Whether it’s mixed in your favorite coffee drink, on your ice cream sundae or straight out of the wrapper, just about everyone enjoys the smooth, creamy taste of chocolate. But the confection we know and love has had a long, interesting and delicious evolution.

Find out how this ground and roasted “food of the gods” worked its way into our hearts, minds and stomachs!

Join Clallam County Master Gardener Margery Whites

for the Green Thumb Education Series presentation

“The History of Chocolate,”

Thursday, November 13th

from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

at St. Andrews Episcopal Church – 510 E. Park Avenue in Port Angeles.

The Green Thumb Series is no longer being live streamed through Zoom.

Come join us in-person.

Our love affair with chocolate stretches back thousands of years to the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica. Long before it became the sweet confection we know and adore, chocolate went through many changes and iterations. This presentation will cover the origins of cacao versus where cacao is cultivated today, various cacao species, the mysteries of cacao pollination, cacao cultivation and harvesting, cacao usage by indigenous cultures of the Americas, how the Europeans influenced cacao usage, and climate change challenges.

“After my coffee presentation in 2023, Muriel Nesbitt asked me to do a companion presentation on chocolate. Thus, this presentation will be dedicated to Muriel,” Margery said.

Margery has been a Master Gardener since 2016. She’s traveled extensively in Central America, one of the cacao-producing regions of the world. It is where she first tasted chocolate that was not refined in the European fashion the way that she was used to.

The Green Thumb Education Series, sponsored by the Washington State University Clallam County Master Gardeners, is held in person typically on Thursdays from January through May, and September through November. WSU Extension programs are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office or to the WSU Compliance and Civil Rights office https://ccr.wsu.edu Reasonable accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities and special needs who contact the office at 360-417-2279.