Friday, January 17, 2025 | 6pm to 8pm
About this Event
60 VASSAR ST, Cambridge, MA 02139
Fermentation is critical for chocolate production; in order to understand and control this fermentation, an understanding of microbiology is helpful. Come learn about chocolate production and make some yourself in the Huang Hobbs Biomakerspace this IAP in a one-day, two-hour workshop!
1. Tour of the Huang Hobbs Biomakerspace. The Biomakerspace is an open laboratory for the MIT community to learn about molecular biology through workshops and develop independent projects.
2. Learning about fermenting chocolate! Prior to the workshop, cacao was plan to take 3 different timepoints during the ~1 week long fermentation, with microbes quantified and prepped for sequencing at each timepoint. Attendees will be taught to enumerate microbes. There will also be the opportunity to taste fresh cacao.
3. Melanging Chocolate: Using a stone grinder, attendees will prepare chocolate from roasted beans and other ingredients. This process takes about 24 hours, so chocolate will be available for later pickup. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample chocolate from a previous batch.
4) (Optional) Tour of the Taza Chocolate Factory! Taza is a local artisanal chocolate company. We're currently in talks to schedule a tour of their factory, during which we'll be able to see chocolate manufacture at scale. The timing of this tour is dependent on the availability of attendees.
How to participate:
1) Fill out the Google Forms to RSVP. The first ten RSVPs will be granted a place in the workshop. https://forms.gle/KYfwSnYM9zftPS9n8. Depending on interest, there may be multiple sessions, each session will be the same.