Today was filled with a chocolate overload of history, tours, and many tastings of numerous flavors!

We started our day with a learning and tasting session of Yumbo Chocolate Artesenal. We tried over 7 different chocolate flavors that consisted of 100% dark chocolate, mint, lemongrass, tangerine, chili and salt, ginger, and coffee bean chocolate. The chili and salt were my least favorite, for it was very spicy and not enjoyable to me. My favorite was the coffee bean and it was interesting to hear that it was an award-winning chocolate for a few years. The 100% dark chocolate had the most bitter taste that I have ever tried. We even tried a hot chocolate that was 100% cacao and a brownie that was very moist.

Before going to the chocolate factory we went to Hasta la vuelta Señor for lunch, and I had the Choclo Frito con Chorizo which was sausage, buttered corn, and cheese and was surprisingly very delicious. The next chocolate place we went to was Bios where we got a history lesson of the family company and a tour of the chocolate factory. We tried an overwhelming amount of chocolates and even went to their chocolate dispenser where people put their heads under the chocolate to get a pure taste of the chocolate. As someone who is involved with a family owned chocolate business, this day was very informative and special to me. 

Being in a chocolate coma we drove two hours to Cayambe. On the way, we were able to capture the exact point of the Equator. We had a late dinner, which was a taco filled with beef, lettuce, cheese, and guacamole. To end the night, we had a fire and listened to music as a group and got ready for our early morning in the rose industry.