Confession: I Eat Chocolate for Breakfast
Before the birth of our first born my husband and I took the most amazing trip or babymoon to the beautiful island of Grenada. Highlights included gorgeous beaches, wonderfully friendly locals and the most diverse agriculture I've ever encountered. Fruits, veggies, spices and some of the world's best chocolate thrive on this tropical paradise.
One of our favourite things to do on island holidays is to hire a local driver to tour us around and provide insight into daily life. Our Grenadian driver was recommended by the resort and was super knowledgeable about Grenada's history. We got to tour the entire island over the course of the day and made a welcomed pit stop at a nearby chocolate plantation.
Did I mention I love chocolate?
It was SO cool to learn the process of how this divinely delicious food comes to form. Did you know chocolate starts off as a cocoa pod? These massive orange-y pods are collected and opened to reveal a white sweet pulp (kind of like a lychee texture) that surrounds the beans.
Once removed from the pods, the beans are fermented for five to nine days in large wooden bins that are covered with banana leaves and jute bags. During this process the white pulp liquefies, bitterness subsides, and flavour and colour develop. Beans are turned from one bin to another every two days to increase oxygenation and ensure even fermentation.
The end product is a fully fermented bean with a rich brown colour, a sign that the cocoa is now ready for drying.
The cocoa is laid out in a greenhouse to dry out as well as the sun when weather permits. Long rakes are used to turn the cocoa over to ensure they dry evenly.
During the tour we were encouraged to get up on the tables and 'walk the cocoa' as they used to do back in the day. Naturally, I couldn't miss out on the opportunity, even with a gigantic baby belly in tow.
After this trip my love for chocolate grew and so did my appreciation for the natural form of raw cacao I sampled at the Grenada Chocolate Company. So much so that since then, we have kept cacao nibs permanently on stock at our house.
Perfect on oatmeal, in yogurt or to add some crunch to a smoothie. Even our toddler loves them!
Trust me on this one, once you try it, you'll be hooked too.
Oh, and raw cacao has a number of health benefits as well. Full of fibre, a source of magnesium and chock full of wonderful antioxidants.
Never again will you have to feel guilty about eating chocolate for breakfast!
Want to get your hands on a bag? Well.ca has a whole range of cacao nibs, here's a link to the ones we love, Inari Organic Raw Cacao Nibs.
