Past classes on chocolate making and tropical fruit foraging

with Ethnobotanist Dr. Nat Bletter

Here are some classes we’ve taught in the past and useful maps of fruits to be foraged around the US, most of the data for which can be found on Neighborhood Fruit.

Spices and Herbs of the World

We use spices and herbs everyday to flavor our food and make it more interesting, but it is not commonly known that they have caused wars, spurred colonization, and incited slave trade. Many of the spices and herbs we think of as integral parts of a culture's cuisine are actually relatively recently introduced, so what were those cuisines like beforehand? What is the difference between a spice and an herb, and what purpose do they serve in our food besides flavoring? Do some spices have medicinal values? How do they stimulate our tongues, noses, and brains? All these questions will be explored as we taste our way through the diverse world of spices and herbs, and find out where to buy the more exotic ones locally.

Event ID: P11257
Info: Feb 19 • Sat • 12:00-3:00pm • 1 mtg • UHM St. John 157 • $50, textbook optional

Medicinal Plants and Herbal Remedies

A large percentage of the world's population still relies on herbal medicine, and although we might not realize it, even in the US, a quarter of our prescription drugs are derived from plants. What hopes and risks do these "home remedies" offer, and why is there such a recent surge in herbal remedies and dietary supplements in the US? We look at some recent new medicines from yew, periwinkle, dragon's blood, and pachysandra and how these fit in with western and traditional medicine, as well as with current FDA laws.

Event ID: P11258
Info: Apr 9 • Sat • 12:00-3:00pm • 1 mtg • UHM St. John 157 • $50, textbook optional • Course is for educational purposes only, no advice offered or intended

Chocolate: History, Tasting, and Making, from Bean to Bar

University of Hawai'i Manoa Outreach

Saturday Feb 5 • 12:00-3:00pm • UHM St. John 157 • $50

Learn a little about the history of chocolate, enjoy a chocolate tasting, and find out how chocolate is made. Covers the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, Aztec and Mayan uses of chocolate, and how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean. Varieties of chocolate bars, whether milk or dark, raw or roasted, single origin or blended, and fruity or nutty are increasing exponentially. Learn how to look at the ingredients and sort out the tasty healthy ones from the rest. Everyone participates in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch in the class. Take recipes and a bar of hand-made chocolate home with you.

Chocolate History, Tasting and Making Class with Slow Food Oahu

Saturday, January 8, 2011, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Ferguson Kitchen

Would you like to learn about the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, how the Aztec and Maya discovered chocolate, and how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean? There are many flowers, herbs, and spices that the Maya and Olmec who discovered chocolate added to their delicious ritualistic cacao drinks that are hard to find outside of Mexico, but many of these plants happen to grow in Hawaii and are underutilized. You can learn about all of this in a few hours with Madre Chocolate co-founder David Elliott and University of Hawai'i Manoa ethnobotanist and Madre Chocolate co-founder Dr. Nat Bletter. The types of chocolate bars whether milk or dark, raw or roasted, single origin or blended, and fruity or nutty are increasing exponentially. We will learn how to look at the ingredients and sort out the tasty, healthy ones from the rest. In the class everyone will participate in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch after a short talk on the history of chocolate with some tastings. You will go home with recipes and a bar of chocolate.

This event will take place at Ferguson Enterprises Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery. They have a beautiful 13,000 square foot showroom in Kalihi that features the only functioning presentation kitchen in the state. They have graciously offered to let us use it for this class. The cost is $30 for Slow Food Oahu members and $35 for nonmembers and guests. Cost includes the demonstration, tastings, recipes and your own bar of handmade chocolate. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Michelle at sfo.reservation@gmail.com.

Please include in your RSVP your name, member status, phone or email and the name of any nonmember or member guests you would like to bring. RSVPs must be received by Wednesday, January 5. This event is limited to 25 people, so please reply quickly if you would like to attend. Payment MUST be received by the date of the event. Please note: Due to the nature of this event and the necessity of purchasing ingredients beforehand, if cancellations are required after the RSVP date and we are unable to fill your spot, you will be held responsible for payment. Payment information will be sent to you following your RSVP. Final details will be sent to all confirmed guests a few days prior to the event.

Learn how to make your own chocolate bars, like the pros (and Maya)

A Chocolate history, chocolate tasting and chocolate making class. Learn about the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, Aztec and Mayan uses of chocolate, & how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean. Varieties of chocolate bars whether milk or dark, raw or roasted, single origin or blended, and fruity or nutty are increasing exponentially. Learn how to look at the ingredients and sort out the tasty healthy ones from the rest. In the class everyone will participate in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch after a short talk on the history of chocolate with some tastings, and you'll go home with recipes and a bar of hand-made chocolate.

More info in Lyon’s class schedule. Sign up soon since the last class I taught here filled up several weeks beforehand.

Slow U: Urban Foraging in Central Park

June 14th, 2009

Nat Bletter from the University of Hawaii, where he is researching chocolate and South East Asian food plants, is leading a special late spring foraging expedition in Central Park. Come along and taste delicious mulberry, juneberry, sassafras, mustard greens, lamb’s quarter, epazote, mugwort, burdock, and more. Bring bags (for collecting food), water, a hat, sunscreen, plastic containers, and a fork (for tasting Central Park Salad). This is as local as it gets! Kids are welcome. The expedition, rain or shine, starts promptly at 1:00 PM at the corner of 79th St. and 5th Ave (park side), Manhattan.

When: Sunday, June 14, 1:00 pm (sharp!) – 3:00 pm (approximately) RAIN or SHINE!

Where: Meet at the Corner of 79th St. and Fifth Ave. (Park Side), Manhattan

Tickets: Tickets are available ONLY at Brown Paper Tickets

When you buy your tickets, make sure you provide your contact information.

Slow Food Members – $20
Non-members – $30
Kids Free

Here are three maps I have made of the

edible wild plants of US cities. You can view larger

maps by clicking the link below each map.

New York City

San Francisco Bay Area

Honolulu, Hawaii

Father’s Day Special: Is That Chocolate in My Beer?

June 21st, 2009

Treat your dad, your buddy or your partner to an afternoon of chocolate and beer. You will learn about the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, how the Aztec and Maya discovered chocolate, and how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean. Learn all of this with ethnobotanist Nat Bletter, who has studied and made chocolate for over 5 years and regularly sells out of every bar he makes.

In the class everyone will participate in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch after a short talk on the history of chocolate with some tastings, and you’ll go home with recipes and a bar of chocolate.

Jimmy Carbone, owner of Jimmy’s 43, fine beer aficionado and originator of the Good Beer Seal of Approval will pair Nat’s homemade chocolate with a selection of artisanal beers.

Clay Gordon of The Chocolate Life and Pure Origin cofounder will assist.

Proceeds will go towards Slow Food NYC’s Harvest Time in Schools Program

Where: Jimmy’s No. 43 – 43 7th street, Manhattan

When: Sunday, June 21st – 2:00pm to 5:00pm

Tickets: Tickets are available ONLY at Brown Paper Tickets

$30 – Slow Food Members

$35 – Non members

Chocolate history, tasting and making class

June 27th, 2009

Would you like to learn about the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, how the Aztec and Maya discovered chocolate, and how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean? You can learn all of these in a few hours this weekend with ethnobotanist Nat Bletter, who has studied and made chocolate for over 5 years and has just sold out of over 300 hand made bars in the last few months. The kinds of chocolate bars whether milk or dark, raw or roasted, single origin or blended, and fruity or nutty is increasing exponentially, so we will learn how to look at the ingredients and sort out the tasty healthy ones from the rest.

In the class everyone will participate in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch after a short talk on the history of chocolate with some tastings, and you'll go home with recipes and a bar of chocolate.

Time: Saturday, June 27th, 1-4 PM

Location: Astor Place, location given with registration

Registration: $35, please PayPal to

to register, only 20 spots available so register quickly! Please include your phone number for last minute updates.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Chocolate

Saturday, July 9, 1:00 - 4:00 PM

Windward Community College Campus, Hale Kuhina 115

Discover the true history of chocolate. Learn how to make a chocolate bar with Hawaiian-grown beans. Taste a mouth-watering selection of dark chocolates from different origins and chocolate makers. Learn about the cacao tree, the history of chocolate from the Aztec and Mayas to current day in Hawaii, then sample a slection of chocolates including milk, dark, raw, single-origin and blended bars. Participants will taste more than 15 gourmet chocolate bars. Learn to decipher chocolate labels and how to best appreciate chocolate to sort out the tasty, healthy and delicious. Each student will participate in making chocolate from scratch and go home with a recipe and handmade Hawaiian chocolate bar.
Course fee: $50 + 8 lab fee (payable to instructor)

Chocolate: History, Tasting, and Making, from Bean to Bar

University of Hawai’i Manoa
Jul 31 • Sun • 1:00-4:00pm • UHM St. John 157 • $50

Chocolate and Wine pairing class
August 28, 4:30-6 pm

What makes wine and chocolate such great companions and how does one find the best match of dark, spicy, and fruity chocolate with the plethora of sweet, dry, full bodied, and light wines? We’ll show you how similar the terroir, varieties, fermentation, and processing of delicious locally-made gourmet chocolate is with the full range of wine as we step through flights of both. We’ll diverge from the standard port & dark chocolate pairings to show how a nice Riesling can go well with a tangy dark chocolate and even Cabernet Sauvignon can blend smoothly with certain assertive chocolates. Dave, Nat, & Kristen of Madre Chocolate will step you through some of the history of chocolate, how it's intersected with wine in the past, present, & future, while tasting some of The Wine Stop's best vintages with Madre Chocolate's fine chocolate bars.

The Wine Stop • 1809 South King Street, Honolulu‎ • Free

Chocolate Making, Pod to Palate
September 17, 1-4 pm

Photo by Chop Chop Media

Participants will taste more than 15 gourmet chocolate bars. Learn to decipher chocolate labels and how to best appreciate chocolate to sort out the tasty, healthy and delicious. Each student will participate in making chocolate from scratch and go home with a recipe and handmade Hawaiian chocolate bar.

Olomana Gardens • Waimanalo • $50

Three-Day Full Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Making Class
November 15-17 & 19-21

Choklad Skolan, Nora, Sweden

Will cover the full details on setting up an artisanal bean-to-bar chocolate shop from ingredient acquisition, bean selection, roasting, cracking, winnowing, grinding, conching, tempering, molding, and wrapping. Details and registration to on the Choklad Skolan site.

Photo by Chop Chop Media

A Tasting & History of Hawaiian Chocolate
Saturday, Nov 26, 11 AM-noon

Down to Earth Kapolei

Learn the history of cacao & chocolate in Central America and Hawaii, and how this blossoming crop in Hawaii is creating some world renowned chocolate being bought up in Belgium, Holland, the mainland, and all across the state. After a brief history, we’ll run through a tasting in flights of percentage, single origins, and flavored chocolates from around the world that Down to Earth and Madre Chocolate have to offer.

4460 Kapolei #320

Kapolei HI 96707

Free

Photo by Brandon

Raw, Vegan, & Local Holiday Chocolate Truffle Making Class
Saturday, December 3rd, 1-4 pm

Ferguson Kitchen

Want to learn how to make some beautiful chocolate truffles for the holidays with local, raw, & vegan chocolate? This is your chance. We’re offering our first ever truffle making class with Slow Food Oahu, where our head chocolatier, Kristen Klassen will be leading us through these delectable recipes step by step:

• Coconut truffles with maple cumin candied pepitas
• Vanilla agave truffles with toasted sesame seeds
• Almond butter truffles dipped in 70% Raw Hamakua couverture

Students will go home with the three recipes we teach in class and a gift bag with each of the three flavors of truffles.

Kristen has 15 years experience in the pastry kitchen & has worked in restaurants, hotels, bakeries, pastry shops and even in a Swiss chocolate factory. She always strives to use the best ingredients in her work and of course all natural and local when ever possible!

This event will take place at Ferguson Enterprises Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery. They have a beautiful 13,000 square foot showroom in Kalihi that features the only functioning presentation kitchen in the state, and have graciously offered to let us use it for this class. The cost is $45 for members and $50 for nonmembers and guests. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Michelle at sfo.reservation@gmail.com. Please include in your RSVP your name, member status, phone or email and the name of any nonmember or member guests you would like to bring. RSVPs must be received by Monday, November 28. THIS EVENT IS LIMITED TO 25 PEOPLE, so please reply quickly if you would like to attend. Payment MUST be received by the date of the event.

925 Kokea Street • Honolulu • $45-50

Bean-to-Bar Chocolate-Making Class
Saturday, December 10, 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Olomana Gardens

We are doing another in our series of popular bean-to-bar chocolate making classes on Saturday, 12/10 at the beautiful Olomana Gardens in Waimanalo. This is one of the rare times when we bring our brand of local, artisanal chocolate making to the Windward side of Oahu, where we'll be able to see cacao trees growing and then track the chocolate-making process through fermenting, roasting, grinding, & tempering into delicious handmade chocolate bars that you get to take home with you as a gift! Register at the link below. Contact us with any questions.

41-1140 Waikupanaha Street • Waimanalo • $50

Holiday Unique Chocolate-Tasting Class
Wednesday, December 28, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

This is an exclusive class in our series of chocolate making and tasting classes that we’ve added on for the holidays. What better way to satisfy the true chocolate fanatic in your life by getting them the great gift of a class where they get to taste 14 different rare chocolates, all locally made by O‘ahu’s own bean-to-bar masters, and get a chance to sample several traditional chocolate drinks that are never seen outside of their native Mexico! Class attendees will get the unique opportunity to taste several limited edition chocolates that we’ve made from cacao beans from Peru, Venezuela, Sumatra, Belize,

Mexican foamed chocolate “drink” called Bu’pu from Juchitan, Oaxaca. Watch video on it’s creatiion.

and Hawai‘i as well as exclusive flavored chocolates like the Rosita de Cacao Xoconusco bar that is being written about left & right. You will also get to sample chocolate drinks like Tejate, Bu’pu, and Tascalate where we have learned the detailed recipes from the experts in Oaxaca & Vera Cruz, Mexico that are otherwise unavailable outside their native state, let alone country. This is a class not to be missed! Register at the link below. If you do not know if your gift recipient can attend this class, you can purchase with a gift certificate that they can use for any of our future classes as well as this one. Contact us with any questions.

20A Kainehe St. & Kailua Rd • Kailua • $45

Whiskey and Chocolate pairing class
Sunday, January 29th • 4:30-6 PM

OK, you’ve paired chocolate with wine, cigars, coffee and just about everything under the sun. Now, what’s left? Whiskey, of course! The caramely sweetness and peaty smokey flavor of the world’s best scotches, bourbons, and whiskeys make a great match for the complexity of chocolate, especially some of our robustly flavored chocolates like Chipotle Allspice, and Hamakua Pink Peppercorn and Smoked Salt. Nat & Dave of Madre Chocolate and Liane of The Wine Stop will guide you on which whiskey origins go best with which chocolate origins, while tasting some of The Wine Stop's best whiskeys with Madre Chocolate's fine chocolate bars. It’s sure to make a fun & merry evening. Please call the Wine Stop at 808-946-3707 to register.

The Wine Stop • 1809 South King Street,

Honolulu‎ • $30

Valentine’s Chocolate Truffle Making Class
Sunday, February 12th, 1-4 pm

Madre Chocolate Shop in Kailua

Want to learn how to make some beautiful chocolate truffles for your valentine’s sweetie with local, raw, & vegan chocolate? This is your chance. We’re offering this great truffle making class, where our head chocolatier, Kristen Klassen will be leading us through these delectable recipes step by step so you can tackle this seemingly difficult chocolate confections with ease in your kitchen and impress your friend and lover:

• Coconut truffles with maple cumin candied pepitas
• Vanilla agave truffles with toasted sesame seeds
• Almond butter truffles dipped in 70% Raw Hamakua couverture

Students will go home with the three recipes we teach in class and a gift bag with each of the three flavors of truffles.

20A Kainehe St. & Kailua Rd • Kailua • $50

Chocolate and Beer pairing class

Sunday, February 19th • 4:30-6 PM

Everybody talks about pairing wine and chocolate, but how about another great Sunday-evening mix of fine microbrew beer with delicious locally-made gourmet chocolate? The hoppy, grainy tastes of small batch beers match very well with the rich dark nutty notes of Hawaiian single origin chocolate as well as some of the fruit and spice flavors of our other bars. Dave of Madre Chocolate will step you through some of the history of chocolate, how it's intersected with beer in the past, present, & future, while tasting some of The Wine Stop's best brews with Madre Chocolate's fine chocolate bars. This class makes a great Valentine’s gift for the beer and chocolate loving guy or gal in your life! Please call the Wine Stop at 808-946-3707 to register.

The Wine Stop • 1809 South King Street,

Honolulu‎ • $30

Hilo Bean-to-Bar Chocolate-Making Class
Saturday, June 16 • 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Our first public chocolate making class in Hilo! Learn a little about the history of chocolate, enjoy a chocolate tasting, and find out how chocolate is made. Covers the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, Aztec and Mayan uses of chocolate, and how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean. Varieties of chocolate bars, whether milk or dark, raw or roasted, single origin or blended, and fruity or nutty are increasing exponentially. Learn how to look at the ingredients and sort out the tasty healthy ones from the rest. Everyone participates in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch in the class. Take recipes and a bar of hand-made chocolate home with you. Since there’s so many cacao growers in Hilo, we’ll go over the basics of cacao cultivation & fermentation. Contact us with any questions about the class and register below for your selected date.

Hilo near downtown • $50

Whiskey and Chocolate pairing for Father’s Day
Sunday, June 17th • 4:30-6 PM

Please call the Wine Stop at 808-946-3707 to register.

The Wine Stop • 1809 South King Street,

Honolulu‎ • $30

Kona Cacao Farm Tour & Bean-to-Bar Chocolate-Making Class
Friday, July 20 or Saturday July 21 • 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa, Kailua Kona

Our first public chocolate making class in Kona and complete tree-to-bar chocolate making class! First we’ll take you to beautiful Kuaiwi Farm in nearby Captain Cook to see their rare organic cacao trees, crack open a cacao pod, taste the delicious fruity cacao pulp inside, help with the cacao fermentation & drying, and finally get a chance to taste their award winning coffee & chocolate. Then we’ll grab some cacao from there and head back to the Sheraton Keauhou to learn a little about the Aztec & Mayan history of chocolate, enjoy a chocolate tasting, and find out how chocolate is made from the cacao beans. Varieties of chocolate bars, whether milk or dark, raw or roasted, single origin or blended, and fruity or nutty are increasing exponentially. Learn how to look at the ingredients and sort out the tasty healthy ones from the rest. Everyone participates in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch in the class and tasting 14 different chocolates from around the world! Take recipes and a bar of hand-made chocolate home with you. The two class days are the same so you can take it on either day. Check this flyer for more info or email mlarson@sheratonkeauhou.com or call 808-930-4894 with any questions about the class and to register for your selected date.

Kona Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa • $65

Weeklong Advanced Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Making Class in Sweden
August 26-27 & 29-31

Choklad Skolan, Nora, Sweden

Once again we return to our adopted home of Sweden to teach chocolate making from start to finish. Will cover the full details on setting up an artisanal bean-to-bar chocolate shop from ingredient acquisition, bean selection, roasting, cracking, winnowing, grinding, conching, tempering, molding, and wrapping. You

Photo by Chop Chop Media

can sign up for the basic 2-day class, the advanced 3-day class, or both for the full experience. Details and registration to on the Choklad Skolan site with an English translation.

Truffle Dipping & Decorating Mini Class

Thursday, December 6, 6:30pm – 7:30pm

Learn how to quickly assemble a chocolate truffle from ganache and tempered chocolate. You’ll get a nice taste of our longer truffle class, where you'll be able to roll truffles by hand from ganache and dip them in tempered chocolate or coat them in nuts, fruits, and spices that are provided. You get to take 3 truffles that you have created home with you, if they last that long!

Traditional Chocolate Drinks

Sunday, December 9th, 7:30-8:15

Chocolate was originally conceived of as a drink by the Aztec, Maya and Olmec civilizations thousands of years ago. A culture of diverse drinking chocolates continues to thrive today in Mexico and other parts of Central America, incorporating rare and delicious spices and flowers, into foamy beverages that truly are the “food of the gods.” Come experience the vast diversity of chocolate drinks, from Latin America and Europe, and taste a dizzying array of flavors spanning ancient and modern ingredients and techniques. Our chocolate experts, Nat & Dave, have collectively spent more than 6 years in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia studying how ancient spices such as Rosita de Cacao, achiote, mamey seeds, orijuela, and jaguar cacao are blended into aromatic chocolate foams.

20A Kainehe St. & Kailua Rd • Kailua • $25

Chocolate Truffle Making Class
Sunday, February 10, 3pm – 6pm

Madre Chocolate Shop in Kailua

Want to learn how to make some beautiful chocolate truffles for perfect holiday gifts with local, award-winning chocolate? This is your chance. We’re offering this great truffle making class, where our head chocolatier, Kristen Klassen will be leading us through delectable recipes step by step so you can tackle this seemingly difficult chocolate confections with ease in your kitchen and impress your friends and family. A sampling of truffles you will concoct in the class are:

• Coconut truffles with maple cumin candied pepitas
• Vanilla agave truffles with toasted sesame seeds
• Almond butter truffles dipped in 70% Raw Hamakua couverture

Students will go home with the three recipes we teach in class and a gift bag with each of the three flavors of truffles.

20A Kainehe St. & Kailua Rd • Kailua • $50

February 10

Chocolate from its Birthplace: a tour of the Via Cacao & Chocolate in Oaxaca & Chiapas, Mexico
10 days in January 2013

Oaxaca City, Juchitan, Chinantla, San Cristobal, Tapachula

Experience chocolate through the eyes of the people that helped invent it and make it the wonderful food that it is today. We’ll introduce you to the cacao growers in the Xoconusco region of Chiapas who are direct descendants of the people who sold their prized heirloom Criollo cacao to the Aztecs, visit the chocolate museum, taste the delicious foamed chocolate drinks of tejate in the

Abastos market and fragrant bu'pu in the zocalo of Juchitan, see the chocolate grinders making mole in Oaxaca, travel to the birthplace of vanilla in Chinantla, and taste the wonderful rosita de cacao, pixtle, and pataxte spices. This is just a sampling of the deep history of cacao and chocolate you'll experience in the Mecca of chocolate in Southern Mexico. Your expert guides Dave & Nat have traveled this Via Cacao between Oaxaca and Chiapas several times over the past few years, working with cacao growers, chocolate makers, and chefs. Through this experience they will give you direct insights and connections with the people who make chocolate part of their lives everyday. Come experience the history of chocolate as you never thought possible.

Price: about $1990 for hotels, food, & transportation excluding airfare. Please sign up for our international mailing list to be notified of final tour dates.

Traditional Oaxacan Mole-Making Class
Sunday, March 10th • 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Our shop in Kailua, O’ahu

Mole, a savory sauce for meats and vegetables, is one of the most ancient forms of chocolate. From the Oaxacan mole negro to the famous mole poblano of Puebla state, Mexico, many of these delicious sauces, almost like Mexican curries, may seem complex and esoteric, but they can be made easily from ingredients readily available in Hawaii. We’ll step you through at least three of Mexico’s amazing diversity of mole dishes to see, showing you simple tricks to make these complex dishes readily accessible at home so you can prep each of the recipes you take home even on a week night. A delicious way to taste your way around Mexico!

20A Kainehe St. • Kailua • $50

March 10th

Past classes on chocolate making and tropical fruit foraging