FD 03 — Chocolate: From Commodity Crop to Ephemeral Luxury
Quarter: Summer
Instructor(s): Carla D. Martin, Jose Lopez Ganem
Date(s): Jun 30—Aug 18
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Tuesdays
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—7:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $440
Refund Deadline: Jul 2
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 110
Status: Registration opens May 18, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Summer
Day: Tuesdays
Duration: 8 weeks
Time: 5:30—7:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jun 30—Aug 18
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $440
Refund Deadline: Jul 2
Instructor(s): Carla D. Martin, Jose Lopez Ganem
Enrollment Limit: 110
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens May 18, 8:30 am (PT)
Chocolate evokes images of rich desserts, steaming bowls of hot cocoa, and artistic displays of delicious truffles. This “food of the gods” is one of the world’s most beloved treats—but it is also a vital commodity for more than 5 million cacao producers and the foundation of a global industry worth roughly $130 billion. To love chocolate is to understand it deeply enough to make informed choices when enjoying it.
We will learn how cacao and chocolate move from the farm to your palate, engaging with questions of tropical agronomy, international trade and manufacturing, global politics, contemporary ethics, and social justice. Of course, the most satisfying way to learn about chocolate is by eating it. The course will include guided tastings to help you recognize how chocolate is not one flavor but a gateway to many sensory experiences. This course is for people who want to be more confident in navigating chocolate products and more thoughtful about their chocolate consumption.
We will learn how cacao and chocolate move from the farm to your palate, engaging with questions of tropical agronomy, international trade and manufacturing, global politics, contemporary ethics, and social justice. Of course, the most satisfying way to learn about chocolate is by eating it. The course will include guided tastings to help you recognize how chocolate is not one flavor but a gateway to many sensory experiences. This course is for people who want to be more confident in navigating chocolate products and more thoughtful about their chocolate consumption.
This course includes optional chocolate tastings. The cost will be approximately $150–$200. Enrolled students will receive information about how to order.
CARLA D. MARTIN
Founder and President, Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research
Carla D. Martin is a Lecturer in African and African American Studies at Harvard. Her research as a socially engaged anthropologist is focused on the ethics of labor in cocoa and chocolate, and before that, on the politics of language and music in Cabo Verde and its diaspora. Additionally, she is the board president of the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research (ICCR), a scholar-led nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing information asymmetry in the cocoa-chocolate value chain. JOSE LOPEZ GANEM
Executive Director, Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research
José López Ganem is the executive director at the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research and an instructor at Boston University. He is also a trained sensory professional in the fields of cacao, chocolate, tea, sake, and wine via the Culinary Institute of America and Wine & Spirit Education Trust. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.