FOOD & THOUGHT: From Cacao to Hot Chocolate: Indigenous Knowledge and Its Global Impact

Can you imagine a world without chocolate? How would we celebrate Valentine’s Day? Who doesn’t enjoy a cup of hot chocolate on a winter night, even in Southern California? Do you know how chocolate is made and where it’s from? To celebrate Indigenous Heritage Month, let’s take a chocolate break from your studies and learn about the Indigenous roots of chocolate.

Christopher Loman, Assistant Professor of Teaching of Anthropology, will give a presentation on the magical plant native to the Amazon, cacao. Ancient Indigenous wisdom transformed the seeds of cacao into fermented drinks, which eventually led to what we know as chocolate today. Loman will further discuss how this Indigenous food “traveled” across the oceans and became the world’s favorite dessert. The production and consumption of chocolate reflect a complicated history of human civilization and power struggles.

We will be serving champurrado, a traditional Latin American hot chocolate drink with masa (corn flour), as well as champorado, a Filipino counterpart which usually contains rice instead of corn. Sweet and savory light snacks will be served as well.

Bring a mug and a spoon (or two sets, since we are serving two kinds of drinks). We are trying to avoid single-use materials. These are Anteater ways to express our love and respect for the environment.

Location:
ARC Test Kitchen
The Test Kitchen is located on the second floor of the Anteater Recreation Center (ARC), at the end of the hallway.

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