Purple cacao pod and flowers on a cacao tree.
Mosquitos are the natural pollinators for cacao.
Without them, we would not have chocolate.
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Dried cacao beans removed from a pod
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After a fermentation process the cacao beans
are roasted
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Roasted cacao beans
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After roasting the shells are removed by hand or...
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with a grinder that crushes the beans as Jeison is doing.
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If using the grinder a fan can be used to blow the shell
fragments away leaving just the cacao nibs that will
become chocolate.
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To make chocolate the cacao nibs must be groud to
more of a paste. This can be done with a metate
as Paul is doing
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The nibs can also be ground to the "paste" with the grinder
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This is the ground cacao
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After a little more processing and tempering the
chocolate is ready to pour into molds
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Something like a putty knife is used to get the
chocolate into the molds |
The chocolates were removed from the molds and
we wrapped them in foil to take with us
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Michael in the O of the Jaco viewpoint sign
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Looking to the town of Jaco
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Along the way we stopped at the Tarcoles bridge to
take a look at the crocodiles
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Look at those teeth!
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While looking at the crocodiles a Macaw flew by.
That is the best picture I managed to get.
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At Manuel Antonio we got to the beaches and
rocky shores of the Pacific Ocean
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While hiking the trails we came to this
White-nosed Coati or Coatimundi
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White faced Capuchin monkeys were common. One
even tried to take a sandwich from us at our table.
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Sloths can be difficult to see in the tree tops
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Jeison, Paul, Michael, Roy & John on the beach
at Manual Antonio
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An Iguana in the trail |
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We started our morning with coffee made the
Costa Rican way
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One of our hiking trails at the base of Arenal
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Vines and bromeliads in the undergrowth
along the trails
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Michael & I at Arenal
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Me and a 400 year old Kapok tree
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We had to get through a lot of mud
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A female Great Curassow
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The Great Curassow's face
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Green Parrots in the trees
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A lizard along the trail
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An orchid along the trail
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Lady's Slipper Orchid
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Part of a poisonous Coral Snake that decided to get
off the trail as I came near
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Leaf Cutter Ants bringing home leaf pieces
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A Crested Guan in the trees above us
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A Yellow Throated Toucan
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A small bird in the undergrowth
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White Throated Magpie Jays
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