholars of the Ottoman Empire liked to meet in the “coffee houses”. As early as 1610, the word coffee is attested in the kingdom of France, it is even in the city of Marseille that appears the first establishment serving this beverage. Let’s remember that afterwards, the word “caoua” borrowed from the dialects of the Maghreb will be widely used in France, especially via the military slang of Africa.
The arrival of coffee in Martinique is an equally remarkable story. The island is considered as the “gateway” of coffee in the new world. In the 18th century, the drink was as successful in Europe as in the Orient. Coffee houses” existed in all European cities, where intellectuals, artists and poets met.
In 1714, the mayor of Amsterdam offered a young coffee tree to King Louis XIV who successfully planted it in the greenhouses of the King’s garden. The adaptation was so successful that it reproduced and served as a strain for all the coffee trees in the American islands. In 1716, the botanist Isemberg made the first attempt to plant three coffee plants in Martinique. The enterprise ended in failure, as yellow fever took the scientist away shortly after his arrival on the island.
It was not until four years later that a new attempt was made by a military man named De Clieux. Here again, the enterprise almost never succeeded. Braving a journey of a thousand perils, between storms and pirates, De Clieux had to take care of three precious coffee plants.
As water was scarce during the long crossing, he had to share his ration with the plants to allow them to survive. Once the plants arrived in port, they were planted in Prêcheur on the fertile slopes of Mount Pelée. The first harvests took place in 1726 and were abundant, the tropical climate of Martinique being particularly well suited to the cultivation of coffee.
Given these encouraging results, plants were sent to Guyana, Guadeloupe and Santo Domingo. According to the sources of the time, there were almost nineteen million coffee trees in Martinique in 1777. In 1918, a stele was erected in honor of De Clieux in the Martinique Botanical Garden .
But for the people of Martinique, coffee has a bitter aftertaste, as its introduction in the island is closely linked to the slave trade.
Over the centuries, coffee cultivation fell into disuse in favor of other more profitable crops. Coffee plants remained on the island in private homes, there was no longer any large-scale cultivation. Thus, sugar cane and banana became predominant on the island.
It was only very recently, in 2014, that the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement decided to reintroduce coffee in Martinique. To do this, they searched for, and identified, coffee plants descended from the original plants of the eighteenth century. At the end of this selection, only three trees were selected from the original “Arabica Typica” variety.
Then cuttings were planted in the island from 2017, including within the Regional Natural Park of Martinique. The choice fell on three main areas: the Morne Vert, Bellefontaine and Fonds Saint Denis.
In total, twenty hectares of coffee trees are planted, with the first symbolic tasting in March 2021. The goal is to recreate a coffee industry of excellence in Martinique. The Martinique coffee is fruity, very balanced, it is part of the category of coffee of good quality. It is a return to the roots for the Martinique coffee which is among the best in the world, in fact all the great Arabicas of South America come directly from the varieties of Martinique.
Symbol of this rebirth of coffee in Martinique, the artisan roaster Ti’Kafé installed in Trois-îlets offers its coffees “from bean to cup”.
The cocoa tree is a tree that produces seeds called cocoa beans. It is from the roasting of these that cocoa is produced. The cocoa tree grows in tropical areas, but particularly in South America.
The cultivation of cocoa was known to Mesoamerican civilizations (Aztecs, Mayans), who used cocoa for food purposes but also for ritual and economic purposes. Indeed, the Maya dedicated a real cult to the cocoa tree, and cocoa beans were also used as currency.
The Aztecs made a beverage from cocoa, the “Xocoalt”, which would have given the name of chocolate. Both civilizations believed that cocoa had medicinal properties, especially for heartburn.
When Christopher Columbus made contact with the Aztecs in 1502, he received from them cocoa beans and a bowl of the traditional beverage. Later on, Hernan Cortes, with the knowledge of the Aztec chocolate recipe, brought it to Spain.
The reception reserved to the chocolate drink by the Spanish population is then mixed. It was only when it was adapted to local tastes (served hot, sweet and with cookies to dip in it) that chocolate really became a fashionable drink.
There are two hypotheses concerning the arrival of cocoa in Martinique. The first one claims that the cocoa tree is a native species, that is to say present in the island naturally. According to this version the first cocoa trees were discovered in 1655 in Martinique in a forest. Another hypothesis attributes to a Jewish merchant, Benjamin da Costa d’Andrade, the introduction of cocoa on the island. The latter would have brought back plans from Venezuela that he would have obtained from the Indians.
In 1684, the first regular cocoa plantation was established, which had the effect of creating an activity for the colonists who did not have the means to engage in the more expensive production of sugar cane. Moreover, the culture of cocoa proved to be perfectly adapted to the humid parts of the island which, on the contrary, are not very suitable for sugar production. The French had developed a taste for chocolate, which created a natural outlet for Martinique’s production.
But in 1727, a violent cyclone put an end to this first encouraging experience. The cocoa plantations destroyed, the colonists turned to the latest arrival: coffee. The culture of cocoa, even if it survived, would never really recover and remain at the artisanal stage. Because it is an expensive and difficult crop, it is a fragile product whose transport and processing also suffer from very high costs.
Besides, cocoa has also proved to be less profitable from a commercial point of view. Indeed, in France the demand for cocoa is weak, while it is strong for other colonial commodities such as cotton, sugar and tobacco. The sales flow was too modest, while the taxes were very high. This explains the long eclipse of cocoa cultivation in Martinique, which nevertheless remains in a residual way.
Like coffee, cocoa in Martinique had almost disappeared from the landscape, despite a strong expansion in the 18th century. But for the last ten years, cocoa has been rising from its ashes in Martinique. Thanks to the efforts of an association, the island has gone from a few dozen producers to more than forty.
Valcaco is an association created in 2015 bringing together producers, processors, and other actors in the industry, united so that Martinique reconnects with its cocoa history. The association’s producer members practice pesticide-free agriculture, and harvests are done by hand. In 2020, the total production amounted to 2.5 tons for a cultivation area of 75 hectares.
Even though Martinique’s cocoa is internationally recognized, the production is mainly intended to supply the local market.
The cultivation of cocoa trees is particularly adapted to the climate of Martinique. The tree appreciates humid inland areas and grows naturally under the canopy of shady forests.
The cocoa tree starts producing after three to five years after planting. The flowers are fertilized by insects and produce fruits called pods.
Each pod can contain several dozen beans (usually about 40) that are dried and roasted. All the steps are carried out locally, which makes it possible to obtain a 100% Martinique cocoa.
The cocoa stick, or gwo kako, is part of the composition of first communion chocolate. It consists of dried and roasted cocoa beans. The beans are then crushed to obtain an oily paste. This paste is then rolled into the shape of a small stick.
The Antillean hot chocolate is a real institution in Martinique. It is traditionally associated with religious celebrations, in particular the first communion. To make it, a stick of cocoa is grated into a preparation based on hot milk enhanced with cinnamon, lime, a little grated nutmeg and a vanilla bean.
Elot chocolate is well known to all Martiniqueans. The company created at the beginning of the XXth century produced chocolate bars well known by all the little Martiniqueans, (and even the older ones). Made with natural products, local brown sugar, vanilla, and a part of beans produced in Martinique, Elot chocolate has kept the same recipe since its creation.
More than a hundred years later, the success remains intact and Elot chocolate continues to delight the people of Martinique. It is the Elot chocolate that we use to make the Antillean hot chocolate if we don’t have a cocoa stick. The company located in Lamentin regularly welcomes the public, it is possible to visit this monument of the gastronomic heritage of Martinique.
Today, the brand has diversified its range of products while maintaining its image with the Martiniqueans.
The Lauzea brothers are true ambassadors of Martinique chocolate. These artisanal chocolate makers produce handmade chocolates that integrate spices, fruits and vegetables of the West Indian tradition. Thus, chocolate is mixed with exotic flavors such as guava, soursop, sweet pepper, rum or colombo.
