Climate change is turning Valentine's Day bitter for chocolate lovers
Money can’t buy you love — or as much cocoa as it used to, with adverse weather denting West African crops and chocolatiers adding more fillers like nuts.
If you’re not a fan of nuts in your sweets, Valentine’s Day could cost you more this year. The chocolates inside many of this holiday’s heart-shaped boxes will likely contain more filler ingredients like nuts and fruits to offset the cost of pure chocolate.
“We used to look at hazelnuts and pistachio as an expensive inclusion,” said Jacques Torres, a chocolatier with high-end shops in New York City. “Today, those nuts allow us to lower the cost of our chocolate bar.”
The price of raw cocoa, chocolate’s key ingredient, has surged by 200% over the past year, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online retail prices. On global commodities markets, cocoa futures are down slightly in recent weeks after peaking above $12,000 per ton — a record — just before Christmas. Two years ago, they were less than $2,500.
We used to look at hazelnuts and pistachio as an expensive inclusion. Today, those nuts allow us to lower the cost of a chocolate bar.
Chocolatier Jacques Torres
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