Wells WI December 2021 meeting report:

Another hybrid meeting this month, with plenty of members in the meeting room at the museum and others joining via Zoom. President Anne reminded people to book for our Christmas meal at Rugantino's, traditionally enjoyed in January when life is quieter. She thanked members for their contributions to this year's charity - three overflowing cars full of essentials and Christmas treats were delivered to Wells foodbank. December's board games evening is cancelled, to protect each other from Covid risks, but it is hoped to organise an outing to the Bath Soft Cheese company in the New Year.

The shortlist of resolutions has been announced. Details will be emailed to members who will be able to read about them and choose the one they would most like to see adopted as a national campaign. As last year, votes will be collected by email.

Also, at a local level, we are exploring how we might support VOICES, a Bath-based charity that works with people who have been affected by domestic abuse.

Our speaker this month was Steph Hiller who told us about her raw chocolate-making. After initial training, her efforts experimenting with different flavours and proportions were rewarded when she won three Great Taste Awards in 2015. Steph told us that cacao beans grow in the equatorial belt and that she buys hers from a co-operative of South American growers who farm to organic and fair-trade principles. She told us how the shade loving trees are often grown under banana trees, and that the large pods ripen with jewel-like colours. They are harvested with machetes twice a year, each pod yielding 40-60 beans that are dried in the sun. Commercial chocolate makers roast their beans, to intensify flavour, but the high temperatures destroy the nutrients. They also sell the cacao butter by product to the cosmetics industry, and replace it with cheaper vegetable oil.

Steph passed round some raw beans, inviting members to crack them open to see the nibs inside, and try some rich cacao butter on the backs of their hands. Steph uses a granite grinder to process the nibs, it takes two days to achieve a smooth result. She sweetens the bitter product with coconut sugar which contains additional trace minerals, and adds food-grade essential oil flavourings, some of which are very expensive and of varying intensity – it takes 40 drops of raspberry oil to flavour 12 x 40g bars but only 6 drops of rose oil.

Finally she tempers the chocolate by manipulating its temperature, heating it to 42 degrees, taking it down to 28 then back up to 35. This stabilises the molecules and makes it shiny with a good snap. To some bars she adds dried fruit, or crunchy coconut clusters. Finally some pieces of actual chocolate were sampled, but not until Steph told us to close our eyes, put in on the back of our hands to inhale the fragrance, and only then put it in our mouths to melt slowly, savouring the sensation and guessing the different flavours. A sensual evening! And a great Christmas gift idea. Our next meeting will be on 4 January at Wells Museum.

More information can be found on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Wellssomersetwi

Veronica Howe