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The gift of love
Notes:
- Valentine’s Day is coming up fast – you don’t want to wait until the last minute to express your love and appreciation to someone special. But that is the question? How best should you express that love?
- The answer is chocolates – it is something that has always worked. And even better is to wrap it up is a nice bow with a few flowers.
- Chocolate can bring out smiles – especially with chocolate pieces in all shapes and sizes. But maybe this year you can find something like a big chocolate heart that will make this Valentines the day they will always remember.
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What Is The History of Chocolate:
The cacao tree (from which chocolate is made) was originated and cultivated in Central and South America long before the arrival of Columbus.
- The bean harvested from the tree was used to make a variety of products among the native indigenous people.
- Cocoa beans were used as a spicy drink among the Aztec civilization. It was a bitter-tasting drink spiced with chili pepper and other ingredients to flavor it.
- The cacao tree and beans were exported to Europe where the chili pepper was replaced by sugar to become the chocolate flavor we enjoy today.
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image by envato.com
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— view (youtube): history of cocoa
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| Supporting Resources (opens new win) | |
| WHY: chocolate for valentines | |
| PINTEREST: valentine chocolate ideas | |
| INFO: why celebrate valentines | |
| YOUTUBE: history of valentines day | |
| SHOP: spices and more (scroll) | |
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So what is so special about chocolate?
Notes:
- It’s the taste – the varieties – the smoothness – the richness – and the quality characteristics of chocolate that are boundless.
- It’s how chocolate is made and shaped. And there are some many chocolate experts that put their own quality touches on the product that gives it a distinguishing taste
- So surprise your Valentine with not just one variety but many varieties of chocolate that he or she can enjoy.
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Does Chocolate Have Any Health Benefits:
The sweeteners like sugar probably don’t; but the raw cocoa does have some remedies that can be beneficial.
- These include antioxidants and other health benefits that can help reduce inflammation, increase blood flow, lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol and blood sugar levels. But once cooked and processed, many of the benefits decrease:
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image by envato.com
— view (youtube): health benefits of chocolate
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| Supporting Resources (opens new win) | |
| WHAT ARE: types of chocolates | |
| INFO: cooking with cocoa | |
| YOUTUBE: how chocolate is made | |
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What’s your favorite chocolate?
Notes:
- Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Or maybe white chocolate? Or something in between.
- Dark chocolate is more cocoa based with little or no sugar. Milk chocolate uses milk and sugar to give a sweeter taste. White chocolate uses cocoa butter (no cocoa nibs) with milk, vanilla and sugar for a white looking chocolate.
- And in between these varying grades are the infinite varieties of chocolate treats that can please just about anyone.
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What Is Your Valentine’s Favorite Chocolate:
You might never know what the other person likes in chocolate. So it’s a good idea to get several varieties to make sure you remain the love of your Valentine:
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image by envato.com
— view (youtube): Did You Know These Chocolates Exist?
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Where does chocolate come from?
Notes:
- Chocolate is made from cocoa – and cocoa comes from the cocoa bean that is harvested from a cocoa plant grown is tropical regions of mesa-America and Africa.
- For the cocoa plant to thrive and develop the fruit pods, tropical conditions of temperature, rain and canopy shade are required.
- So if you have the right conditions in your home, you might want to try growing your own cocoa plant. Or better yet, just buy the cocoa beans.
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Where Are They Grown?
The largest cocoa production fields are in Africa and some parts of Mesa-America and Indonesia. Unfortunately in some production fields, child slave labor is used.
- That is why consumers must insist from chocolate producers that cocoa we buy and consume come from slave-child-free fields:
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image by twenty20.com
— view (post): where do cacao trees grow?
— view (post): cocoa slavery
What Else Was Discovered:
The cocoa bean was used as a diet supplement by the Aztecs and other indigenous people when the Spanish Conquistadors came onto the scene.
It is one of the many food sources (along with corn, beans, potato) that were exported to Europe:
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| References (opens new win except noted) | |
| SERVICES: garden help (see below) | |
| HOW: from cocoa beans into chocolate | |
| HOW TO: how to grow chocolate indoors | |
| INFO: growing cocoa FAQ | |
| PLANNING: garden care (same win) | |
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Don’t forget hot cocoa (or coffee)
Notes:
- Part of our Valentine appreciation is the hot cocoa – especially after you enjoy a meal together. You can make hot cocoa from raw cocoa – you just to to cook it down using cocoa and sugar. Or you can buy the many varieties of cocoa mixes.
- But maybe it would be best to close the meal with a nice cup of coffee – to balance out all of the chocolate that you have given for this Valentines Day.
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CONCLUSION
So now that you have become an expert on chocolate types – history – and why chocolate will make a great Valentine’s gift to someone you love. Happy Valentines!
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| Supporting Resources (opens new win) | |
| HOW TO: make hot cocoa from scratch | |
| INFO: history of coffee | |
| YOUTUBE: from bean to bar | |
Cover image credit: valentine chocolates by Pixabay
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