Mayapeople started growing Cacao trees 3000 years ago, and they called them Cacau.
Theycrushed the dried cacao beans and mixed them with water and chili, making abitter drink out of it. The theobromine and caffeine have excitatory effect onpeople. This drink then spread to South America and Aztec Empire in Mexico.Aztec called it Xocoatl, meaning “bitter water.” The hot drink which they madefor the royalty especially called Chocolatl, meaning “hot drink,” is the originfor the term “chocolate.”
A Maya royalty delegation from Dominicavisited Prince Philip in Spain in 16th century. They brought the cacao drinkswith vanilla and other spices in it. This drink appealed to the Spanish. Theystarted drinking this with sugar and other ingredients.
In 1585, first ship loaded withcacao beans arrived in Spain from Mexico which signified the consumer demandfor cacao in Europe. The habit of drinking cacao had since started to spreadfrom Spain to other European countries. In 1657, a French opened the first shopselling cacao in London, but the shop is called “Coffee & Tobacco Shop.” Itwas not until1674 had the method of making solid chocolate been invented.
After 18th century, the price ofCacao started to drop and became more common in the society. It was in 1753that the botanist Carolus Linnaeus named the cacao tree “Theobroma Cacao”because he doesn’t like the name cacao. “Theobroma” means “food of the God” inGreek. In early times, cacao trees could only grow between 20-degree north latitudeand20-degree south latitude, near the equator. In recent years, because of theclimate change and the advances in Taiwanese farming technology, so Ping Tung, whichis the southernmost part of Taiwan, and situated in the subtropics started togrow cacaos and had fruitful results in last ten years. It’s common to see thembetween betel nut fields in Ping Tung.
Cacao trees need to be planted in the climate similar to tropical rainforest. The aver age yearly temperature should be between 18 and 28 degrees Celsius. They like high humidity; and the ideal yearly rainfall for them to thrive can’t be less than 1000mm. The altitude should be between 30 to 300m. Thick layer of loam or light clay loam with potassium salt are cacao trees’ favorite. They especially like the loam grown from volcanic soil, diorite, shale or gneiss. Cacao trees are fragile plants which grow slowly. In other countries, normally the trees will only produce cacao beans after 5 to 7 years. In Taiwan, the fastest result is 2 years due to advanced agricultural cultivation and breeding techniques. They will peak their productivity after 25 years and start to degrade. However, older cacao trees can produce cacao beans with better taste. Because of the special growth traits, the best place to grow cacao trees in Taiwan are the fields between betel nuts in Neipu and Wangluan in Ping Tung. The humidity, yearly rain fall and the sunshine intensity are the most suitable for growing cacao trees. The harvest season is every September to next March.
Put the chocolate into the zipper bag. Squeeze the extra air out and seal it. Place it into the fridge or red wine shelf. Before enjoying the chocolate, take it out from the fridge or red wine shelf. Don’t open the zipper bag immediately. Leave it for 5 to 30 minutes. Wait until the chocolate goes back to the room temperature and leave the steam outside the zipper bag. By doing this, you can minimize the influence of humidity and the temperature and keep the chocolate at its best taste and texture.
Three Easy Step to taste chocolate better
Drink: Water cleanses your palate and wake your taste buds. After getting familiar with every chocolate’s different traits, you can try to eat it with all kinds of premium whisky, coffee, wine, beer or tea, explore different fun of the match.
Smell: Take the chocolate by hand and warm it with your fingers’ body temperature. Smell what kind of aroma it leaves on your finger.
Taste: Chew the chocolate gently and let it melt in your whole mouth. The premium chocolate can leave its aroma and the taste in your month for about 30 minutes.
How to preserve the product
All of our products are under quality control and strict examination. They are wrapped in our professional chocolate factory which is at 18 degrees Celsius all year long. The products are all pre-cooling to below 10 degrees Celsius before delivering to you. When receiving the chocolate, please open it to check its condition immediately. If the product is damaged or incomplete, please take 5 pictures of the product from different angles and send it to us. We will have the delivery company to bring the product back for quality check and arrange another delivery for you once we receive your call.
The chocolate with cream, fresh cream or contains lots of water can be preserved up to a year in the freezer. However, the flavor will not be always the same.
The black chocolate can be stored for up to 24 months in a cool and dry place under 27 degrees Celsius.
The Chocolate with milk powder, nuts, Sakura shrimps and dried fruits can be preserved in the fridge for up to 12 months.
FAQ
1. Why is there some icing cream on the chocolate?
Why you touch the chocolate by your hand, it will leave some thin dark brown powder. When the water in the air meets it, the sugar will dissolve in the water. After the water evaporates, it will leave some icing cream on the surface of the chocolate. This will not influence the chocolate’s taste.
2. Why is there some oil cream (white color) on the chocolate?
The oil cream looks like the icy cream but a bit glossy. When you touch it, you can feel it’s oily. Because the room temperature is higher than that of the chocolate, the cacao butter will surface on the top and when it cools again, it will still stay on top and become some thin oil cream. It will only happen when you store the chocolate in a warm environment. It will not influence the chocolate’s taste.
3. Is white chocolate also chocolate?
Yes, sure it is. It contains the most precious cacao butter and with the ingredient of milk powder and sugar.
