Chocolate Should Be Enjoyed Year-round: Why Limit Its Consumption to Valentine's Day?
A few months ago, a friend of mine asked me a very difficult question. I did not give him an answer. I would like to ask myself the same question. Do I prefer coffee to chocolate?Please don't make me answer such a hard question. I like coffee, but I love chocolate too. I may join the long crowd of chocolate addicts who are living all over the world. This admission does not mean that I am going to stop being a Java head soon. Are you ready to Java too?
Did you know that each time you take a chocolate bar to your mouth you participating in the food of the gods?
It would be hard for me to deny my love of chocolate. The darker, the better! Deep dark chocolate passion which invites me to sink in my teeth. My palate savors every bite. Unlike many people, I think chocolate can lead to the elexir that is a sought-after universal goal. The Nahua Indians of Mexico knew the hidden virtues of Cacao beans. They valued it so much that the cacao's center, called nibs, were used as money. No wonder that eating Cacao dates back to the time of the Maya and Aztecs in Mexico and Central America. We should not forget the Tainos and various tribes found all over the Caribbean region.
Cacao was so valuable in the empire of Montezuma that he reportedly owed his virility to the brewed stuff. It's been reported that he consumed 50 bowls of brewed cacao every day. No wonder he managed to have the attention of so many women. He had an arena of concubines. Those are the secrets of the New World that Europe was not privvy to yet. It only took Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes to travel to Mexico in the 16th century to discover what our ancestors had always known. No wonder that the residents of Madrid and surrounding areas, those who had connection to the kingdom started using brewed cacao too.
From that moment, the refineries took over. Spaniards added some sugar to it. They did not want it to be bitter. Today, you can find very expensive and cheap chocolate. French and Swiss chocolatiers are see like sports or Hollywood stars.
These days, cacao is harvested in West Africa, Ivory Coasts, Ghana, Venezuela, Hawaii, Madagascar and parts of the Caribbean. Cacao beans have become so precious that rich and powerful landlords, foreign companies, multinationals are trying to control its production, market and retail. Now, you can understand why there are so many fights in Ivory Coast and West Africa. Some people even go as far as wanting to boycott Valentine's Day chocolate because of these fights.
Eating dark chocolate is to enjoy the true thing. It's the enjoyment of the vegetable at its true form. Who does not miss chocolate texture? Depending on where it's grown, it can be different. Cacao beans will tell you the story of West Africa, Ghana, Venezuela, Haiti, etc. The cultures of these countries will be revealed in each cup of hot chocolate. Each time you enjoy a piece of a six-layer chocolate cake at a wedding, communion and office reception.
As for me, I like hot chocolate, chocolate pistachio cookies, bittersweet chocolate mousse tarte, chocolate truffles, chocolate bar, chocolate with soy milk.
Eating chocolate revives the passion of living. Do you want to live, then eat cacao!
posted by AmeriKaKanKare @ 4:40 PM
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