A few weeks ago, my daughter and I went to a cacao tasting and sound healing.
I had seen the invitation somewhere in a group, and decided to sign us up for it.
I've done sound healing before, and massage with singing bowls and other sounds, as well as drum circles, so I did know what to expect, more or less. My daughter had never, but I knew she'd probably like it. As long as they wouldn't become too 'new agey'.
Let's see how this turned out! In this first part, I will write about the chocolate experience, and I will tell you everything about our sound healing in a next post.

The Start

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After ringing the wrong doorbell for a little while (there were three doors leading into the apartment building, all called the same), we finally entered the apartment.
It was a little gem of a place, and you wouldn't expect this when you were outside on the street.
Magdalena, who was going to be our host, and the sound healer, had the living room transformed into a sacred place, just for the healing sessions. There was nothing, no couch, no chair, no table, just open space, and several different instruments. Just beautiful!

In total, there were around 15 women present, and one man. It brought just the right type of energy to the place.
The man, Salvador, was the 'cacao guy'.
First they explained who they were and what they were going to do exactly, and then the chocolate tasting started.

Salvador gave us all a cacao bean, and we opened it to taste the raw cacao inside. This was lovely, nice and mild tasting.
He then had us taste 7 different kinds of chocolate. One by one.

Some were from Colombia, some from Ecuador, and some from Costa Rica (his own brand). He started by explaining how to do the tasting, which was interesting to hear. It was done the whole process of chocolate making happened, and how much work went into it. I already knew most of this but it was great to hear it from an expert, and also about how he produces his brand. Often times, big companies buy the cacao from farmers, and then take over the production of the product. At his place, they do the full production, from growing cacao, to wrapping the bars.

Lastly, he told us how to taste chocolate. With respect, and not gobbled down like our lives depended on it. Of course, I never ever did that!

He'd pass a little dish around with small pieces of the chocolate on it, and then we were asked to hold our piece, smell it, and then we could slowly melt it in our mouths. It was almost like a wine tasting, and made so much sense. You could really taste the different tones, and ingredients. Some of the cacao would have been planted near fruit trees, and you could taste the fruity undertones. Others were planted near nut trees, so this chocolate would have more of a nutty taste.

The seven different chocolates ranged from anywhere between 70% to 85%. And in contrast to what I'd always assumed: the 85% one didn't taste any stronger or harsher, or more bitter, than it's lower percentage counter parts.

My own favorite was a chocolate that had ginger and orange peel. It was just the perfect combination for me! And not too sweet!

It was nice to taste chocolate in this way, instead of munching down a whole bar without even tasting much of it. Again, of course: I never do this! Ever.

What I learned from this session

First of all, I just loved Salvador's enthusiasm and obvious love for this magical plant, and the fruits it bears, as well as the finished product. When I was still a child, I often wondered about certain inventions, and products that we all take for granted now, and how people would come to the idea of making or discovering something like that.
How did someone come by cacao beans and decide to open them up, and then process them into actual chocolate? Just amazing!

I've known most of my life that the cacao plants, and chocolate are something special, and later I learned that in some cultures it's even sacred. But thanks to this tasting, I have a newfound respect for those people who produce it in an ancient way, with lots of love and respect. So different from the mass production of it.

Salvador let us all take a little handful of cacao beans to bring home.

It was a lovely experience, and I'll do it again if asked.
My daughter was also quite impressed, and we both promised that from now on, we'd look at, and eat chocolate in a completely different way.
Now, we are connoisseurs, after all!

Stay tuned for the second part, in which I will write about the sound healing we've had the honor of experiencing!