Making Chocolate

AJAW Chocolate is a little store in San Ignacio which walks you through the process of making chocolate from a cocoa bean.

It was hot but it was fun. The girls say this experience tops their list!

We shelled the cocoa beans, grinded the cocoa beans with a lava stone, made a traditional Mayan chocolate drink and left with homemade chocolate. The girls didn't care for the drink or the chocolate but they loved the experience! In my opinion, both the chocolate and the drink were extremely bitter, and although adding honey and some cinnamon helped with the drink, I came to the same conclusion as the girls :)

But what fun! Daddy said is he hadn't almost fainted from heat stroke, he would have enjoyed it a little more :)

 Blowing the leftover shells off the bean...

They did not care for the chocolate drink one bit.... or for the chocolate!!! But they sure had fun making it

 Seasoning the chocolate

 And then it was time to go......