As I said in my previous post yesterday, It is been long time since I blogged. Working in the Food & beverage industry, makes you want to be more delicate while posting about your food adventures.
I always talked about chocolate on my blog. But since moving to Riyadh, and due to the hot and dry weather, it makes you subconsciously avert away from something warm and heat producing!
Yet, visiting Maya chocolaterie, a place solely for having a chocolate experience has proven something else! Chocolate is desirable regardless of the temperature! If it is hot, people will eat chocolate and perhaps even more!!
Maybe the quote from Star Trek actually reflects what goes on people's minds on chocolates :
"I never met a chocolate I didn't like " Deanna Troi - Star Trek ( The Next Generation)
I had the chance to be invited from a family friend to Maya Chocolatier in Tahlia...
It was chocomazing...!
Simply a Chocolate Haven!
Despite the hot weather, it was full! We had to wait for 15 minutes to get in.
The place is all about chocolates! You cant escape it!
Simply put you Maya Chocolatier is owned by a woman who decided to follow her heart… and her taste buds, her love for chocolate... It It is indeed a brand that is to be enjoyed by all, that speaks a common language, and that touches every heart. Maya Chocolatier has been the talk of the town (even the region: KSA, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait..) for few years now.
Maybe it is a simple concept since it is based on chocolate, but sure this thing has been a hit in the market... Meaning one thing: Everyone loves chocolate ( P.S: When I say everyone, I mean women ...This place is for all ladies gatherings!)
Fondant
Crepes
Related:
Special facts about chocolate:
- The word 'Chocolate' comes from the Aztec word, cacahuatl, which means bitter water.Finding chocolate residue in an ancient Maya pot suggests that Mayans were drinking chocolate 2,600 years ago and proving that chocolate was first drunk rather than eaten.
- The Aztecs associated cocoa with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility, believing that the beans originated in paradise and anyone who eats them is blessed with wisdom, and energy.
- The scientific term for the Cocoa Tree is 'Theobroma Cacao', which is a Greek word meaning “Food for the Gods”.
- You need to eat a dozen of chocolate to get the same amount of caffeine in a coffee cup . So don’t worry about the caffeine amount in chocolate!
- Chocolate is a great source of iron, one ounce of cocoa contains 10% of the daily recommendation of this mineral.
- Chocolate may interact with a number of neurotransmitter systems such as dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, thus affecting one’s appetite, and mood.
- It alleviates depression, high blood pressure, and Pre-menstrual syndromes.( more can be found in this research )
- Chocolate is the third highest antioxidant source for U.S. consumers, just behind coffee and tea. According to a research posted on the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Chocolate has alot of these polyphenolic compounds that counteract the damaging effects of oxygen on cells by protecting against free radicals, which are molecules with unpaired electrons that main reason of causing anything from cancer to bad cholesterol.
- Two debunked myths about chocolate are : Chocolate can cause acne and headaches.
- Chocolate can be deadly for dogs due to an ingredient called "Theobromine" which can be toxic to their central nervous system and cardiac muscles.
- Chocolate has over 500 flavor components. This is double the amount found in strawberry and vanilla.
- The discovery of microwaves was due to chocolate. As scientists were developing magnetrons for better radar detectors, but one of the magnetrons melted a chocolate bar in a scientist’s pocket. Eventually, he applied the magnetron’s ability in cooking food.
- Melt in the mouth sensation that differentiate a chocolate brand to another is due to the difference in processing, particularly the tempering step.