Mayan Chocolate Making in Belmopan

You will begin the tour the Lamanai chocolate cabana where two Mayan ladies will introduce themselves wearing their beautiful traditional Mayan clothes. They will begin by roasting cacao beans on a traditional kamal that is still used in many of their homes. This part of the tour takes anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour depending on the amount of interaction with the ladies.

After roasting the cacao seed they will crush them on the two thousand year old Maya grinding stone. Next they will demonstrate the winnowing process. This process is done by dropping the crushed beans on front of a fan to blow the shells away. Often they use bowls to move the crushed seeds back and forth to ensure all the seeds are shelled. Then the seed is put back on the stone and ground into a high quality liqueur.

The final step is to cook the liqueur in water until it is fully dissolved. Once dissolved we can add organic sugar and cream making the chocolate that was developed for taste and healing by the Mayan people.