Last weekend, I went to the special exhibition « Chocolate Exhibition » held at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno.
As you know (what?) I’ve been eyeing this place for quite a while, but I was finally able to visit it this time.
I’m already excited from the sign!
And as you can see, the tickets look yummy!
A chocolate locomotive greets you at the entrance.
First, an explanation of the cacao tree and fruit. You may think you know about cacao, but surprisingly, you may not understand it properly.
It seems that there are various kinds of cacao fruits. Their sizes are also very different.
Next to the display of cocoa nuts will be a booth introducing the history of chocolate in Europe.
The extraction of cocoa butter by squeezing cocoa mass is the most important discovery in the history of chocolate, but it was actually the company Van Houten that made this discovery.
Now that you’ve learned about the history, it’s time to start explaining the manufacturing process.
First, an explanation of « cocoa production.
Finally, we move on to the main topic, the explanation of processing.
First, the cocoa process.
And the cocoa process.
The last step is the chocolate process.
There was also a display of actual conching.
« Tempering », that’s the wisdom of the artisan!
And finishing.
I learned so much!
The exhibition ends with a video showing the techniques of the chocolatiers.
チョコレートはやはり偉大だった！
