Chocolate lovers have one destination they need to visit in the Caribbean during their next luxury travel trip if they wish to enjoy all of the tastes & smells that will elevate any adult or family vacations into an experience of pure flavorful joy. The cocoa industry's origins in St. Lucia date back to the 1700s, but it isn't slowing down, according to St. Lucia Now.
Numerous activities are popping up all over the island that incorporate the cocoa bean & its famous byproduct – chocolate. Vacationers have the chance to visit destinations that takes them on a journey through the long history of the crop & its effect on St. Lucia over the years, as well as the plantations that produce some of the very meals & desserts they can eat during their stay.
One whole month of chocolate The cocoa bean is St. Lucia's second most important crop, reported The Huffington Post. It's no wonder then why the island would dedicate the entirety of September to the bean with Chocolate Heritage Month where restaurants, boutiques & spas offer a selection of chocolate-inspired goods & services.
During the month, not only are the desserts served around St. Lucia centered around chocolate, but many other courses are thematically appropriate as well. Special tours take travelers through the fields where the cocoa beans are grown & the facilities that transform them into the favorite sweets people enjoy, stated St. Lucia Now.
St. Lucia is taking this vital piece of its economy & making it into a vacation theme all its own. It provides a nice alternative to the beaches & clubs of the typical Caribbean experience for an excursion the whole family can enjoy. Everyone's taste buds will thank them as they discover the untapped potential chocolate has in more ways than just underneath a candy wrapper.
Dine where the menu is covered in chocolate The Boucan restaurant was recently brought to the world's attention on the television show "The Bachelor," but it hardly needed the publicity thanks to the food it serves. Located at the Hotel Chocolat in the middle of a plantation & hidden at the center of the estate's cocoa fields, Boucan gives visitors the chance to taste chocolate like never before, reported USA Today.
At Boucan, the chefs understand the versatility of cocoas beans & their potential in all aspects of a meal. While cocoa has been used mainly as a sweet ingredient for 500 years, it has also served as a savory flavor for more than 3,000 years, according to Boucan's official website.
Visitors to the restaurant don't just dine on chocolate cake & ice cream. Tourists have the chance to try dishes such as chocolate ravioli, citrus-flavored salad topped off with a dressing of white chocolate or even an incarnation of chocolate soup mixed with bananas, almonds & caramel. Travelers also have the opportunity to go out into the fields & pick cocoa beans to be made into their very own chocolate bar, stated USA Today.
Head to the chocolate spa The spa at Hotel Chocolat takes the crops' use even further & blends it into unique skin, body & face treatments. Guests can receive a chocolate mint massage at their Treetop Spa, making you smell as delicious as all the chocolate dishes you'll be sampling during your stay in St. Lucia.
Dark chocolate is linked to a number of health benefits such as lowering anxiety & aiding people's focus, but it can also reinforce blood circulation so skin can absorb more nutrients & oxygen, according to St. Lucia Now. This makes skin more resistant to dehydration & proves chocolate's power as a spa ingredient.
Vacationers don't have to travel to St. Lucia specifically for the chocolate, but a visit to any of its cocoa bean-inspired attractions or activities is certain to make their trip a whole lot sweeter.
