Monthly Archive for April, 2010

Friday Feature: Shaping Tomorrow

Published on April 23, 2010 in Chocolate University. 0 Comments

In today’s Friday Feature, Taylor Curtis, one of 13 Central High School students assesses the value Cocoa Honors will have in his future endeavors:

I can’t say enough about Cocoa Honors. I have learned so much from this program, and I hope to continue to learn and grow as a person for the remainder of the process.  This program has taught me a wide variety of lessons. I have learned, and not quite comprehended, how a small nut with an earthy taste can make such a delicious chocolate. Working with Shawn and the SIFE team, I’ve gained valuable knowledge about social business, and the impacts it has on the community and world. I’ve been able to experience the satisfaction and pride of tasting chocolate that was made possible by our work, and I’ve experienced the frustration in finding effective ways to communicate with organizations halfway around the world. Everything that I have learned is very valuable, and I’m very lucky to be able to experience this project.

However, the most valuable lesson I have learned from everything so far, is to seize every opportunity and to not let anything pass you by. This project is a once in a lifetime thing. We all want to be able to look back on this and realize the impacts it has had on us. This project it helping to shape the people we will become, and I know that we all have worked very hard to ensure that we get as much as possible from this project. I cannot wait to experience the new and exciting things that await me.

Friday Feature: Dealing with Deadlines

Published on April 16, 2010 in Chocolate University. 0 Comments

In the next edition of Friday Feature, Central High School student, Zach Harrell, discusses some of the more real world applications of the Cocoa Honors project:

As a student, we are constantly given deadlines, including anything from getting homework in the next day to completing a project due in two months. Many of these deadlines are fairly forgiving as if you don’t turn in your homework the repercussions may be 10% off, or even nothing at all. With a bigger project like Cocoa Honors I have learned that in real life, deadlines aren’t as forgiving. Sometimes it is as simple as we need X amount of dollars or we don’t go on the trip. Now this may seem harsh, but it’s the simple reality, although somewhat stressful at times it’s teaching me the simple, valuable life lesson that deadlines need to be met.

As I am writing this blog entry, which has a deadline, I am practicing working on getting deadlines met. This is incredibly valuable as it’s yet another simple life lesson that is necessary, and would be harder to learn on my own. All in all cocoa honors has been teaching me everything from working with individuals from Africa, to simple necessary life lessons about deadlines.

Friday Feature: Let the auction begin

Published on April 2, 2010 in Chocolate University. 0 Comments

Five Single Origin Liberian Chocolate Bars

Five Single Origin Liberian Chocolate Bars

We received our first bean sample from Liberia. Over the past three weeks, the Cocoa Honors students have been evaluating the cocoa bean sample from Liberia by examining the beans, making tiny test roasts, tasting the beans and chocolate paste and making nano-batches of chocolate. This may well be the only batch of single-origin Liberian chocolate ever made. One lucky Askinosie Taste Tester will have the opportunity to try it. On Sunday, April 4, the bidding will start on eBay. We will auction a set of five Liberian chocolate bars to the highest bidder. The auction will end Sunday, April 11. To bid on the bars, visit eBay and search for item number 260578917766. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Cocoa Honors program to send the students to Africa.

According to Kyle Malone, our production manager, these Liberian chocolate bars are multi-layered with a simple complexity to be admired. He says the chocolate is bursting with notes of red berries and jasmine, hints of roasted cocoa and coffee, and a long lingering earthy finish. These cocoa beans could be on the path to the next Askinosie Chocolate bar. Stay tuned!