The closing of Cosetinos in San Jose, Ca.

I have recently learned that Cosentino's in San Jose, CA. closed on Saturday, February 27, 2011.  This store is near and dear to my heart, as this is where I discovered 'real' chocolate.  Previous to the summer of 1970, my experience with chocolate was limited to Hershey's milk chocolate bars and M&M's.  We had recently moved into the area and Cosentino's was a mile away, walking distance, from my house.  The first time we shopped at this store, I experienced an awakening of my culinary senses.  Here there were barrels filled with pickles, a real butcher shop, a cheese counter, a bakery of wonderful goods (oh, my aching sweet tooth), and vegetables I had never seen before in my life. The aromas from this store were both tantalizing and confusing as many of those aromas I was unable to identify at that time.
My favorite was the chocolate aisle.  Along one end of this aisle lay before my eyes a mass of chocolate candies from different countries and I remember taking my allowance and purchasing the dark chocolate that cost me the entire allowance. That first taste is, to this day, an experience that shaped my opinion of what chocolate should taste like.  I spent my entire weekly allowance on different chocolates at this store, carefully dividing it into seven days, long enough to last until my next purchase.  Every week without fail I walked to this store and  purchased my treasure, except of course when I lost my allowance due to some negligence my parents felt was inexcusable.  Those were long weeks. To this day I am closet chocolate eater and now a chocolate maker.  Thank you Cosetino's.
I am sad over this closing.  It was a wonderful store.  I shall miss it.

Growing cacao tress.

Cacao's  history, so far, originates from Central and South America. Cacao trees are rather picky about where they grow.  Left to their own biological devices, it is possible that they would have grown close to their origins and not much farther, since the tree is reliant on animals to open the pods, eat and disperse the beans. At one time, it was Mexico that could boast growing the fine Criollo bean, thus having the best beans in the world.  Mexico's history is rich with stories and pictures (hieroglyphics) of the Theobroma tree and pod as the beans were used by royalty for monetary exchange and religious ceremonies, and, later in history in Europe, of the wealthy who were well aware of the physical effect on people who partook of the chocolate drink.  To that point, a side trip we made while on my Costa Rica Chocolate class, was to a small cafe called Caribeans.  Delightfully situated on the beach front, we drank hot chocolate. When cocoa beans are ground and then pressed through a commercial espresso maker, a hot drink transforms into magical brew that  is thick and creamy without milk.  I  read a description by the character E.23 in Kim, by Rudyard Kipling, who expounded on the effects of taking  small amounts of opium, as giving one heart; chocolate when consumed in this thick,creamy and concentrated form, certainly gives one heart to face the day.  The all over effect of this drink helped with my stamina needed to enjoy that day when we had the opportunity to meet  the indigenous people of Costa Rica, the Bri Bri, who introduced us to their God of the Cacao Tree.

But back on my topic. When you look at a globe, you can imagine a belt centered on the equator to understand where cacao trees grow best.  After subtracting all the water and areas that are too high in elevation or too dry or too far from water, and suddenly you have a limited area where we can get cocoa beans.  Costa Rica is able to grow the cacao tree, especially under the canopy of the jungle, giving rise, literally, to the millions of small midges that pollinate the flowers. But it isn't a perfect environment in Costa Rica for the trees, so it is always a challenge to get a high crop yield from the farmers’ efforts.

So with care, cacao trees can be planted in places that are humid, without which the seed would not thrive, year round water,  and enough shade and heat to allow quick decay of vegetation, giving rise to the tiny insects who give life to many plants and animals, and made my life a bit miserable by their sheer numbers.