Saturday, March 9, 2024
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
$30 per person ; $80 family of three; $100 family of four
Chocolate, which we usually associate with sweetened dessert bars or pastries, was enjoyed as a drink for thousands of years before the first dessert bar was made.
In this workshop, Dr. Lori Shapiro will introduce participants to the history of chocolate through the eyes of farmers growing heirloom varieties of cacao in Ecuador, where cacao was first domesticated more than 5,300 years ago. We will make our own whole bean drinking chocolate using organic heirloom cacao and traditional tools. This original, satisfying, energizing and healthful traditional hot chocolate has almost no resemblance to the highly processed and nutrient poor powdered ‘hot cacao’ mix on grocery store shelves.
Participants will learn about growing cacao in regenerative agroforestry settings and hear about the farmers cooperative that grows organic heirloom varieties of this amazing tree in Ecuador. Then participate in a hands on make-and-taste to learn how chocolate has been enjoyed as a drink in South America for thousands of years.
Participants will enjoy their tasty creations alongside our cuddly English Angora fiber rabbit family with opportunities to hold, pet and photograph the rabbits as we sip on warm drinking chocolate in the frosty air of early March together.
