Costa Rica - March 7, 2010

Arrived by plane to San Jose, Costa Rica in the late evening of March 7, 2010, in tandem with a large storm (I say tandem because it felt similar to being in the stoker position of a bike, a position that leaves you without much control), becoming the scariest landing I have ever experienced.   With one wing pointing down towards the runway as the plane was buffeted by winds, there was a moment of uncertainty whether we would be able to land without breaking up into tiny pieces on the runway, when the plane quickly righted and bounced along until we came to a near stop and then to taxi mode.  You could hear everyone let out their breath at the same time, as all of the passengers realized that the plane was in one piece. 

 

Luckily, my chocolate was in one piece in the bin above my head.

I was met by friends at the airport, a couple of days before my class started the following Monday.  Their hospitality was wonderful and on a whim, they took me to a coffee plantation tour that was delightful.  From that tour I heard about how farms of all types in Costa Rica are working towards organic procedures, sustainability of the produce and the jungle, and keeping waste from entering their water systems.  Costa Rica is only beginning to understand that, although their country does not have minerals or precious gems, their jungle is a national treasure and should be protected for a variety of reasons.  It was a head start on my education of the cocao farms and cocoa beans.

Tempering chaos.

Tempering is used in creating steel, glass making and chocolate candies.  It is fascinating to realize just how much energy (heat) is required to temper these materials.  I believe it is one of the laws of thermodynamics that says it takes a lot of energy to turn chaos into an organized calmness.  Basically, forcing certain forms of crystals in molten chocolate, to line up in a nice neat line.  Of course, this is a simplified version since I don't really understand the math of thermodynamics, but I understand the gist of it and as a cook, I am always working within the confines of the four laws.  What I find even more fascinating is that, once chocolate (or glass or steel) is tempered, it is never still, giving up its latent heat while becoming hardened and glossy,  but once that heat is gone it begins moving back towards chaos.  So gaze quickly at that glossy piece of chocolate and enjoy it right away.  Chaos is the norm and getting the chance to eat a near perfect tempered piece of chocolate is somewhat fleeting.

The time it takes to temper.

Tempering chocolate is similar to riding a bicycle; once you learn how you never forget.  Even the most experienced chocolatiers make mistakes, especially when it is close to a meal and for reasons unclear, the chocolate is not tempering properly and you have been waiting for an hour for it to work its magic. So everyone walks away and returns thirty minutes later to find the chocolate is now overtempered, a thickened, hardened mass that defies gravity, climbing up and out of the machine like the blob. The clean up is terrible.  The lesson well learned; never walk away from the task at hand.  And as important, you have learned the other lesson; get back on the bike and start again, because you still have chocolate to temper and candy to create.

The chocolate journey as a cook...

I am trained as a cook, in the french style to be exact.  My personal cooking style is one of perseverance, in other words,  I choose a cuisine and learn it.  I read, cook, read and cook and ask lots questions of other friends who know that cuisine or even ask the chef at a restaurant that may be of help.  Only once have I had to throw out the results and order pizza.
When I began learning how to temper chocolate, it was with an online class.  This class is designed by Pam Williams of Ecole Chocolat in Canada and, because it was online, allowed me to learn the tempering and candy making process while being a full time mom to three children and allowing my husband to travel for business as needed.  As a trained cook, I know the difference between good and great is practice.  Although, to be honest, I had some experience in tempering and making chocolate bon bons in my professional life in restaurant and catering, it was many, many years ago and my memory of it was scant.  Through the online class, I pushed myself to hand temper over and over again, and after the twenty-fifth time over a one week period, felt that I consistently produced a near perfect temper.

Master Chocolate program with Ecole Chocolat.

Next week I fly to Costa Rica to learn first hand about the growing, harvesting and fermenting of the cocoa bean.  The class is led by Steve De Vries, a well known chocolate maker, and Julio Fernadez, a local Costa Rican maker.  The class will be take place near San Jose, Costa Rica and in a five day span, we will walk through a few cocao farms, nestled in the jungles where cocao trees naturally grow.  
On a personal note, purchasing beans that are organic and not produced by slave labor is important, not only to me, but to many of  my customers as well.
Hopefully, I will be able to upload photos and write short posts during my class.

First chocolate post.

As a micro-batch chocolate maker, I explore the creation of making chocolate from bean to bar.  As a chocolate maker,  I roast, grind/refine and conch the cocoa bean. As a chocolate blender, I taste chocolates,  blending the chocolates of other fine chocolate makers with the couverture of Cocoa Danyle.  Every box is filled with my unique and exclusive chocolate, a tasting of milk and dark couvertures, that explores a full flavor profile of the chocolate tasting experience.