Hey, welcome to NPR's Life Kit.

I'm Simran C.T., the author of the book, Breadwine Chocolate, and the creator of the award-winning

chocolate podcast, The Slow Melt.

Why do they go deep on this particular food?

Well, I think you know the answer to that.

Chocolate has been my every birthday cake.

It was my wedding cake, what got me through my divorce, and what's helped me manage the

pandemic.

But until seven years ago, this sweetness I have cherished my whole life was largely a mystery.

I mean, I knew about Willy Wonka, but none of the details on how chocolate was made, or

where it grew.

Did it ooze from trees like sap, or was it harvested from a bush like a berry?

The answer is neither.

Today, we'll go to the place where Coco has grown, and learn from an expert on how

theobroma cacao, the fruit known as the food of the gods, becomes the stuff of our dreams.

I remember as a child, driving to school, I passed a huge coquistate.

That's Dr. Darren Sukum, the man who oversees flavor and quality at the University of West

Indies Coco Research Center, one of the world's most important chocolate research institutions.

I remember sitting in the back of my father's car.

I was so small, I would stand in the back, so those days seat belts weren't mandatory,

right?

We'd be passing through this area that suddenly became cool and dark.

...