Virtual Vacation: Chocolate Lab

I promised Christina some chocolate, so here goes!

After we spent the morning at the Botanical Gardens (those posts are below), we ate lunch and got majorly lost trying to navigate the town.

We found the Hershey Story museum, which offered a variety of fun things. There are two more posts below about this stop on the trip.

The first thing we did was participate in the Chocolate Lab. Not a dog. An actual lab with actual chocolate.

The first part was kind of like school. We listened to a lady talk to us about the history of cacao and the origin of chocolate. Here I am with a cacao pod. (I think. I was actually far more caught up in the pictures than the listening. Such a bad student.)

After that, we learned about the "nibs" which are inside the pod, and we took turns grinding them with this little granite pestle thing. At this point, I began thanking God for candy bars. This was all a lot of effort for, as the instructor said, "a mediocre chocolate drink." At least she was honest!

Please know how much pride I have swallowed to post the hairnet pictures. NOT my best look. The lady in the background was kind of a Where's Waldo-ette of our trip. We saw her at the gardens...we saw her here...and she was even staying in our hotel! She was nice, but it was funny to keep seeing her everywhere. In this picture I'm grating a piece of chocolate. And part of my glove. But don't tell.

We put the grated chocolate in warm water and did this whisking thing until it dissolved. Then we could add honey, cinnamon, corn meal (!?!) and red pepper flakes (!??!?!??!?) if we wanted to alter the taste and consistency of our drink.

No words. What a dumb picture. LOL.

Amber's empty cup, and her "parting gift" - a chocolate cacao pod.

I'm glad we did the lab - it was not a long activity, but it was fun and different. And I managed to learn just a thing or two...like I look horrible in a hairnet...and chocolate has come a LONG way.