Rabot Estate - A Cocoa Plantation

Our next stop is a beautiful cocoa plantation. You might want to hibernate your computer and go out for a Hershey Bar to enjoy while going along on this tour. Did you ever wonder where the chocolate from your Hershey Bar comes from? The Rabot Estate is a plantation which still produces chocolate and 95% of the production is sold to Hershey.

The Plantation Estate house and modern day pottery are high on a hill. Today, the plantation is a hotel with a limited amount of rooms. They are in the process of building new rooms now. What was once a 2,000 acre estate is now 138 acres. I was hoping the tour would explain the history of this old plantation. Unfortunately, that was not the case. However, we will see is well worth our time.

It's a beautiful day for a walk. Wintertime brings a wonderful island breeze and the weather is slightly cooler, in the low 80s. Our guide leads us over the bridge and onto a path that will take us through beautiful trees, plants, and to the cocoa processing area.

Chocolate Pods are grown on a tree. Only about 5% of the hundreds of flowers will achieve pollination. Five to six months later the cocoa pod ready for harvesting. Pods hang directly from the trunk of the tree as well as from branches. The colors range from deep crimson, through all the shades of gold to vibrant greens.

Picking poles with cutters at the end are used to cut the ripened pods from the tree.

The pods rest for a few days to enhance the taste, then they are split open with a cutlass. The beans and their surrounding pulp are pulled out and placed into buckets. The empty pods are rotted down into organic fertilizer and spread around young trees.

The next step is fermentation. The beans are poured into wooden fermentation boxes and covered with banana leaves to begin the fermentation stage. The natural sugars in the pulp create a chemical reaction which generates heat and alcohol. The beans are turned every other day, to ensure an even fermentation.

After approximately 7 days of fermenting, the sticky brown beans are turned out onto drying trays. Rain is predictable and an issue. Special rolling trays are used to move the beans out of the rain. The beans are a mahogany color and all the stickiness of the fermentation stage has been dried.

Last year HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, together with the Duchess of Cornwall, visited the island to reinforce Britain’s ties as well as to promote sustainable development, environmental protection and youth opportunity.

The grounds were spectacular.

Shineal Tree on the left (I have no idea how to spell it)

On the right: Nutmeg and mace are spices obtained from the same tree- Myristica frafrans the nutmeg tree.

Banyons are not seen in California. I find them incredibly beautiful. The first time I saw one was in Honduras when I visited Jay.

Bananas in mid-stage growth

Bamboo is common on the island

This is called a Lipstick Flower. Isn’t it beautiful?

Calabash is not edible, but the pods are large pods are used to make bowls.

It's time to finish the Hershey Bar and rest up because next we are going to go to an amazing resort for lunch.