Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Everywhere

Big Data eCourse

Together with Laudius and another teacher I made a Big Data eCourse in Dutch about what Big Data is, how to analyze Big Data and Privacy & Ethics in Big Data research. With the code: GUISELAINE 10 percent discount (Affiliate).

Index

Chocolate In Ecuador

In Ecuador, a lot of years ago (2007), I had the opportunity to make my own chocolate on a cacao farm. I harvest a cacao fruit and peeled the cacao. The cacao I had to pulverise. To get some sugar I had to walk the sugar cane mill. The cacao, the sugar and some milk made a delicious chocolate milk. Better then I can get in stores. I can still taste it in my mind…

Chocolate Tasting

When I saw that there was a chocolate festival in the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, I had to go. Nothing better than buying chocolate from the source. On Saturday 23 February (before covid-19) I went to the festival and tasted chocolate till I was nauseous.

Cacao Fruit & Cacao Fruit Juice

The difference is that the chocolate in Ecuador and at the festival was pure no artificial ingredients added. I can still taste a bit of the bitterness. I had a lot of chocolate bars, hot chocolate, beer with chocolate, sausage with cacao and cheese with cacao. Also I had for the first-time cacao juice from the fruit outside of Ecuador. I already had tasted how good the cacao fruit in Ecuador were and now the juice. It is a pitty I can’t get the juice in shops yet.

Good & Bad In Chocolate Industry

There were a lot of chocolate with a statement. Rokbar chocolate 100% made and owned by women, empowering of women. Tony’s Choconally with their 100% slave free chocolate. There was also an environment organization Mighty, which makes sure the public knows that not all chocolate are produced environmently friendly. A lot of bushes has disappeared for cacao plantations. These are mono plantations destroying the habitat in which monkeys and other animals live. More and more chocolate producers and supermarket chains in the world are committing to selling chocolate that tackle issues as deforestation, sustainability, and human right issues. In The Netherlands these chocolates are not common yet but will be in a few years as the chocolate market is changing.

A Resolution

With the fasting period coming up I am making a resolution to myself to only buy chocolate that tackles issues from now on. They cost a bit more, but they taste better and are friendly to humans, animals, and our environment. Nowadays even the big chocolate brands are doing more to help the world reach the 17 sustainability goals set by the United Nation.