The Chocoholic’s Paradise: the Caribbean
May 2, 2014
The Caribbean islands are almost surreal when it comes to the ever-so-fantastic cacao bean. You’ll get to stumble upon a history with astounding backstories, chocolate factories, and enthusiastic chocolatiers. Here's are a few places places to visit (as summarized from an article in USA Today, A chocoholic's guide to the Caribbean).
Hotel Chocolat, St. Lucia
As you enter the on-site restaurant, Boucan, it’s safe to say you will be awestruck. You can devour cacao-inspired cuisine such as cacao ravioli, along with chocolate soup topped with banana, caramel and toasted almond. Their mahogany floors scream chocolate, too. One of the must-try experience is the tree-to-bar in which you get to choose ripe cocoa pods from the trees and whip up your own chocolate bars.
Cocobel Chocolates, Trinidad
Isabel Brash, the proprietor, claims that it’s as though she’s Alice in Wonderland. To her, chocolate-making is an obsession. It’s a jumbie, as Trinidadians would call it. Her artisanal concoctions involve beans from her brother's Rancho Quemado Estate, which Brash transforms into chocolate and makes outstanding flavors such as mango pepper and dark chocolate with guava cheese and vanilla-infused white chocolate.
Chocolate Festival of Belize, Belize
The Toledo District of Southern Belize is not just about the stunning waterfalls and world-renowned fishing spots, it also has bragging rights when it comes to cocoa-producing. All this climaxes in May during the Chocolate Festival. During the festivity, you can drown yourself in specially brewed chocolate stout as you listen to steel-pan music, mingle with the chocolate producers themselves and taste chocolates with the flavors of organic orange peel and baalam nut. Don’t go home without sampling the dark chocolate mixed with bacon bits.
Ah Cacao Real Chocolate, Cancun
This chocolate cafe derived its name from the legendary Mayan leader, Ah Cacao. Suffice it to say, the chocolate rules here. Have a gastronomic adventure and enjoy a cup of Mayan hot chili chocolate, spicy chocolate ice cream, and killer brownies, just to name a few. Looking for a kick? Order the espresso. It has a generous amount of dark chocolate in it. The head-tilting good aromas will have you lingering for hours.
Agapey Chocolate Factory, Barbados
This can be your version of golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. You’ll have a blast with an interactive guided tour, on top of stuffing your face with dark chocolate. More to these, you will get to sample Barbadian Plantation Reserve cane sugar and be in-the-know about the bean-to-bar process. Agapey claims that only around 50 companies across the globe are bean-to-bar producers, and they are one of them.
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