How to Eat Chocolate

                                                       

         How to Eat Chocolate

I have not yet forgotten the moment, the smell, the sight of so many little chocolate bars set before me.
Each with its amount of cacao displayed along with characteristics typical to that type of chocolate.
I was at my first ever chocolate tasting class.

My husband and I were on vacation with our crew of very active children.
We were touring various sites along the East Coast of the United States.
Those of you that have traveled with children or have watched parents travel with children can imagine the
scene. Our boisterous group had just spent a few hours in the car and they were ready for an adventure.
I had spent a few hours as the car seat waitress. Passing fruit snacks, fixing electronic devices, mending
Quarles was the order of business for me. I was in full mommy mode. When that mode hits everyone in the
family can hear in my voice. It is best described as a “Extreme Patience”.

As we entered the building the kids got more excited. They saw the amusement park style ride, and the
make your own chocolate station and they knew we had not failed them. As they were jumping around, all
calling to me about what activity they wanted to do first, I saw my husband return. Honestly, I had not
noticed him walk away. I was busy scouting out the nearest bathrooms to be ready when the inevitable
moment hit, as well as checking all exits and places where a two-year-old might hide. Once I felt confident
I could navigate all the likely mishappens in our new surroundings, I started to organize the events of the
afternoon and do the negotiating necessary to get our whole team on board. At that point, my husband
placed his hand on my arm and handed me a ticket. I turned it over and read “ Chocolate Tasting Class”.
I had noticed that option posted when we walked in. It intrigued me but I knew that was the last place I
wanted to take our entire crew. I realized then that he had only purchased one ticket. He smiled, took
the baby from my arms and lead me to the door of the classroom. I looked in. Everything was quiet and
orderly. A few well-dressed visitors had already taken their seats and were chatting quietly. At first, I
protested. It would not really be fair for me to leave my husband with our rowdy crew, sit for an entire
30 minutes and learn how to taste chocolate. He smiled and left with the kids. The only thing left for me
to do was to quietly slip into a chair near the front.

Sitting there waiting for the class to start, the tension of full mommy mode started to slip from me.
Before  I realized it the class had started and the lecturer was showing us how chocolate was made.
He informed us that chocolate from different locations tastes different and pointed out more interesting
facts about the process. Then he arrived at the lesson that struck me in such a way that I still have not
forgotten it. He taught us how to eat chocolate. Unwrap it, smell it, listen to it snap when you break off
a piece, place a small piece in your mouth and let it rest, feel the sensation of it melting in your mouth,
savor the flavor, notice the different notes of flavor, enjoy it.

Although I had eaten a fair number of chocolate pieces in my life I had never had an experience quite
like this. When I slowed down just a bit there was so much to the experience that I had never noticed
before. The experience, the sensations, the different notes of flavor stood out in stark contrast to the
Halloween night style of chocolate eating that had been my previous experience.

I was startled that in the few moments it took to Taste the Chocolate my perspective could
change so drastically. That little piece of chocolate now had new meaning to me because I
took the time to experience it.

That moment has stayed with me and I began to wonder how many other of the more or less
daily experiences of life could be transformed if I slowed down and learned how to
“Taste the Chocolate.”