Film: A deep dive into Swiss chocolate

Deep in the heart of Switzerland is the small town of Schwyz - home to Bettys chocolate suppliers, Felchlin. At Bettys, we only use the finest cocoa bean – the Criollo from the region of Maracaibo in Venezuela, which accounts for just 3% of the world’s cocoa crop. Felchlin source ethically, respecting people and nature, which is why we've built a long-term relationship with them.

An interview with Lucas Peier from Felchlin of Switzerland, Bettys' chocolate supplier

I work at Felchlin. We are a family-owned Swiss chocolate company and have been producing noble chocolate for over 110 years.

The farm where we source the beans for Bettys chocolate is in the north west region of Venezuela.

They have worked with cocoa for over six generations, 180 years. We work very closely with our farmers on a fair payment which is way above the average market price.

Together we create better flavour profiles, stronger connections, and, at the end, a better product.

They cut off the pods with a knife, directly from the tree, and then they open the pods. The pulp is taken out of the cocoa pods and fermented. The beans are laid out in the sun and dried for 10-14 days.

When the beans arrive at our factory in Schwyz we clean them, and afterwards we create a flavour profile.

It’s important to note that we roast the whole bean, not just cocoa nibs or broken beans.

The next part – one that we at Felchlin lay a big focus on – is called conching. Conching is initially what made Switzerland famous for chocolate.

There is liquid chocolate or ‘couverture’ inside the conching machine. It’s like a troubled sea – it gets air into the cocoa mass and into the couverture.

Then we mould it in several formats, like small drops or bigger blocks, and send them to our customers or over to Harrogate – to Bettys.

For Bettys, these couvertures are like colours for them to create their paintings and their art. They create chocolates and make truffles out of it.

We always say that ‘pleasure demands awareness’, so when you taste these chocolates, where there’s so much craftmanship and heritage, and the knowledge from generations is in it, you have to be aware and treat this the way it has to be treated – with respect.

As we treat our partners – with respect. The most important thing is not just to do this once, but to do it over and over again!