I'm a Chocoholic...but never knew this....

Sounds like one of those shock and awe headlines, doesn't it?  Here's my story though...and you're gonna love it!

Several months ago, I heard about someone in our church serving hot chocolate from beans that were grown in their yard.  WHAAAT? I immediately started doing some research to find out who and where....but wasn't real successful.  I had an idea, though...but then kind of forgot about it.  

Then, just recently, I went to get a massage and the lady had these beans in pans on her dining table.  When I asked her about them, she told me some were coffee and the others were cacao beans, then took me to see the trees in their yard.  That really piqued my interest, and I've been looking for the fruit ever since.

Then, the other day, I asked my friends at church (I'd figured out who) if, when their cacao tree had fruit on it, could I perhaps just have one.  They invited us to come by after church Sunday - so Sunday came and we took them home after church.

Jose and his wife, Sebastiana, have a beautiful big yard, a couple of parrots and some other animals here and there.  Their home reminds me of an old mountain cabin like my Grandma had years ago in the Santa Cruz Mountains, with lots of warm worn wood mismatch cabinets, colorful pillows, old prints and calendars hanging, strands of plastic flowers and a good sized front porch.  Very warm and welcoming...very simple.

Jose proceeded to show us several cacao trees...one with purple pods, and then others in his yard.

These are Cacao pods.  Did you have ANY idea?  Who knew???

He told us all about them - the trees produce these fruit 2 times a year...and we could see tiny little flowers on the trunk and limbs of each tree which would be the next season's fruit.  It baffles me that they grow on the trunk as well!

He proceeded to pull one of the fruits off....and I really thought that was it.  But then he asked if we'd like to see inside. YES.....thank you....

So he took it over to a plastic covered table on the back porch and began to cut into it....shallow cuts all around the fruit....and then popped it open.  Inside were a bunch of rather large seeds, enveloped in a sort of fuzziness.  He explained that you don't eat the fruit itself, and began to pull out the seeds.

He handed one to each of us and popped one in his mouth and told us to taste it.  It was a sweet/sour taste and pretty flavorful...but not at all like chocolate.  He said that often, people will just suck on the seeds and throw them out...thus "planting" more cacao trees.

He then went over to a corner of the patio and got a plastic grocery bag that was hanging there.  Inside were 2 more bags....one with dried beans, and the other with toasted beans.

Dried on the right....toasted on the left.  

The dried ones had no aroma to indicate they were chocolate...but the toasted ones had that sweet rich aroma.  We bit into a toasted one and were rewarded with the yummy flavor of dark rich chocolate.  

I thought it had a hint of a coffee flavor as well.

He pointed to a larger metal grinder, also hanging in the corner of the porch, and said they had to grind the cacao bean once it is toasted.  And then took us into the kitchen and showed us this....

A solid block of unsweetened chocolate. It had been put into a styrofoam soup cup to dry so was round and a bit conical in shape. We asked them if they had to use something else in it to make the grounds  all stick together and they said no....which made no sense to us.  In looking at some You Tube videos later, I saw that each time they run the toasted beans through the grinder, they liquify a little bit more.  in fact after the very first run, they can be squeezed together and molded.  After several times, they are pretty much liquid!!  

Some people grind sugar with the beans to make it sweet, but I guess most do not.  

Sebastiana had a pot of water on the stove to boil, and Jose took the block of toasted and ground cacao beans and began to shave it with the edge of a knife.  

It looked like shaved chocolate...imagine that!

 They dumped it into the boiling water and stirred.  

In a minute or so, they poured us each a cup of hot steaming cocoa....they put out a plastic jar of sugar and a can of evaporated milk with tiny holes placed on each edge of the top for us to stir in.  It took a few tries to get the flavor just right, but we all sat there and enjoyed it as we visited.

I have loved and purchased chocolate all my life.  I have baked with it.  I have made fun shapes and desserts out of it....but I never had any idea of just where it comes from and how it gets to the chocolate stage.

Made. My. Day.

Note: they are many good and informative videos on You Tube.  If they keep grinding the cacao beans, several times through....they chocolate is pretty much liquid (so they don't have to actually melt it!?!?!) and can be poured into a shape, mixed with nuts, etc....and cooled.  To temper it, they heat it slowly.  

Things You Never Knew About Coffee

Good morning!  I haven't done any blogging in so long, mostly because I haven't been able to get pictures to load...but today, whether the pictures work or not, I wanted to send you this.  Enjoy!

We headed back from our border run to Costa Rica yesterday and decided to take in a tour at Jansen Coffee Farms in Volcan, Panama, just inside the western border of Panama....so, a long way from home.  Jansen is one of the finer coffees and is one of only a few roasters in Panama.  They also roast beans for several of the other growers. We've been to their beautiful farm before, sitting on the side of Volcan Baru (which is part of the reason the coffee from Panama is so wonderful), but never had taken any of their tours.  Does that word Volcan sound familiar?  Yes...its a volcano!  Rich volcanic soil and those high altitudes make the coffee what it is.  Delicious!


Here are some of the things we learned.

*All coffee originally comes from Africa.  Yes, Africa. There are only 2 varieties - Robusto and Arabica (I always thought Arabica was from Arabia...shows what I knew).  There are other varieties within these two, but they all fit into these two categories, and quite often, they are mixed.

* Robusto grows at lower elevations, is more disease resistant, grows plentifully and is thus cheaper to produce.  This is the coffee that is used by huge coffee producers (Think Folgers, etc.) and added in to most coffees to keep the price down.  It is machine processed.  That doesn't mean it's a bad cup of coffee.  However, FYI, unless your coffee says 100% Arabica, it probably has only a small portion of Arabica beans in it.  

Smaller bean
Larger plant
Grows in lower elevations
Produces more per hectare
Has more caffeine (which makes it more bitter)
Has half the sugar (yes, sugar in the beans...who knew?)

*Arabica is only grown at higher elevations, in high humidity and rich soil and is not as disease resistant...so because of the humidity, it is necessary to plant the plant further apart, so as to resist disease and mold or fungus.  Arabica beans take much more care and are more expensive because of it.

Larger Bean
Smaller plant
Grows best in high elevations with cooler temps and rich volcanic soil
Produces much less per hectare
Has less caffeine, thus a smoother, less acidic taste
Has more sugar, which adds to the flavor.
Regular Jansen Farm Coffees sell in London for $20.00 a cup.  A pound of that here in Panama costs about $7.00

Geisha coffee is from the Arabica family, named so for a particular district in Ethiopia, not because of Geisha girls....  Geisha has won the Worlds Best Coffee title for the past 13 years straight.  It may not be so much about how great it is, but more about how different it is.  It certainly requires a refined sort of palate. It auctions for $300 a pound, but is sold for waaaaay less here in Panama. The taste varies dramatically depending on how it is dried and roasted.  The beans that are washed and dried in the sun tasted much smoother to me, and I really liked it, but the most expensive, Geisha Natural is dried whole bean on shaded flats in the sun has a totally different taste.  They call this processing "Honey" because the sugars are more concentrated in those coffee beans that are dried whole.  It is also much more expensive. I didn't like it nearly as much, which is probably a good thing.

Geisha plants produce even fewer coffee beans per plant.
The beans grow in small clusters rather than filling an entire branch.
It produces larger coffee beans, which are more desirable.
It must be grown at the highest altitudes.
It is more disease resistant than regular Arabica, but puts out half the beans.
Geisha beans have more sugar content.

Geisha Coffee will sell for $40.00 a cup in NYC and $28.00 in LA. One lb in Panama costs about $12-$20 depending on where it is purchased.

*All of these beans are sorted 6 times at Jansen to remove any broken or inferior beans (which are ground and sold as Del Fino, and while it is seconds, it is still a very fine cup of coffee) and to sort by size.

The beans are sorted for size, because, the roasting is done according to the largest bean.  If there are many sizes, the smaller ones get over done. When a buyer opens a bag of these quality beans, they'd better be all the same size.

*All of Jansen coffee (except Del Fino) is hand bagged, hand sealed, hand labeled.

*Where a crop of beans comes from (example: South side of a particular mountain) or which picking (1st picking all goes to seconds....for example, buyers will request a third picking), all has an effect on the flavor of the coffee.

*The Queen of England just got her annual order of Panamanian Coffee delivered.  An executive from Hong Kong just flew his plane over to pick up one of the Jansen family so he could hand deliver some fresh roasted coffee to him in Hong Kong. We're famous!

*Jansen roasts small batches of coffee every day, to order. They only roast less than 100 pounds at a time. This guarantees better quality.  Every single batch of beans actually have a different roasting "recipe" (time and temp, etc.)  determined by the owner of Jansen Farms, who pre-roasts a small batch of each and every bag to bring out the best flavor, then gives that information to the Master Roaster.

*Coffee beans that are shiny are old an have had essential oils added to them to enhance the flavor that has been lost over time. HA! I always thought they must be a richer tasting, better quality coffee.

*Starbucks has approached the Jansens many times to buy their green coffee beans, but because they are a roaster, and that controls much of the flavor of the coffee, they have refused.

*Some of the manufacturers of KONA coffee from Hawaii, back when that was the rage, were caught coming to Panama, buying coffee beans and shipping them to Hawaii because they couldn't keep up with the demand.

*The saying amongst coffee growers and workers about instant coffee is this.  "Nescafe no es cafe." (Nescafe is not coffee)

The tour through Jansen was a great time, even with the pouring rain.  We took the tour that included their nursery, which is the largest in Panama....so got to see many exotic plants which they sell all over Panama.  They have many different businesses within this business, including the nursery.  They also repackage sugar and creamer into packets for restaurants.   They now have a tour business as well, and even have a special house you can rent to stay at on the farm right by a lake.  We probably never would have done the coffee tasting, but Emily included it just because it had been raining so hard.  Our hour and a half tour ended up being a fascinating several hours, and we would highly recommend it to anyone who might be interested.  

We ended up not getting back to El Valle and our beds until 2:00 a.m., but it was worth it.  What a great day!

www.jansencoffeefarm.com

www.lagunasadventures.com (Family tour business at the Farm)

It Ain't Easy...but it's good.

I said good-bye to a new friend today.  An acquaintance, really.  She's been in Panama for 18 months. She and her husband lived at the beach for 10 months and here in the mountains of El Valle for 8, and I was just barely getting to know her. Her name is Rebecca, and I've found her to be kind and generous.  (Good name, huh?)

She is very excited about going back to the USA(ecstatic, she says)...looking forward to the comforts of  the modern amenities that we grow so accustomed to.  They aren't even moving somewhere that they know other people....it's just getting to the US that has her thrilled.  Hot water, dishwashers, bathtubs, good internet.  You know...those luxuries you tend take for granted. Her husband REALLY doesn't want to go back...he loves it here.  But she pretty much hates it, and has health issues that have made the entire thing worse for her.

This has gotten me thinking....most all day today. What is it that makes a place like this work for some and not for others?  I realize I am at a huge advantage, having already done my "time", so to speak, by living in Mexico for 14 years. While there were a lot of things Mexico didn't have, I had the additional advantage of being able to make frequent trips to the US to not only pick up items we needed and wanted, but to get my "fix".  

Grocery stores that were clean and shiny....with everything in them I might want.

Trader Joes.

Costco.

Etc., etc. (Too many to name...)

Great Restaurants.

Clean bathrooms.

Great paved roads.

Great internet.

Produce of every kind.

We loved Mexico, but if we needed anything....well, a trip to the U.S. was no big deal.  We brought down American appliances for our home there. Our van brought back lots and lots of stuff over the years, and that made it pretty easy.  And though we didn't need to speak Spanish, we both got much better at it over the years.  We also lived in an area with lots of expats, thus, lots of English!

In Panama, we don't have that luxury.  My niece says that if you're going to live here as an expat, you've got to be tough.  

That's for sure!

It's not the same as going on vacation to a lovely destination, far from home with charming people, palm trees, beaches, misty mountains, tranquil days and peaceful nights.

Nope!

We're doing life here. And it IS tough.

Now, don't get me wrong...I have been thinking of all the things I am grateful for here, and there are many.  I'm sad to see this new friend leaving, especially since she's so glad to be out of here.  The scenery. The people. The coffee. The weather.  It does sound idyllic, doesn't it?

But the truth is this.

Not that many places have hot water in the kitchen.  (El Valle) There was NONE in our whole house when we moved in.  That was quickly remedied (Thank you, Bob)
Our stove pretty much does 350*, no more, no less...with one shelf. 

There are trash issues.  We've paid for 3 months and it's been picked up a total of 3 times!  

We can't buy some of the fruit and veggies we love because they either don't have them, or they're really expensive. I'm thinking strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, artichokes, asparagus, portabello mushrooms.

Everything is difficult.  Buying a part, or a certain screw, or whatever! Even though more is available here, you might have to drive to several places to find it.
Taking care of business. Getting your mail and bills. Renewing your Drivers License. 

Watching TV

Taking care of paperwork on the car.

Sketchy Internet.
We miss our favorite stores, like Target. Or Harbor Freight.
There are very few English speakers.
We are so far from friends and family.
Potholes. 'Nuff said.

Being an expat isn't necessarily an easy life.

However....

Are those the things that make a place desirable or undesirable?  For some, yes.  But for us. No.

I love living in Panama.  I love living in the worst house I've EVER lived in, because hanging out on the front porch is like a mini vacation.  I love HAVING to speak Spanish to get by.  I love the simple and gracious people who go to our church and have become dear friends (Panamanian and Kuna).  I love the reality check of being around people who have so little, but are so happy. I love the slower pace.  I love the people walking down the streets and riding bicycles with 2 or more people on them and having to weave our cars around them.  I love the downpours of rain. I love the abundant flowers and trees and plants.  I love the sounds of birds squawking in the trees.  I love the fresh, cool weather of El Valle.  I love the Italian food....and the coffee.

Yes...I still get frustrated sometimes, but where there's a will, there's a way.
We miss our friends and family, but we've made new friends and are enjoying family that lives nearby.  It's also a lot cheaper to fly to the US from here than it was from MX.

We're learning to live a more laid back lifestyle...learning to work around the inconveniences and logistics of living here.  We're learning to drive around the potholes and realize it's just not that big a deal.  We're learning to enjoy the frequent displays of fireworks, and not noticing the almost daily fireworks that just make noise. You just do what you have to do.

No, it's not for everyone.
No, it's not easy.
But for us....

It's worth it!

Border Run

This next week, Bob and I will be headed to Costa Rica for another border run.  This is required every 90 days to renew our car papers.  Our VISAs are good for 180 days, but our driver's licenses (American) and our car papers expire every 90 days.  Each time we go, we try to do something a little different and try to see a bit more of Costa Rica..at least the area near to where we go.

The last time we went was the beginning of October...and it just occurred to me that it might be interesting to read about.  

The drive is kind of like driving from San Carlos, MX to Tucson...except that it is very green and lush...and currently, there is a lot of road construction on the Panamerican Highway, so part of the trip is slooooow going.  There are areas where the road has been 2 lanes...and they are widening it to 4.  When you are doing this in the jungle, it requires an exceptional amount of clearing, rebuilding bridges over the many rivers that naturally come with tropical locations and dealing with wildlife...monkeys, armadillos and such.

It says "Slow down, Fauna present" or...."Watch for the monkeys and armadillos and don't hurt them."  How many of you have seen a sign like that before?

 This sign might be my favorite in Panama.  "Deep Excavation", with a guy falling and flailing over the edge.

 All that red was once heavy jungle.

Panamerican Highway, near David.  Most of it is 4 lane in Panama....except for this stretch that they are now making 4 lane.  LOTS of bridges to contend with.

We travel on the Panamerican Highway until we get just past David, then turn inland.  Up towards coffee country. High peaks, deep valleys and really winding roads.  

The trip takes about 7 hours to the border, where we handle our paperwork, park our car in Panama (even though we sign it "out"), hop on a bus and head for San Vito.  We went there the first trip, then discovered we could stay in a town a bit closer (Sabalito), only to find that the only food in that town was fried, and that there were no hot showers...so have opted to go the 5-10 miles further to the next town.

On this particular trip, we chose to stay an extra day and go see the Wilson Botanical Gardens. We found a nice Bed and Breakfast nearby, so after having some dinner at our favorite little Italian joint, we caught a taxi and headed out of town just a bit.  Casa Botania is owned by a young couple.  She is from Belgium and he is from Costa Rica. And their dogs are friendly and welcoming as well. They have built a charming little place with just 2 very private cabins, beautiful gardens and delicious gourmet meals.

 Pathway to our cabin...handpainted.

 Stairs down to our cabin

On the way there, we passed through a blooming arch that had this spectacular bromeliad growing on it. Great colors!

The marvelous view from our cabin.  From our window, we could not see any other cabins or people...as the cabin hung over the valley.

 The main part of the facility had a Goudy inspired look to it...a large covered, open patio for dining with beautiful hardwood floors....

 ...and fabulous vistas.

 The first course for breakfast included a tray with thinly sliced cheese, fresh tomatoes with capers, and a bowl with pearl onions.  There was a fresh fruit plate, a basket of home made artisan bread and some home made jam.  Plus fresh squeezed Orange Juice.  

For the main course, they offered an omelet, or a fresh made crepe with Nutella and fruit.  Well...you can have all the omelets you want, but this girl was going for the Belgian Crepe!

Ab.SO.lute.ly. delicious!

Our plan was to head down to the Botanical Gardens.  They had good reviews and we thought they were nearby....however, that nearby included a 2-3 mile walk, up and down steep roadways...so we got the owner of the B and B to take us.  

It was rather disappointing as we were there the wrong time of year for beautiful blooming tropical flowers. Seems to be how we roll.  They did have lovely gardens with lovely foliage...but a bit unkempt.  Probably because most people don't go there this time of year! These pictures were taken here and there throughout the garden...we didn't see much color in one place. What we did see was gorgeous!

There was nowhere in the Botanical gardens to get anything to eat or drink..
So....

We were told there was a little Restaurant/Bar not too far back up the hill towards our BnB, and we started the hike. It wasn't exactly that close, but we got there and were pleasantly surprised!

 A large area inside had a high roof over it, with Bamboo used for drainage from the rain

 They cleverly ran the bamboo towards a rock wall fountain...so when it rains...you get a beautiful waterfall!

 Evidently, this used to be part of the botanical gardens, but across the road, so it was gorgeous!  Look at that stand of Giant Bamboo!

The dining area...outdoors...lush and green!

 This was their oven/stove/fire pit.  There were holes on the top to put pots into to cook.  There was a grill on the top, and then the oven as well.

Giant plants and vines with flowers.

and then.....

...we ordered a burger and fries.  Now, let me just say....we have lived out of the US for over 15 years. And NO ONE, ANYWHERE has come close to the burgers we find in the USA....

until now.

We both agreed that this was the best burger we'd had...

EVER!

The guys that own it are Americans, so I guess that helps....but these were so good.

So good, in fact...

that next week, when we head back to Costa Rica?

THIS is where we're staying.

Cascata Del Bosco Cabinas

The other place served us a wonderful gourmet dinner with several courses...

just us on that beautiful patio...

but I guess...

we're just burger kind of people. Yep!

I'll let you know how it goes.

We've already told them to save us some burgers!

Coffee, anyone?

Coffee....

Morning delight.....

Midday necessity.....

...and I am a coffee rookie.

In October of 2012, a client (who became a friend) and I met in Guadalajara to do some shopping for their new home in San Carlos, MX that my husband had just built. What fun we had!! The mornings were cold-ish, and before hitting the stores, we would walk a couple of blocks to a restaurant to eat breakfast.  I wanted something hot to drink, but just didn't feel like tea or hot chocolate.  In Mexico, they often put cinnamon in the coffee, so....I thought I'd try it.  With some Stevia, of course, that I'd brought along.  It was good, real good.

Rincon del Sol.  Best little breakfast place in Tonala, Guadalajara, MX

After returning home, I began to try various brands and types of coffee.  In our part of Mexico, at least, the most common way to buy coffee is instant...shelves upon shelves of instant.

Well that just wouldn't do.

So...whenever we would go to the US, Trader Joe's had a huge selection, and I started trying them out.  I was hooked.

Having a fresh brewed cup of coffee at Jansen's Coffee Farm, Volcan, Panama.

One of the delightful things about living in Central America is that there is an abundance of coffee....because, they grow it here.  Fresher than anything you've ever had.  Many high end coffee stores buy their coffee from the growers here and in Costa Rica.  They buy the beans we can have all the time, cheapen them up with something else, then charge big prices for their so called fancy blends.

We get to buy the best beans, much fresher, for much less dinero.

While we have huge varieties of coffee available here, the thing that interests me is they way they sell it.  so...I took some pics the other day while in the grocery store.

 Many varieties available...in every grocery store, and even in the gift shops.  You can get a kilo of Ruiz Coffee (That's 2.2 lbs) - a brand used by Starbucks that they mix with inferior beans and sell at a higher price for about 8 bucks.  When we go to Costa Rica, we can get good quality coffee for about $4-$5 a kilo.

We always bring some home. 

 Individual packets, for basically one or two cups of coffee are available everywhere....

...in various brands....

 Duran is the main coffee you will see here in Panama (All the malls have Duran kiosks in them.)..... actually kind of the low end coffee...but is better quality that most every coffee you can find in the USA.  And they make all the products to go with it.

Wondering how they make those little packets of coffee???

 These little guys (above photo) are basically a cloth strainer.  Put the coffee in, hold it over a cup or a pot, and pour hot water through to steep it.  I guess you could just keep pouring until it starts getting really light colored.

Another interesting thing is how the Panamanians drink their coffee.  You have to order it 'negro' (Black) if you don't want all the stuff in it.

They love to use Evaporated milk and lots of sugar....in case it's not sweet enough.

And they like it strong.

Even the kids drink coffee. No wonder...I imagine that tastes a lot like a hot candied drink!

I think I'll keep making mine just black with Stevia.

Birds, birds, birds.....

Ok. I know.  It's been a reeeeally long time since I've added anything to this blog.  We've pretty much been doing life, and when you get into a routine, there's not a whole lot to share.  I'll try to do better.

Every morning...well, pretty much all day...we hear the sounds of birds in the trees.  All with different  calls. Some singing, some squawking, some cackling, some tweeting.  They are all different and very distinctive...some much prettier than others.  Oh, I just heard some whistling, too.

And lets not forget the abundance of roosters ....  giving their wake-up calls at all hours of the day.  Pretty sure they don't have any built in clocks.

Until recently though, I had no idea just how many birds are in Panama.  There is an extraordinary wealth of birds here. 976. Yes, just under a thousand species!  In a country the size of South Carolina!

They say that part of the reason is that this is as far as many birds from the north can go, and this is as far as many birds from the south can go.  This is the "bridge" from North to South America and visa versa.

And we get the benefit of that.

 One day we looked out the window and saw that the orange tree was FULL of these beauties.

 And....One evening, about 6:00, we were having dinner on the patio and saw 5 or 6 of these toucans in the trees just beyond where we eat.  We've never seen them before, and haven't seen them since.

We have a whole bunch of these who come visit our feeder everyday...and try to stay out of Bandido's reach.

 We see these all the time....especially in the mornings, while having breakfast on the patio...perched on a line, or in the mango tree, or flitting around here and there.

 We've seen hundreds of these as they leave one tree and head to another....like a colorful symphony.

And these...I can hardly describe the depth of color.  The red and black both are like deep rich velvet.

This is only a very few of the birds here, and many of these we have pictures of, we've never seen, except at the zoo (yes, we have a zoo).  This would be a bird watcher's paradise, for sure.

I've often wondered which sound we're hearing belongs to which bird....then noticed the other day, that our nephews' and nieces' monkey (Mona) chirps like a bird.

Hmmm....Wonder what we're missing....