African cocoa farmers taste chocolate for the first time, get very excited

This is very sweet (sorry).

African cocoa farmers taste chocolate for the first time, get very excited

A video of a group of cocoa farmers enjoying the taste of chocolate for the very first time has become a surprise internet hit.

The video, posted online in February by Dutch public service broadcaster VPRO, has taken off after being shared via the online community Reddit.

It shows a group of farmers in the Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) who despite growing cocoa beans for a living, have never tasted the finished product and have no idea what their beans are used for.

"To be honest I do not know what they make of my beans," says farmer N'Da Alphonse.

"I've heard they're used as flavoring in cooking, but I've never seen it. I do not even know if it's true."

Enter the television presenter, who's brought along a bar of chocolate to share.

Needless to say, it goes down a treat (our favourite bit is after they are finished the first bar and the guy pulls out a second - cue much whooping and cheering).

(That's only a clip - here's a link to the whole programme if you want to watch it)

Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans, suppying 30% of cocoa produced in the world.

Despite this, it's common for the farmers who grow it not to have experienced the finished product. As the video explains, a bar of chocolate is around €2 in the country, while daily earnings for a farmer are only about €7 (out of which he will have to pay labourers).

"I know it's weird, but in West Africa a bunch of the stuff we produce is for export only," wrote one commenter on Reddit.

" It wasn't part of the traditional food, thus people never cared to eat it, or even knew how to finish production of it. The raw materials are just sent off.

"It's not just cocoa. We produce coffee but don't roast it or drink it. We produce mangos, but not mango shakes. Chicken, but the variety for export is considered 'too soft' for the local palette."

While the production of cocoa is the mainstay of the Côte d'Ivoire economy (as well as coffee and palm oil), it and other west African nations have been criticised for practices used in the sector, and specifically the issue of child labour.

In this instance we can be sure that the featured farmers aren't guilty of this (VPRO works closely with NGOs) but it does leave a sweet video with a slightly bitter aftertaste…

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