Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching. Just incase it’s sneaking up on you, it’s this coming Tuesday, so plan accordingly.
This week, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I thought we would dive into the world of chocolate! With the exception of my daughter’s best friend, who doesn’t love a decadent chocolate treat?
European chocolates are known worldwide as some of the best.
The top three destinations within Europe (ranked alphabetically) are currently Belgium, France and Switzerland. While the cacao beans aren’t grown in Europe, these countries have nearly perfected (I’m sure there needs to be more personal tasting to confirm) the art of chocolate making. The artisanal chocolate shops that can be found on nearly every block in the larger cities, and even the occasional small towns turn out beautiful, and tasty creations that are known worldwide. Those in the photo were some we came across in a small shop in Belgium.
Perhaps you want to dive a bit deeper into the world of chocolate? You can go to to the source and visit cacao farms. While most cacao is grown in Africa there are opportunities to visit farms and production facilities as close as the Dominican Republic. I was able to visit a farm near Puerto Plata several years ago. We planted cacao trees, saw the fruit as it was picked and transformed into the beans, then followed them through the production process. We sorted the beans, then the nibs, we watched as they were transformed into molten chocolate and then we were able to mould them into bars (don’t worry, they didn’t sell any of those that we made). Lastly, we put the labels onto the wrapped bars and packaged them for distribution. The entire process was quite interesting and gave everyone in our group a new appreciation for the work behind a simple chocolate bar.
Would you rather take a vacation to learn about the process, or enjoy the finished product? We can help you plan either, reach out today to make an appointment.