Very niche, but I found cacao pods randomly at my very normal grocery store and I could not believe my eyes, so it looks like I’m making chocolate from scratch again!
I have only made chocolate from actual cacao pods once before, but it was so fun I have been dreaming of making it again one day but it is hard to come by actual fresh cacao pods. Last time I actually special ordered them directly from south america. It was part of my grad school thesis so the splurge was worthwhile.
The skin on the cacao pods was much darker than cacao pods I have seen in the past. They are typically bright reds, oranges and yellows. Because the skin was so old looking on these I was worried that potentially the beans were no longer good, thankfully they were just fine, if a little under ripened. The inside of a cacao pod should have more juices and less membrane than these ones. The juice tastes like straight up a fist full of starburst candy, so I was a little sad not to have some juice to sip.
The beans have been fermenting for a few days, soon they’ll be ready to roast and process. I actually went to the grocery store again yesterday and there was still one cacao pod left that was getting a little soft so I rescued it and got it fermenting, too. I don’t know why my grocery store bought these, evidently no one but me recognized what they were, and I certainly would have had no idea if I hadn’t made chocolate before.
I’ll only be able to make drinking chocolate because it takes a special machine to grind the beans fine enough for tempered eating chocolates, but luckily we’re at the start of hot chocolate season! Also takes care of some holiday gifts for some friends.
I’ll post some pictures of the chocolate making journey. Hopefully inspiration for anyone who also happens to spot cacao pods at their grocery store.
That pair of shoes you made look so cool! Were you following a pattern or tutorial or something? I'd love to try my own hand at it.
Hello! I took an in person class to make the shoes at the Brooklyn Shoe Space. The studio I went to does offer prerecorded online classes of some shoe styles available on their website for a fee and they also sell materials and tools. There is also a great book called “I can Make Shoes” by Amanda Overs that has amazing step by step photos. She also sells supplies on her website and is based in the UK if you aren’t in the US. I’m definitely a novice so I can’t offer too much advice. Here are some cool books that feel like a great place to start. There are probably also youtube videos and other makers who I just don’t know about yet!
Make Mistakes @hester-brynne - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
titsay
yousharknotpass
turnnoffyourmind
theartofmadeline
romaincrisis
