Too Much Chocolate?

      Just last Tuesday I attended the Culinary Historians of Atlanta meeting to explore the history of chocolate. Culinary Anthropologist Deb Duchon gave a presentation entitled "Chocolate in the Wake of Christopher Columbus" and told us that the demand for chocolate is increasing but the locations where the Cacao trees may be grown is finite. Evidently Cocao trees are hard to grow, requiring a hot, humid climate that never falls below 65 degrees and has approximately 80 inches/year rainfall. This is mainly found within 20 degrees latitude of the equator. Furthermore, trees must be sheltered from wind and shaded from the sun. Deb told us that chocolate chocolate from Hawaii is comparatively expensive because it must be grown in greenhouses, lest it get too cold.

Ripe Cacao pod grows right out of the trunk. Inside are cocoa beans and cocoa butter.

     
       We learned interesting factoids like Kit Kat is the top chocolate bar seller world wide (often flavored with wasabi or green tea for exotic markets). We learned that Mayan noblemen drank cocoa flavored with hot peppers from ceremonial vessels 4,000 years ago, and that when the Europeans arrived, they jazzed it up with sugar, anise, cinnamon, vanilla, flour and eggs to make a hot chocolate beverage.

Array of chocolates from many countries with green apple slices (far right) to cleanse the palate between each taste!

    
       The grand finale was the chocolate tasting! We sampled 10 types of 65% Cacao bittersweet chocolate single bean varietals from all over the world, generously donated by Guittard. My favorites were from Venezuela, Columbia and the Ivory Coast. Other locations included Bali, Ecuador, Ghana, Madagascar, Peru, and Sao Tome, and I sampled them all.
     I never would have believed it before last week, but there really is such a thing as too much chocolate! I had a headache and queasy feeling the following morning, like a hangover, but from chocolate! I'm ready for some more, now though. 
      What's your favorite flavor, dark or milk chocolate?