Guatemala is touted as the birthplace of chocolate, with the Mayans worshiping the cacao tree and calling chocolate the “food of the gods.”
Doña Sonia lives in the town of Santa Ines, a small village just outside of Antigua. She lives with her two daughters Iliana and María who have been affiliated with Common Hope for about a year.
Doña Sonia’s story started six years ago. She was living in Nicaragua at that time and there she sold chocolate for an entrepreuner from the Netherlands. When he decided to return to the Netherlands, he taught Doña Sonia the art of making artesanal chocolate.
Two ears ago, Doña Sonia decided to move back to Antigua to care for her mother. It was then that she decided to use her skills to start her own business named Chocolate Artesanal Santa Ines.Doña Sonia knows better than anyone that the process of making chocolate is truly an art form.
It all starts with toasting the cocoa beans to perfection. The beans are then cooled and peeled. After that the beans are tipically grinded four times thorugh a mill. However Doña Sonia grinds her cacoa beans up to 8 times, which is what makes her chocolate artesanal. Once ground, sugar and cinnamon are added to refine the taste. This mixure is then melted over a fire for three hours until it has the ideal texture. Doña Sonia specializes in adding different flavours and extras to her chocolate like coffee, chili or peanuts.
On the weekends she sells her delicous chocolate in the markets found in and around Antigua. ¡Felicitaciones Doña Sonia!
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