There is no Q in Ecuador

At Arasha there were various activities you could participate in. One was a demonstration of chocolate making. The Arasha employee who presented the demonstration started by showing us cacao plants growing just outside the pavilion where we were. Then he showed us the beans from the cacao, which he threw into a big pot on a gas-powered stove. As the beans roasted they began to smell like chocolate. He enlisted different kids from the audience to stir the beans while they roasted.



When the beans were roasted he spread them out on the table and showed us how to peel the crispy skins off the beans.

Then he put the beans into a grinder and ground them up. That's Andy manning the grinder. Harder than it looked!

This is how the ground up beans looked--rich and chocolate-y and mmmmm, that smell!

The ground chocolate went into a pot and back onto the stove, where water, powdered milk, sugar and vanilla were added as the chocolate melted into a thick, rich sauce. Then we all got to sample it served over fresh bananas and pineapple.

Yum!