New stuff!

Bear with me for the next couple of months as some changes are coming! New packaging, a new website and some new single origin bars are in the works! As the website will be under construction (likely for the whole summer), your best source of information is to email me directly takeafancy@gmail.com or stop by and see me in person at the farmers market (schedule on the side bar of this blog). Important updates will be featured here and as usual "chocolate of the week" features will be listed on the side bar as well. This week, I am super excited to release the Limited Edition Mastatal Bar ~ made with beans I picked up from a small farm in Costa Rica this month. If you haven't had a chance yet, you can read about the trip in the last few blog posts here!
***please note that the Kitsilano Farmers Market has been temporarily relocated to Riley Park (Clever you! No, that's not in fact in Kitsilano - I'm just as confused as you are!). We expect to move back to the original location June 14th. In the meantime, please find us at Riley Park on Sundays from 10-2!

Mastatal - La Iguana

Our final stop - La Iguana Chocolate in Mastatal! 

Setting off from Quepos, we had breathtaking drive up and down a bumpy gravel road with spectacular views. A few hours later, we pulled up to the chocolate shop/garden/house and we knew we were in paradise.

                                          

Before unloading our bags, Lidia sat us down to a cup of cacao tea and chocolate/nib cookies. The 2 day chocolate marathon had begun! Cacao grower and chocolatier Jorge joined us to talk about the history of growing cacao in Mastatal and we happily chatted about chocolate (and ate chocolate) into the evening. 

The next morning we set off early to head to the cacao orchard. They normally harvest on a Tuesday (only once a week, due to the 45 min walk to get there), but on account of our visit they decided to harvest a day early. In the slightly cooler hours of the morning we felt felt energetic and keen to help with the harvest! 

We criss crossed the orchard looking for ripe pods. Because they only come up here once a week, they need to make sure they collect pods that are getting close to fully ripe as well, otherwise the next week they may find the squirrels have helped themselves to the harvest. Ripe and nearly ripe pods we cut down and put in our sacks. 

Jorge stopped from time to time to tell us about various plants and soil management.

We talked about the importance of orchard maintenance for controlling moniliasis. Any infected pods we came across needed to be buried in the soil so that they could decompose and not spread the spores to other pods.

When our sacks were full we returned to the lower part of the orchard. Jorge went back to collect more pods and check on the rest of the trees. He left us to cut open the pods and separate the seeds. 

It was great, gooey fun! 

After we had finished up all the pods, the sacks were loaded up on "Blue-Blue" and we started the journey back to the house...

Our morning eagerness waned in the afternoon heat, but we did our best to keep up with Jorge and Juan Luis. 

Once back at the house, we put the beans in the fermenting box. 

Then Lidia gave us some juice to rehydrate ourselves! 

After a restorative lunch, we were lucky to have a tropical downpour, which lasted over an hour and gave us an excuse to rest and regain our energy.

                 Motivation was further boosted by an abundant consumption of chocolate! 

        We spent the rest of the day in the kitchen making, eating and chatting chocolate and           wondering why we would ever want to leave...

                               

Muchas gracias to Jorge, Vicki, Lidia and Juan Luis for sharing 

their beautiful home and amazing chocolate with us! 

I'm happy to say, that they also shared with me some of their incredible cacao beans. Coming soon...limited edition "Costa Rica - Mastatal" bars! 

Quepos Farmers Market & Organic Vanilla

We started our morning early and headed to the Quepos Farmers Market...

                             

...all stocked up on papayas, guanabana and passion fruit, we drove out on the gravel road to the Villa Vanilla plantation. There they grow organic and biodynamic vanilla and other spices and even some rather impressive cacao beans. Henry, the owner greeted us. Knowing my keen interest in cacao, he showed us first a small batch of beans they had fermenting in a box.

After chatting chocolate for a bit, we were introduced to Roy, a highschool student who does tours at Villa Vanilla as his "summer job". Roy gave us an overview of vanilla growing, harvesting and fermenting and then showed us how they harvest ceylon cinnamon...

We tasted some of the fresh cinnamon bark - delicious! 

Yesterday was a particularly rainy day (like Vancouver rainy, except warm!), so they had to move their sun drying cinnamon bark and cacao bean indoors on the drying racks. 

Afterwards, Roy took us to see the growing in action. Here they grow all kinds of plants in biodiverse harmony including cinnamon, allspice, cloves, peppercorn, cacao, basil, turmeric, ginger, oregano, starfruit and of course their main crop...

....vanilla beans! 

Hmmm...gooey pecans with Costa Rican vanilla on the menu soon methinks!