Ubud and the Chocolate Factory

Chocolate

Being so close to the equator, Bali is a great place to grow cocoa. A company based in Oregon, USA - Big Tree Farms - established a chocolate factory here, aimed at supporting local, organic cacao farmers.  So, on our way back inland from Amed, we stopped in to  taste and see.

First, they gave us some fashionable things to wear around the factory.

Which we enjoyed.

The factory is the largest commercial bamboo structure in the world, a sight in itself

Here's Patrick and our driver enjoying the view. We invited him in to tour with us, rather than sit in the car. I think he enjoyed it. 

First, we got to try fresh cacao beans. These yellow fruits are what come off the trees, with a bunch of beans (seeds) inside. The white flesh around the beans is sweet but the beans themselves are pretty bitter.

So, first the beans are taken out of the fruit and set out to ferment for a few days. Then, once the outer white flesh is off, they get roasted in the oven in the pic below. They keep the oven below 45 degrees Celsius so as not to destroy the enzymes in the beans, and they are still considered 'raw.' 

Then, the outer shell is taken off and you have the 'raw' cacao beans which can be broken into cacao nibs and eaten as is. Yummy, and good for you too. If the bean is ground finely (by the stone grinding machine below) it will turn into a paste, which can then be separated into cacao butter and cacao powder.

To make chocolate products, sweetener is a must. Being in Bali, a sustainable sweetener choice is coconut nectar, which comes from coconut flowers. You can see a spray of yellow flowers in the center of the pic below.

The flowers are harvested and the nectar is extracted. If the flowers are left, each one will turn into a coconut. Coconut sugar is often used in Bali as well, and it is made by dehydrating and crystalizing the coconut nectar. We got to try the coconut sugar and nectar and it was deeeeelicious.

Big Tree Farms also supports Balinese sea salt production. The salt here forms these characteristic pyramid crystalline shapes. And it is put to good use in sea salt dark chocolate. So, we bought a bunch and ate too much and left with a stomach ache, but were very happy about our first hand knowledge of how chocolate is made.

Then, we got dropped off at a magical little homestay in Ubud that Patrick had found for Amy's Birthday. Ubud was so nice, we had to go back.

It was run by a nice Balinese family and a friendly expat German, Sven, we got to chat with a lot, and told us funny stories of his life caravanning around the world.

The pathway outside our homestay. Ubud is ridden with pathways like this, accessible to pedestrians and a few motorbikes, with canals of running water at your feet. The Balinese have a world-recognized, complex communal water system to manage their village rice paddies. Whether it is corralled by the stone walkways or by mud walls in the paddies, there is always water running next to you. It adds to the serenity of the village, and the quiet mossy stone walkways.

Water bridge.

A temple in the river where the water splits.

 The power lines give the picture a realistic quality.

Guardians of our homestay.

Our porch, where the family kindly laid daily floral offerings to appease the spirits around our room. Nice of them.

We had a nice birthday dinner at one of our favorite Ubud restaurants. This is the same one that is fed by the farm we toured in the rice paddies, on our last visit.

That, is a cardamom date lassi. Nom nom.

It was a great end to quite an epic year of Amy being 32. This year, we planned a wedding, got married, quit jobs and life in Seattle, moved across country on a 2 month road trip, lived with family, friends and on farms, and then went to SE Asia for awhile. Phew.  

 Then, to start Amy's year 33 off right, we headed for Flores.

Barong, king of the spirits, and his god buddies, greeted us at the airport as we said goodbye to Bali.