Cotton Tree Chocolate Factory

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About the only thing we were really interested in seeing in Punta Gorda was the chocolate factory. We actually drove right by it when we first got to Punta Gorda but the waiter at the cantina where we stopped for a drink gave us better directions so we headed back and found it right away. It was smaller than I thought it would be.

They ask us if we want a tour and of course we do! It's a small plant, just a few ladies running the whole show. They have a cocoa plant growing out the back door to show us what the bush looks like. They get their cocoa beans from the neighbouring Mayan villages. Each batch of choloate starts with cocoa beans from a singe day's harvest from a single farmer. The cocoa bean grows inside a pod, they come in various colors (no that doesn't mean different flavours) the pod is like the shape and size of a small sweet potato. They cut the pod open and peal it to reveal the bean. The beans then go into roasters that are simply small toaster ovens outside on a table. After they are roasted, they put them in a grinder (the motor was a hand drill.) From there they put them in a bowl and take a hair dryer (hand held blow dryer) to blow out the shells, that's what's all over the tarp. She calls them cocoa nibs at this point and hands us a couple to taste. They are unsweetened chocolate but they still taste good, but bitter. So far a pretty primitive but effective operation.

At that point the nibs go inside to a couple of spinning mixing machines that heat them up, a little more modern processing than what was out back. They add vanilla, butter, sugar and other flavourings and the mixture becomes chocolate as we know it. Each bar they make is packaged then numbered and batched with a felt pen marker on the back. They offer dark chocolate and milk chocolate and chocolate with coconut, we get samples of each - yum! We buy several bars and hopefully some of them will make it back home with us, no promises though, because this is the best chocolate we have ever tasted and it's a long time before we get home!!

We get back into the Banana and head back to Placencia, again very few cars on the road, Ian starts honking and waiving as we drive by people walking on the road, I'm sure they think we're crazy or something, about half the people waive back. It's hot and muggy, our air conditioning has a mind of its own but works enough of the time. All I can think is that I hope this rental car doesn't break down in the middle of the jungle. Thankfully, two hours later, we get back safely and uneventfully to Placencia, chocolate in hand and an interesting trip in our memories.

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