Join head chocolate maker Kevin Paschall of Shane Confectionary for an interactive drinking chocolate and botanical cacoa tea make and taste class. First, participants will fill tea sachets with ground cacao nibs and their choice of spices and flowers to steep in hot water, producing a customized version of a historic cacao tea recipe. An example recipe will be given from Antonio Colminero de Ledesma's Chocolate: or, An Indian Drinke. We'll learn about how cacao was first domesticated in the Americas, how Europeans adapted and interpreted traditional cacao brewing techniques, and how those two concepts informed the creation of the chocolate we know today. Participants will then learn about traditional drinking chocolate preparation techniques, including how to use a Molinillo (Mexican chocolate frothing whisk), and enjoy tastes of two varieties of drinking chocolates to better understand the geographically unique evolution of chocolate as it moved across Europe.

Chef Kevin use these drinks to trace human consumption of cacao from the ancient Mayans to modern chocolate. We'll explore cacao farming over time, how farmers and cacao genetics massively impact the quality and flavor of the chocolate we taste, and how industrialization completely changed how we know and experience chocolate today.

This Culinary Literacy Center program is presented as part of Drinks in the Archives, a collaboration with the Free Library's Special Collections and the Delaware Valley Archivists Group as part of Archives Month. October is American Archives Month, an opportunity to celebrate archives, the work of archivists, and raise public awareness about the value and accessibility of historical records. In conjunction with participating institutions throughout the Delaware Valley, the Delaware Valley Archivists Group has assembled an exciting calendar of events at Philadelphia’s most notable archives, special collections libraries, repositories, and other cultural institutions. For more information, please visit http://archivesmonthphilly.com/. Pre-registration is required via Eventbrite; tickets are $7 per person.