Hello together
Our project is now ready to publish. When we receive the text from Elizabeth we can publish it on dontwastemy.energy.
Here you can find our part.
Best regards,
Shana & Rahel
From the cacao bean to the chocolate bar
In school Shana and Rahel heard about Elizabeth’s project about the chocolate production in Kerala. Because of the high rate of chocolate consumption and also production in Switzerland, we thought it would be interesting to collaborate with Elizabeth.
The idea was, that Elizabeth focus on the cacao bean and it’s growth in India. Shana and Rahel focus on the production of chocolate in Switzerland.
“Title Elizabeth”
The manufacture of the cacao bean
The chocolate production in Switzerland
In the course of the 16th century, chocolate came from America to Europe. In the 17th century the chocolate production in Switzerland began. In the second half of the 19th century, Swiss chocolate spread abroad. Switzerland revolutionized through the invention of conching. The invention of milk chocolate by Daniel Peter was equally important. The most important and influential factories include Cailler, Lindt, Frey and Sprüngli. In 2016, 185,639 tons of Swiss chocolate were sold. This generated an industry turnover of 1,764 million. 65 % of the chocolate produced is exported abroad to over 140 different countries.
The water consumption
It takes 27,000 liters of water to produce one kilo of cocoa beans. The cocoa bean needs the most water for the growth of all food. For comparison: With the same amount of water, almost 34 kg of the water goes into growth.
Approximately a third of the water consumption is used for transport and storage. Extrapolated to the chocolate production in Switzerland, this means that over 2.5 trillion liters of water are used only for chocolate production (Refer to Lars and Dharanys’s page).
Many people are not aware of the enormous consumption of resources. The cocoa bean in particular needs lots of water.
The process from the bean to the chocolate table
After importing the cocoa bean, the cocoa beans are roasted at temperatures from 100 ° to 160 °. The beans are then crushed in grinders. The fat of the cocoa bean comes out and combines the fragments into a liquid cocoa mass. Then, depending on the desired product, it is mixed with sugar and milk powder. Then the chocolate mass is conched. This means that it is heated to 90 ° and stirred. After about 8 hours, the delicate, liquid mass is poured into preheated molds. After cooling, the chocolate can be removed from the mold. In order for chocolate to last for a long time, it must be stored dry, airtight and refrigerated. The storage temperature should be between 12 and 20 ° and should not fluctuate.
https://www.tropenhaus-frutigen.ch/de/events/tropische-schokolade-giessen-227#fda7860e744f2d665a5f2ad69be676f3-2
What does this path mean for the energy consumption?
The amount of energy that is required for the manufacture, transport, storage, sale and disposal is called gray energy. In Switzerland, gray energy primarily corresponds to non-renewable energy such as oil and coal. The amount of energy consumed in chocolate in Switzerland is 2.5 kW / h. Converted into heating oil, this is approximately 2.5 dl of heating oil, since ten kW / h correspond to approximately one liter.
Conclusion
We tried to visit a chocolate factory in Switzerland but we received several cancellations and couldn’t go. We were surprised about the amount of water which is needed for the production and the growth of chocolate beans.
https://de.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweizer_Schokolade
https://www.nachhaltigleben.ch/food/wasserverbrauch-schweiz-so-viel-kostet-die-Produktion-von-Lebensmitteln-2848
https://www.handelszeitung.ch/konjunktur/diesen-laendern-ist-die-lust-auf-schokolade-am-groessten-1020282
http://www.schoko-seite.de/schokolade/gesundheit.html
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/schokoladenherstellung-wie-die-bohne-zur-tafel-wird-1385515.html
https://de.Wikipedia.org/wiki/graue_energie