I was running late to seminar because of the lack of parking spaces. And when I say running late -- I mean running. I sprinted about a half mile down Mass Ave to make it into class about 5 minutes late. I was out of breathe, freezing cold and about to pass out. Then I remembered what we were learning about today. I immediately knew this was going to be on of my favorite classes of the year ... and it was only the second day. Our topic was chocolate. And I've never paid so much attention in a class before.
I was ready to dive right in to some samples, but first we had to be filled in on the history of chocolate and the cocoa bean.
Some fun facts I never knew about chocolate before:
1. Cocoa beans only grow 50 miles north and south of the equator
2. There are three different types of cocoa beans. Criollo, Forestero and Trinitario
3. It is an $18 billion industry in America with premier chocolates only taking up about 8% of that
Then we got to taste some, and it was amazing. We tried one from some small chocolatiers fine work and it was so delicious and so rich. One was Almond & Sea Salt flavored, one had full Espresso Beans in it, and one was 99% cocoa bean -- which means it was like straight chocolate with no added flavorings. It actually reminded me of taking a shot. That's how strong it was.
ALSO our instructor told us about a chocolate factory (yes, they do really exist) and it's right in the town I'm moving to! It's all old fashioned bean to bar chocolate making. I am absolutely planning a trip to go as soon as I'm settled in.
As I drove back home to beat the huge snowstorm, I was hyped up on the caffeine from the chocolate and had no trouble keeping my eyes open.
It was a great class and really made me think of how I want to stop buying Hershey's and Mars chocolate bars and start supporting these amazing smaller chocolate makers.
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