Mesoamerica is the birthplace of chocolate, and for thousands of years cacao has been revered in Mayan culture as a food of the gods.
Historically chocolate was consumed as a bitter drink, made by grinding fermented cacao beans with chile pepper, cornmeal, and water and mixing it until frothy.
Today the imperialistic influence of the sugar cane industry has made its mark on how cacao is consumed, and while many Guatemalans still drink it as a beverage it is mostly made sweet. The cacao beans are ground with sugar and other ingredients such as vanilla, cinnamon, or almonds.
I was recently able to go to the home of a local K’iche’ Mayan woman to learn about the traditional process of turning cacao into chocolate–a delicious way to spend the afternoon!
Here’s how it went:
The lovely cacao pod.
Cacao beans, after a few days of fermentation.
Bowl of cacao beans, ready for roasting.
The beans are roasted over the flames for about 10 minutes.
You know they’re ready when they snap and pop a bit like poporopos–popcorn (How fun is that word?)
After they are charred they are laid out to cool.
Next is the time consuming process of peeling off and discarding all of the husks by hand.
Peeling the husks.
The metate, or grinding slab, is used to grind the unsheathed cacao beans into a fine texture.
After the cacao was fine we added vanilla bean and a touch of sugar, and ground it all together until it became a paste.
Next it’s shaped into patties and allowed to dry.
The drink is made stovetop by melting the chocolate patty and water, and frothing it to a creamy texture with the wooden dowel. Milk can be used as well.
The drink is served piping hot in these little ceramic mugs.
The final product. One of the most heavenly substances I’ve ever tasted. Rich, pure chocolate with just a hint of vanilla and sweetness. Bottoms up!
annie.life 