Monthly Archive for March, 2010

Friday Feature: A Flavor Exploration

Published on March 19, 2010 in Chocolate University. 0 Comments
In this Friday Feature, Central High School junior, Sara Swango, focuses on here changing perspective on chocolate and flavor:

I’ll admit, before Cocoa Honors, I’d never really thought about the story behind a bar of chocolate; how each bar is characterized by the area of the world where the beans originated. But as this project has progressed, what used to be simply a sweet treat, has now become an adventure in the world of flavors. The chocolate I’ve tasted over the course of this project is much more than simply a bar of chocolate; it’s a look into the story of each of the farmers, a small taste of each region the bars come from.

Sara Swango spends a day in the Askinosie factory taking a hands-on approach to learning

Sara Swango spends a day in the Askinosie factory taking a hands-on approach to learning

Each bar has its own unique flavors and the sum of these complex tastes is characterized by the area of the world the bar comes from. It surprised me that the taste can even change slightly between individual counties. I’ve learned to analyze the specific flavors of a bar of chocolate; some chocolates have floral notes, some earthy, some even have a slightly fruity undertone. The chocolates I’ve tasted don’t just taste like sugar, they offer a flavor exploration. It took some time to get used to, but overall, I’ve enjoyed the journey in experiencing chocolates with different cocoa contents, each with different undertones and unexpected flavors. A bar of chocolate is no longer simply chocolate for me; it’s a look into different areas of world. I expected to learn about chocolate, sure, but definitely not in this way, especially to this depth. Now, each bar of chocolate I eat is a new experience, a discovery of how each region of the world influences the specific flavor of the cocoa bean.SaraSara

A First Time for Everything

Published on March 18, 2010 in Chocolate University. 0 Comments

In this post, Central High School Student David Langdon, discusses the chocolate production process the Cocoa Honors students participated in this week:

Students winnow beans at the Askinosie Chocolate Factory

Students winnow beans at the Askinosie Chocolate Factory

Earlier this week, the Cocoa Honors Program experienced a first: we were given the opportunity to work hands-on with the beans we have spent so much time discussing. After months of research, working and waiting, we received our first shipment of beans from Liberia. This was an exciting time because none of us had ever gotten to work with the raw materials of chocolate.

 A series of visual examinations started off the meeting last week. Two bags, one from one county in Liberia, one bag from another, each with its own, color, size, smell, texture, and story. Next, we roasted several beans at a time, only for a few minutes. This brought out more scent and flavor. I have never worked with “nibs” before, so I did not have much of a frame of reference. There was definitely a difference between the two. Flavors like walnuts and grapes came through, but in distorted ways. A few days later, after all of the samples had been roasted, some students came to the factory to “winnow” the roasted sample. Winnowing, the process of removing the shells from the beans, is an arduous process filled with stubborn shells and sharp, glove slicing edges. Next came the melangeur. This fantastic little machine crushes dried beans into a beautifully aromatic paste. Encased lipids are released as fats. The liquor (not the alcoholic variety, but a concentration of chocolaty goodness) will carry the majority of the flavor. We tasted the paste after only about 30 minutes in the machine. The result was by no means pleasant. The majority opinion of the concoction was a lumpy paste with a taste of dirt. More time in the melangeur will, as past examples have shown, remove these flavors. Heat and time will diminish the volatile acids and with them, the bitter taste.

These preliminary tests have certainly changed my outlook on this program. Months of research and communications have finally culminated into tangible results. Even something as simple as a pair of Ziploc bags full of beans managed to inspire me. This, along with a handful of other moments from the course of the project, has managed to remind me of the scope of the powerful and incredible things we are doing. To say, the least, I am excited to see the final project.

To get an outside perspective on the chocolate tasting process check out our story in the News-Leader:

Central High School’s Cocoa Connoisseurs

Friday Feature: Roller Coaster

Published on March 12, 2010 in Chocolate University. 0 Comments

This week’s Friday Feature focuses on Central High School Student, Laurel O’Reilly’s perspective on her learning experience overall:

When I first heard about Cocoa Honors, I didn’t really know what to expect. I liked the idea of learning about chocolate and really liked the idea of going to Africa, but it seemed a little too good to be true. Then we actually got started. This project really has been a roller coaster from the very beginning. We met that first day, introduced ourselves, and before I knew it, we were divided into groups, assigned tasks to complete and were well on our way to finding a source cocoa beans.

It’s amazing how much I have learned since that first day. From the ins and outs of running a chocolate factory, researching Tanzania and Liberia, maintaining a blog, time management, fundraising, to the effects of social entrepreneurship on communities worldwide, it has been a truly hands-on experience in the business world. I never expected how much work it would take to just choose the country where we’re going to get the beans from and we still have two countries we’re considering. That’s including actually getting the beans to Springfield and making the chocolate and so much more. Still, the whole process has become even more exciting with every step we take towards our goal and for all that work, the payoff will feel that much better. I feel like I’m actually contributing to something on a international scale, even if it’s a small part and that kind of opportunity is hard to come by. Overall, participating in Cocoa Honors has been a rewarding experience and I feel that I have become a better person because of it.

Friday Feature: An Ongoing Privilege

Published on March 5, 2010 in Chocolate University. 0 Comments

In this week’s Friday Feature, Drury University SIFE student Abbie Knudsen discusses the progress that her Business and Logistics team has made thus far:

The business and travel team has come a long way since we began in the fall of 2009.  We began our group discussions with careful consideration to narrow our focus to two countries in Africa, Tanzania and Liberia.  We have since spent much time calculating detailed travel cost estimations in conjunction with a travel agency.  After arranging target travel dates and total costs, we began our work on creating a polished PowerPoint presentation and a collection of documents to represent our project.  That brings us to our current task of planning several local fundraising efforts to involve our immediate community.

As Cocoa Honors continues to develop, so do all involved.  As a sophomore in college, working in conjunction with both Shawn and the Central High School students has been an ongoing privilege.  The Central students constantly display their competency and passion for this project, and Shawn’s drive and leadership is hugely motivating.  It is nothing less than an honor to be a part of this journey that will teach and share so much worldwide.