Yesterday! I would love to repeat yesterday today. But with only two days left to explore, I knew this wasn’t possible. Hyptonically, I followed the intoxicating smell of chocolate into the kitchen. From the beautiful aroma that jolted me from my early morning slumber, I knew I was in for a treat.
My hostess had prepared a veritable feast which she attractively laid out on the dining table - fried bake, saltfish souse, scrambled eggs, baked coconut bake, saltfish cake, cucumbers, pineapple tart, and to top off, there was pure organic hot chocolate or cocoa tea as the locals call it. A true Grenadian breakfast. My lips twitched and mouth watered with abject salivary anticipation, not really sure how much of that I could eat, but I was determined to try it all. Needless to say, every item on the table was hmmm, delicious, but the hot chocolate was a real treat. Now, I usually drink lots of that stuff. That is, the stuff which I take off the supermarket shelf to which I add hot water or milk, whipped cream and even marshmallows.
Hospitality
submitted by Cecilia Tanner
But no hot chocolate I have ever consumed have tasted as good as this organic hot chocolate. It was rich, thick, flavour-full and oh so very warm. I closed my eyes contentedly as its warmth moved slowly down my digestive entrails, and seriously, I was momentarily in gastronomical heaven. That morning I learnt the art of making a mug of good, organic hot chocolate from my very dear hostess, Lynn. For those of you who didn’t know, cocoa powder does come from a tree. Well, sort of. The cocoa “pods” are taken from the cocoa tree, then cut open with a machete and the cocoa beans are removed. All the beans, usually bags of the stuff , which is wet and slimy to the touch, are put into a special storage facility and covered with bags and banana leaves so it will “sweat”. They are left there for a few days, uncovered periodically and stirred, then recovered. After about a week or so, the beans are removed and put into a large tray and laid outside to dry. Watch out for the rain because the bean must not get wet. If it does, it will all go bad.
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When the beans are dry, the “shell” is removed and the remaining dried bean is put into a mortar and ground into a paste. This paste is then rolled into little balls which dries and hardens over time. These are the little cocoa balls which produces the delectable hot chocolate. Making the hot chocolate is really simple. The cocoa balls are put into a pot of boiling water. Island spices are then added to it - spices such as bay leaf, clove, a bit of grated nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom. Milk and sugar are added last. Everything is allowed to boil for about 15 minutes after which it is strained into a teapot. That’s it! But, on with my story. After consuming way too much food, reluctantly, I dragged myself away from the dining room and prepared for today’s day’s journey. Yesterday was phenomenal! I swam in the ocean at Grand Anse Beach with its miles and miles of white sand, took a dip in the ocean at Morne Rouge Beach (BBC), had lunch at the Sur La Mer Restaurant and visited the George’s University at the south of the island.