Our quest for cocoa

When we took my sister to Concord Falls the other day, Rebecca and I did our best to point out and name the various plants that were growing along the trailside. Among these plants were cocoa trees, the ultimate source of the chocolate that so many people love. What most people don’t know is that the unprocessed fruit of the cocoa pod is quite tasty itself, and I had hoped to find one ripe enough to share with her. Unfortunately, it’s early in the season, so a ripe one eluded me.

On my sister’s final day on the island, we took her for a drive to Grenada’s famous Belmont Estate, an old plantation that is now responsible for, among other things, growing much of the island’s organic cocoa. Rebecca and I had visited Belmont Estate some years ago but we remembered very little of the tour that we were given. This time around, Kelly, an enthusiastic young man, gave us a fantastic tour of the estate, and was determined to find us a ripe cocoa pod so that we could satisfy our quest.

Getting the lay of the land.

A photo of a photo of a Mona Monkey, found at Belmont Estate. Even though we stopped in the rainforest to look for a monkey, as we always do, the shy little guys remained elusive.

Belmont Estate grows many other fruits and vegetables, side by side with the cocoa.

The trays in this greenhouse, soon to be full of cocoa, are one of the methods used for drying the seeds.
It shaves a couple of days off the time that it takes on the outdoor racks shown above.

Belmont Estate supplies some of the organic cocoa that the Grenada Chocolate Company uses to produce its world-famous bars. Each night for dessert, Rebecca and I regularly indulge in one little square of one of the these bars. If you’re interested in finding out more about this unique company, check out the following informative video!

Tragically, Mott Green, one of the founders of the Grenada Chocolate Company, was killed in an electric accident in June 2013.

Some of the characters on the estate.

Our guide Kelly ran off into the field to climb a tree in order to secure us a cocoa pod for us.
Good thing I had my Leatherman with me so that I could cut it open!

The fruit of the cocoa tastes nothing like chocolate. It is actually quite sweet and refreshing.

Interestingly to me, Belmont Estate is owned by a 7th Day Adventist, so no alcohol is served on the grounds, even in their fantastic restaurant. We couldn’t let that stand, so on the way back to the boat, we stopped at the West Indies Beer Company so that Diane could sample some of the local craft beers. It was the perfect end to our tour!