The Cocoa Tree

I had the best chocolate last night! We went to a place called The Cocoa Tree in downtown Franklin, TN. The whole experience was like a scene from the movie "Chocolat". My friend and I were cold as we walked in because we had been riding on the back of our husbands' motorcycles, so the lady behind the counter suggested that we try some of their hot chocolate. We had chocolate fondue. It was fabulous!

Later, the owner of the chocolate shop came out and began telling us all about chocolate. She accidently started making it and has come up with several unique kinds of truffles. They have red pepper truffles and sweet potatoe truffles. She said that her desire is to show that the Lord does want to give us pleasures in this world. He made the cocoa tree simply for our delight.

She also gave us a history lesson on cocoa. Cocoa beans are only found along the equator in Asia, Africa, and South America. Her favorite are the ones from South America. Companies have come and tried to industrialize the harvesting of the cocoa bean and have been unsuccessful. There are wars over it. I tasted an actual cocoa bean. It tasted like a mixture between strong unsweet chocolate and a coffee bean. It was so fun!