Visit The Chocolate LifeTumblr (3.0; @cocoaculture)http://cocoaculture.com/<div class="posterous_autopost">Kakaw is the Museo del Cacao & Chocolateria Cultural located in San Cristobal, Chiapas.<p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/bn3dCINSiRtpJJ6O1DBR3YKmW1HXDzjYdAYvwA1c2HcG6hzJhXzzTWOdjWP5/photo.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/x1vPxkE9PgxXcDqE3oUUfPmGSnS9UBIyLvDhacxqYpUe6kgYApmcTy3oN2Qk/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="677"/></a> </p> <p>Clockwise from top-left: </p> A metate and mano with crushed cocoa beans and cocoa paste; a selection of molinillos, including prehispanic varieties; a reproduction vessel with Codex illustrations; some kicking wrapped chocolate they make at the museum. <p></p> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <br/>Discover Chocolate and <br/>Live La Vida Cocoa at <br/><a href="http://www.TheChocolateLife.com"><a href="http://www.TheChocolateLife.com">www.TheChocolateLife.com</a></a><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-photomosaic-of-tabletop">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-photomosaic-of-tabletop#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/387622617http://cocoaculture.com/post/387622617Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:35:03 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/K6agaFsKEZ5pf2Przkd6t5uT6DLTUquU5xKJ9qiW8FIInfSx7Z1XgwHldFxd/cacaoPodPrehispanico.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/luGVYSQbh0dnzCmHRl6jmJuc0EW99ItkGCxh6uWGlAy9NHsCklx8NHdBnjDi/cacaoPodPrehispanico.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>At The Chocolate Experience in Mexico City I was presented this most unusual cacao pod I have ever seen. This pod was on the stand of CACEP, a co-operative in the Tabasco area of Chiapas and was described to me as “cacao prehispanico.” Or, a type of cacao pod that existed before the Spanish arrived in Mesoamerica. </p> <div>The person who showed this to me is the manager of marketing and eco-tourism for CACEP and he explained that the pod came from the Hacienda Jesus Maria, and is quite common.</div> <p></p> <div>Tabasco has a tourism agency that offers support for eco-tourism programs and I will be in touch about putting together a tour that includes the opportunity to see these pods in their natural environment.</div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/the-most-unusual-cacao-pod-i-have-ever-seen">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/the-most-unusual-cacao-pod-i-have-ever-seen#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/385529685http://cocoaculture.com/post/385529685Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:29:09 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost">Fog City News owner Adam Smith with Fran Bigelow of Fran’s Chocolates in Seattle during a tasting/book signing in SF. Located on Market St in the Financial District, FCN carries well over 100 different chocolate bars. Here Adam is serving brownies he cooked from a recipe in Fran’s book “Pure Chocolate.” The recipe features chopped Gold Bar chocolate bars.<p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/Umkq6RW5QM3jnHrEah0iGbF5Y5bFwZcen6lEQaH9Qvbin8nVuYZzieKeJhJU/photo.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/CmeZoW2OnM7xRIm9BwJ2Qy4LoC7MFTKDbffoXMXjyVZs76KPJgNEOBhkSU5Q/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="667"/></a> </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-fog-city-news-in-sf">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-fog-city-news-in-sf#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/339265564http://cocoaculture.com/post/339265564Sun, 17 Jan 2010 11:02:58 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost">The Sweetriot unBar 65% as seen on the snack list in the seatback entertainment system on my Virgin America flight from Fort Lauderdale to SF.<p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/00JNE1jAeEK34hVtsJbjCZ5q1DKv7KBMe6EKpF0rtgRNa197vCStA84cxVm7/photo.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/OdRX0vmfnmJ54Ch5Q2rVu8h7BRcK6HRrNJokKCUpp3IYSe84X1qy3pZr1HRa/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="667"/></a> </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-sweetriot-on-virgin-america-flight">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-sweetriot-on-virgin-america-flight#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/334212548http://cocoaculture.com/post/334212548Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:15:14 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost">All of Bolivia is a curious,vibrant mix of cultures and eras stretching from the 19th to the 21st centuries. Some of that amalgam is, I hope, visible here.<p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/Qkpu9WFSGN6JhKzodSiZn27b7zrDXNaXX6NOuYiDgkC3lZWicJyuQEGuuqfc/photo.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/0g33zCQ83hMD03tYnQeLGupNiXUOKXBT3sJw9isAgL8j3Qviy51hcsnhz5R3/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="64"/></a> </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/panorama-downtown-intersection-in-santa-cruz">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/panorama-downtown-intersection-in-santa-cruz#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/334116002http://cocoaculture.com/post/334116002Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:44:12 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/U0Vj8B2VceNXIG2MW6lRzseUfWcOy5FGQ8LtuHabK7Vo6khBvk6xzNQpuu4c/theflightfromTrinidadtoBaures.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/LGx94X4kqu2EqLGnokxA5LgXFBbSG5KGfwbDx3hsWVYjneB1vcGBd2ywq1ZP/theflightfromTrinidadtoBaures.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>This photo was taken from the Cessna during the flight from Trinidad to Baures. The Itenez region of Beni department (almost 9,000,000 acres) consists almost entirely of savanna with raised “islands.” The savanna floods completely during the wet season and the islands are only a couple of meters above “high tide.” All of the chocolatales where the wild cacao grows (there are 32 of them) are located on these islands.</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/flying-over-the-beni">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/flying-over-the-beni#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/332722881http://cocoaculture.com/post/332722881Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:06:59 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/CvYfcuI6b20SQ1OPSAsE5BV3Ocn8ASxWFoz3IhpF7sH4q9nYIlgri2fyzq5E/aerialviewofBaures.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/BM9IK3ZikTpfyHlCjgx3drSDJlFHv6h42caQG9dVjmble77faRBwtqyK44OS/aerialviewofBaures.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>My trip to the Hacienda Tranquilidad was not direct. </p> <div>New York to Miami</div> <div>Miami to Santa Cruz de la Sierra (red eye)</div> <div>Santa Cruz to Trinidad (via overnight bus)</div> <div>Trinidad to Baures (via four-seater (including the pilot) Cessna)</div> <div>Baures to Hacienda Tranquilidad via 4WD</div> <p></p> <div>The dirt road leaving from the town center out the bottom-left of the photo is the road to Tranquilidad.</div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/aerial-view-of-baures-bolivia">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/aerial-view-of-baures-bolivia#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/332714251http://cocoaculture.com/post/332714251Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:59:03 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost">A bag of giant popcorn purchased on the street in Santa Cruz for 5 Bolivianos (about 70 cents). Cooked kettle corn - style (slightly sweet).<p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/lY4JeUalhZ4fdkwTgWqgliQwmIGxthgL7qCmoAefLo48f0u7A08kfQPutzsB/photo.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/vqGdztdwl3IoHHFq6Tl8GTntEQ1U73gfOAPjxcqP0NjURuw5dz6KWhG0om3J/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="667"/></a> </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-orville-redenbachers-nightmare">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-orville-redenbachers-nightmare#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/332622083http://cocoaculture.com/post/332622083Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:32:05 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost">That’s steamed milk at the bottom with a big hunk of dark chocolate in it, a float of espresso, and then whipped cream. 18 Bolivianos is about $2.50 and the WiFi is free.<p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/uUgDpECj54F2zfkpqUctZtXOdTFBV71tiQwCpLdiCUtv9kGBgAGRWn9tv10W/photo.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/ElYtvplaiOq6mKg8uUUDhw4kLG2i2gTq0hKWKSWrSV1hoDC8SJunRri6WSHH/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="667"/></a> </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/how-they-make-a-caffe-mocha-at-the-starbucks">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/how-they-make-a-caffe-mocha-at-the-starbucks#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/332612055http://cocoaculture.com/post/332612055Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:22:22 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost">To tell the truth, I never understood the Belgian fascination with putting mayonnaise on french fries. So, the Bolivian taste for mayonnaise on potato chips totally escapes me - especially in the rarified atmosphere at 4,200 meters.<p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/k8vnJCwdgeB3BEquiFAUdrpco6UqZ3SEXfXJoqzIDdXbzawqFbWjSfupOlZq/photo.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/pUbV6zcZl1RyUsgj0e3r9JLMin7HD0om4YCHXY9hhMSh2h8BcSdmaQu0FDh1/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="667"/></a> </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-aeropuerto-el-alto-la-paz-bolivia">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/sightings-aeropuerto-el-alto-la-paz-bolivia#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/332609217http://cocoaculture.com/post/332609217Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:19:50 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/7WxEZWOXkLv9d5nDQOOcqPKeTWqZbpiFpHoQdCPY5x80cUfDC7N9L4YQC7fu/wildcacaopods.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/IyM3v0VThZSWPxLgeYnL2uOoediu8qQwevIwK85XCz9rdhgXDMfAlU0FenIy/wildcacaopods.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>Six cacao pods harvested on the Hacienda Tranquilidad outside of Baures, Bolivia. There are four or five different varieties of wild cacao growing in Bolivia. The colors of ripe pods are yellow and green, with orange being slightly over-ripe. Unlike many other varieties of cacao, there are no reds to be seen anywhere!</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/wild-cacao-pods-hacienda-tranquilidad-bolivia">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/wild-cacao-pods-hacienda-tranquilidad-bolivia#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328115440http://cocoaculture.com/post/328115440Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:21:51 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/7N05sft5Fbgoqib8v4RjNQU2lgurkzL5TETJkd572CAEsAkGCL7vAof1V4WU/plantingacacaoseedling.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/s5ME8l0sipiA0Y934SfNZZg0FvXnsWTrnHYpABTOQJ1sBsitPU6Hr9wZ7RFm/plantingacacaoseedling.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>Volker Lehmann, the owner of Hacienda Tranquilidad, has a formal educational background in tropical agronomy and years of experience in Bolivia and elsewhere. He selects seeds from pods from trees he knows to abundant producers, germinates them in his nursery (where he also grows teak, cashew, acai, and several other plants) for interplanting outside of the core chocolatales where the wild trees are found. I was part of a crew of four people tasked with planting about 220 seedlings in an area of mixed varieties of plantains and bananas.</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/planting-wild-cacao-seedlings">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/planting-wild-cacao-seedlings#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328089399http://cocoaculture.com/post/328089399Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:05:04 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/Qeqx3auVDjcW24DxZrwM4UxCyZXsIiepQab3nfaPs471cjWDLaQKuqVnjfbj/morningonarroyotranquilidad.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/lWMrFhWeOhLIDvJTjQGGgTorxEctrCaFkvASjV0j2NGfXzbCzmCBR7A8i09r/morningonarroyotranquilidad.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="890"/></a> <p>This photo was taken early in the morning on the bridge over the Arroyo Tranquilidad which borders one edge of the Hacienda Tranquilidad. Apart from the natural beauty what you can’t get here is the ambient sound environment - bird calls, insect noises, frogs, the wind. What is most captivating is that the only sounds you hear are natural sounds - nothing man-made. Tranquilidad is a very good name for this place. However, there are black caiman (a kind of crocodile) and electric eel in these waters, so looks are deceiving.</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/early-morning-on-the-arroyo-tranquilidad">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/early-morning-on-the-arroyo-tranquilidad#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328085173http://cocoaculture.com/post/328085173Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:02:29 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/Qeqx3auVDjcW24DxZrwM4UxCyZXsIiepQab3nfaPs471cjWDLaQKuqVnjfbj/morningonarroyotranquilidad.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/lWMrFhWeOhLIDvJTjQGGgTorxEctrCaFkvASjV0j2NGfXzbCzmCBR7A8i09r/morningonarroyotranquilidad.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="890"/></a> <p>This photo was taken early in the morning on the bridge over the Arroyo Tranquilidad which borders one edge of the Hacienda Tranquilidad. Apart from the natural beauty what you can’t get here is the ambient sound environment - bird calls, insect noises, frogs, the wind. What is most captivating is that the only sounds you hear are natural sounds - nothing man-made. Tranquilidad is a very good name for this place. However, there are black caiman (a kind of crocodile) and electric eel in these waters, so looks are deceiving.</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/early-morning-on-the-arroyo-tranquilidad">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/early-morning-on-the-arroyo-tranquilidad#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328083723http://cocoaculture.com/post/328083723Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:01:29 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/lBQLA4fGCSkEt6hfznj5FgkWGV4lxyxHCG3JznGij7marDB1biKfI7c3KqqW/theoldmanoftheforest.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/TTo7iYGG1XJixyzYKfLOnjEhTvJgRcpc8i44dkVG9laBnQ0PgAj2VNMIsRtA/theoldmanoftheforest.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>… the tree, not me! This majestic wild cacao tree is probably hundreds of years old and is still very productive. Unlike virtually all other cacao varieties, which grow from a single trunk, as you can see there are dozens of trunks and new shoots called chupons. In a “modern” cacao farm the chupons would be pruned. On the wild cacao trees they are not as the unproductive chupons will simply wither and die.</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/the-old-man-of-the-wild-cacao-forest">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/the-old-man-of-the-wild-cacao-forest#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328072961http://cocoaculture.com/post/328072961Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:54:55 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/7N05sft5Fbgoqib8v4RjNQU2lgurkzL5TETJkd572CAEsAkGCL7vAof1V4WU/plantingacacaoseedling.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/s5ME8l0sipiA0Y934SfNZZg0FvXnsWTrnHYpABTOQJ1sBsitPU6Hr9wZ7RFm/plantingacacaoseedling.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>Volker Lehmann, the owner of Hacienda Tranquilidad, has a formal educational background in tropical agronomy and years of experience in Bolivia and elsewhere. He selects seeds from pods from trees he knows to abundant producers, germinates them in his nursery (where he also grows teak, cashew, acai, and several other plants) for interplanting outside of the core chocolatales where the wild trees are found. I was part of a crew of four people tasked with planting about 220 seedlings in an area of mixed varieties of plantains and bananas.</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/planting-wild-cacao-seedlings">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/planting-wild-cacao-seedlings#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328069723http://cocoaculture.com/post/328069723Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:52:54 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/7N05sft5Fbgoqib8v4RjNQU2lgurkzL5TETJkd572CAEsAkGCL7vAof1V4WU/plantingacacaoseedling.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/s5ME8l0sipiA0Y934SfNZZg0FvXnsWTrnHYpABTOQJ1sBsitPU6Hr9wZ7RFm/plantingacacaoseedling.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>Volker Lehmann, the owner of Hacienda Tranquilidad, has a formal educational background in tropical agronomy and years of experience in Bolivia and elsewhere. He selects seeds from pods from trees he knows to abundant producers, germinates them in his nursery (where he also grows teak, cashew, acai, and several other plants) for interplanting outside of the core chocolatales where the wild trees are found. I was part of a crew of four people tasked with planting about 220 seedlings in an area of mixed varieties of plantains and bananas.</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/planting-wild-cacao-seedlings">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/planting-wild-cacao-seedlings#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328068161http://cocoaculture.com/post/328068161Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:51:54 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/7WxEZWOXkLv9d5nDQOOcqPKeTWqZbpiFpHoQdCPY5x80cUfDC7N9L4YQC7fu/wildcacaopods.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/IyM3v0VThZSWPxLgeYnL2uOoediu8qQwevIwK85XCz9rdhgXDMfAlU0FenIy/wildcacaopods.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>Six cacao pods harvested on the Hacienda Tranquilidad outside of Baures, Bolivia. There are four or five different varieties of wild cacao growing in Bolivia. The colors of ripe pods are yellow and green, with orange being slightly over-ripe. Unlike many other varieties of cacao, there are no reds to be seen anywhere!</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/wild-cacao-pods-hacienda-tranquilidad-bolivia">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/wild-cacao-pods-hacienda-tranquilidad-bolivia#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328063563http://cocoaculture.com/post/328063563Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:49:00 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/7WxEZWOXkLv9d5nDQOOcqPKeTWqZbpiFpHoQdCPY5x80cUfDC7N9L4YQC7fu/wildcacaopods.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/IyM3v0VThZSWPxLgeYnL2uOoediu8qQwevIwK85XCz9rdhgXDMfAlU0FenIy/wildcacaopods.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>Six cacao pods harvested on the Hacienda Tranquilidad outside of Baures, Bolivia. There are four or five different varieties of wild cacao growing in Bolivia. The colors of ripe pods are yellow and green, with orange being slightly over-ripe. Unlike many other varieties of cacao, there are no reds to be seen anywhere!</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/wild-cacao-pods-hacienda-tranquilidad-bolivia">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/wild-cacao-pods-hacienda-tranquilidad-bolivia#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328061962http://cocoaculture.com/post/328061962Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:48:00 -0500<div class="posterous_autopost"> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/lBQLA4fGCSkEt6hfznj5FgkWGV4lxyxHCG3JznGij7marDB1biKfI7c3KqqW/theoldmanoftheforest.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thechocolatelife/TTo7iYGG1XJixyzYKfLOnjEhTvJgRcpc8i44dkVG9laBnQ0PgAj2VNMIsRtA/theoldmanoftheforest.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="281"/></a> <p>… the tree, not me! This majestic wild cacao tree is probably hundreds of years old and is still very productive. Unlike virtually all other cacao varieties, which grow from a single trunk, as you can see there are dozens of trunks and new shoots called chupons. In a “modern” cacao farm the chupons would be pruned. On the wild cacao trees they are not as the unproductive chupons will simply wither and die.</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/the-old-man-of-the-wild-cacao-forest">LaVidaCocoa</a> | <a href="http://www.lavidacocoa.com/the-old-man-of-the-wild-cacao-forest#comment"><span style="font-size: 11px">Comment »</span></a><br/> Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa - TheChocolateLife.com </p> </div>http://cocoaculture.com/post/328059291http://cocoaculture.com/post/328059291Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:46:13 -0500