Want a full chocolate experience that goes beyond a convenient store? From beans to facts to an indulgent treat at the end, this New York City workshop gives you a chance to make Mexican hot chocolate with your very own hands.
Host Daniela has been working with medicinal herbs and energy medicine for more than seven years. Her experiences in the industry led her to Mexican cacao ceremonies where she was inspired to learn more about herself and her culture, using these beans as a guide. Now she’s sharing that knowledge with guests through her interactive chocolate workshop. Opposite of simply buying your own chocolate, Daniela’s workshop covers topics that range from the bean to tsokolate, Mexican hot chocolate. Here, you’ll be shown the power of connection and nourishment by way of the five senses.
Sight:
Host Daniela’s chocolate workshop is nestled within Bushwick – a Brooklyn neighborhood with a bustling artistic community. When you step into her experience, you’re immediately greeted by walls lined with a unique curation of books, her husband’s large-format paintings, and hand-built shelves which house her collection of herbs and spices. Immediately, you’re made to feel relaxed and comforted through lights, decor, and collections that exemplify her background and passions.
Sound:
From host Daniela’s warm welcome to the conversations driven by food and culture to the multitude of pops, crumples, crunches, and gurgles that accompany the chocolate-making process, to the globally inspired music that softly accompanies the experience, this workshop is full of pleasant sounds for your ears to hear.
Smell:
When you make your way into host Daniela’s kitchen, you’ll be greeted with the earthy smell of cacao beans. She’ll explain her relationship with the beans, its history, and its tumultuous background, then proceed to show you its roasting practice using a well-loved metal hot plate. As she demonstrates this cooking technique, the surrounding air instantly perfumes with the scent of cacao oils.
Touch:
After the roasting process, the group will deshell the hot beans to help make a smooth chocolate paste. Daniela will introduce her metate, a ground stone tool used to grind ingredients such as corn. Following her lead, you’ll get to crush the beans and work them into the paste. Using swift movements with the metate, the beans are melted down. At this consistency, you’ll be able to mold the paste into small, chocolate balls. A bonus – the paste also acts as a fantastic moisturizer for your hands once washed off.
Taste:
Now to try your creation! After the labor of love has been put into roasting, deshelling, and grinding the cacao beans, Daniela will guide you through the steps of making her signature tsokolate. At this time, the hardened chocolate balls are transferred into Mexican clay pots where you’ll be able to stir in boiling water, sweeteners, and added chocolate to make a rich and foamy drink. By the end of this workshop, you’ll be treating yourself to a perfectly sweet, hot, and decadent treat that came from your hands.
Host Daniela’s chocolate workshop is made for chocolate lovers and non-chocolate lovers alike. The balance that she’s able to strike by involving the five senses is difficult to replicate without her knowledge, tools, and hospitality. At the end of the experience, you’ll also be able to take home your treats for a gift that keeps on giving.
If you’re ready to experience host Daniela’s chocolate workshop, save your seat here.
