Beach Reads, Flicks, & Tunes | #PodSaveChocolate Ep53
![Beach Reads, Flicks, & Tunes | #PodSaveChocolate Ep53](/content/images/size/w2000/format/webp/2024/06/Ep-053--BeachMedia---Featured1920x1080.jpg)
Episode 53 of #PodSaveChocolate: Top book, movie, and music recommendations for chocolate-loving Summer beach-goers.
When and Where to Watch
This is the third episode of PodSaveChocolate that is only streaming LIVE to YouTube. I want to see if streaming to a single platform increases overall engagement. Keep in mind that to comment or ask questions you must have a YouTube account.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/an65yqaPG0Y/maxresdefault_live.jpg)
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Episode 53 Overview
It’s hot. Dang, it’s hot ... and many people at this time of year pine longingly to get out of their humdrum day-to-day to spend long leisurely days at a beach working on their tans and consuming media.
Hard for me to do as I am in Arizona, at least 300 hundred miles [~500 kilometers] from the nearest ocean beach.
For decades, Beach Reading has meant books. Real. Physical. Books.
But these days the Summer Beach Read means more than a trashy bodice ripper or legal drama – books, movies, and songs can all be consumed on a device.
Following are some recommendations for how to spend some free time this summer whether you are at the beach or not, educating and entertaining yourself with chocolate-themed books, movies, and songs.
Beach Reading List
For History, Cookbooks, Inspiration, and more
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/Coe-and-Coe-3rd.jpg)
The True History of Chocolate: 3rd Edition
“A beautifully written . . . and illustrated history of the Food of the Gods, from the Olmecs to present-day developments.”―Chocolatier
This delightful tale of one of the world’s favorite foods draws on botany, archaeology, and culinary history to present a complete and accurate history of chocolate.
If you buy only one general introductory history of chocolate book – this is the one to buy. I have a copy of the first edition, first published in 2006. I was fortunate to meet and correspond with Michael and was the head of the panel for The Big Chocolate Show that recognized him as a Legend of Chocolate in 2017.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/DiscoverChocolateWebResCover.jpeg)
Discover Chocolate: The Ultimate Guide to Buying, Tasting, and Enjoying Fine Chocolate
My book. Published in October 2007. It’s a little dated today in some aspects of the history and brands, but there is still a lot of relevant information here.
“A connoisseur's guide to acquiring and consuming the world's best chocolates is a lavishly illustrated reference that provides information on cocoa-growing regions, makes recommendations for pairing chocolate with wine, and addresses the latest claims about the health benefits of chocolate.”
Finalist in the Technical/Reference category of the 2008 IACP book awards.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/askinosie.jpg)
Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/rasine.jpg)
The Jaguar and the Cacao Tree (Max and the Code of Harvests)
Max Hammond has a life other science-obsessed boys his age only dream of: he travels the world with his bee researcher dad and science writer mom. When the Hammond family arrives in Guatemala to study the enigmatic stingless bees of the Maya, Max meets Itzel, a young Maya girl who introduces him to the magic and wonders of rainforest gardens and animal spirit guides. It’s a world that transforms the meaning of all the science Max has ever learned—but its magic is not always benevolent.
Birgitte is a contributor to TheChocolateLife. This book is in the magical realism genre and is the one book on this list accessible to younger readers as well as adults.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/presilla.jpg)
The New Taste of Chocolate, Revised: A Cultural & Natural History of Cacao with Recipes [A Cookbook]
More than two hundred years ago, the great Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus christened the cacao tree Theobroma cacao, “food-of-the-gods cacao.” Truly, chocolate is the closest thing we mortals have to ambrosia. But not all chocolate is created equal, a fact we instinctively know when we bite into an exceptional piece of chocolate. What qualities set artisanal chocolate apart from mass-marketed brands? How does chocolate impact our health? How will the rising popularity of microbatch chocolate affect the industry? To find out, The New Taste of Chocolate, Revised takes us on a journey beginning with Maya and Aztec chocolate rituals, followed by exploring the significance of cacao through the ages, up through groundbreaking contemporary genetic discoveries.
I bought my copy in 2008. Make sure you order the revised edition published in 2009.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/medrich.jpg)
Seriously Bitter Sweet: The Ultimate Dessert Maker's Guide to Chocolate
These days, people are accustomed to seeing chocolate labeled 54%, 61%, or 72% on grocery store shelves, but some bakers are still confused by what the labeling means and how to use it. In Seriously Bitter Sweet, Alice Medrich presents 150 meticulously tested, seriously delicious recipes―both savory and sweet―for a wide range of percentage chocolates. “Chocolate notes” appear alongside, so readers can further adapt any recipe using the percentage chocolate on hand. The book is a complete revision of Alice’s 2003 Bittersweet, which was named the 2004 IACP Cookbook of the Year.
If you can find a copy, The Essence of Chocolate authored by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg is an interesting read, combining history, with personal journey stories, as well as recipes.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/Chloe.jpg)
The Chocolate Connoisseur: For Everyone with a Passion for Chocolate
A chocolate lover's guide celebrates the world's finest confectioneries as it explains how to tell the difference between good and bad chocolate, introduces new brands of gourmet chocolate to be savored, offers a connoisseur's tips on how to taste chocolate, and presents an entertaining history, lore, myths, and recipes.
I purchased a copy in 2006. Now dated.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/McNeil.jpg)
Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao
Winner of the Society for Economic Botany's Mary W. Klinger Book Award
"A triumph of four-field anthropology. Botany, archaeology, linguistics, ethnography, and a small bit of physical anthropology are seamlessly united. . . . Without integration of the fields, few or none of the interesting conclusions in this work could have been reached."--American Anthropologist
"Contains a watershed of interesting and exciting information. . . . For those with a serious interest in food history and foodways, it is an invaluable source of up-to-date information on one of the most beloved and revered foodstuffs in the Americas."--Austin Chronicle
I pre-ordered this book in 2008 before it was published in 2009. Highly recommended. One of the article authors is Nat Bletter, who went on to found Madre Chocolate.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/ChocolateTree.jpg)
The Chocolate Tree: A Natural History of Cacao
The Chocolate Tree chronicles the natural and cultural history of Theobroma cacao and explores its ecological niche. Tracing cacao’s journey out of the rain forest, into pre-Columbian gardens, and then onto plantations adjacent to rain forests.
I purchased a copy of this book back in 2007; highly recommended.
Other Reference
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/Patchett.jpg)
The Secret Life of Chocolate
A fascinating guide to the history and medical uses of cacao. The Secret Life of Chocolate is a book about chocolate. Not the sweet, mass-produced fatty confection most of us are familiar with, though/ This book is about old-school chocolate; pre-Colombian, Central American, bitter-spicy-foamy-intense blow-your-socks-off chocolate; chocolate beverages made with toasted cocoa beans, water, and indigenous plants.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/Swinnen.jpg)
The Economics of Chocolate
This book, written by global experts, provides a comprehensive and topical analysis on the economics of chocolate. While the main approach is economic analysis, there are important contributions from other disciplines, including psychology, history, government, nutrition, and geography.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/terrio.jpg)
Crafting the Culture and History of French Chocolate
This absorbing narrative follows the craft community of French chocolatiersmembers of a tiny group experiencing intensive international competitionas they struggle to ensure the survival of their businesses. Susan J. Terrio moves easily among ethnography, history, theory, and vignette, telling a story that challenges conventional views of craft work, associational forms, and training models in late capitalism.
I purchased this book in ~2005 and highly recommend it.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/Bartley.jpg)
The Genetic Diversity of Cacao and its Utilization
This book provides a comprehensive review of our current [2005] knowledge of the diversity of the species.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/Gervase.jpg)
Cocoa and Chocolate, 1765-1914
Cocoa and Chocolate,1765-1914 focuses on the period from the Seven Years War, to the First World War, when a surge of economic liberalism and globalization should have helped cocoa producers to overcome rural poverty, just as wool transformed the economy of Australia, and tea that of Japan.
I purchased this book back in 2007
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/Gervase2.jpg)
Cocoa Pioneer Fronts since 1800: The Role of Smallholders, Planters and Merchants
The livelihood of Third World farmers conflicts with saving the remaining tropical forests. The advantages of growing cocoa in cleared primary forest drive from the fertility of virgin soils and low concentrations of weeds, pests and diseases. The consequent emergence of new 'pioneer fronts' has also been affected by cheap labour, relative commodity prices, pests and diseases, credit resources, entrepreneurship, information, physical infrastructures, and government policies. The dynamism of smallholdings and competitive private marketing over estates and marketing boards is demonstrated.
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/Robertson.jpg)
Chocolate, women and empire: A social and cultural history (Studies in Imperialism, 80)
From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Chocolat, from romantic gift to guilty indulgence, chocolate has a special place in Western popular culture. But what are the hidden histories behind this luxurious commodity? This book examines chocolate production from cocoa bean to chocolate box, illuminating the dynamics of gender, race and empire which have structured the cocoa chain.
Flicks
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYWYwMjMxZWQtMzQ3OS00YWNhLThkNDItYTk4NDdhZDE4ZTEzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODU5MDg5OTY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)
IMO, the finest cast ever assembled for a movie featuring chocolate: Juliet Binoche, Johnny Depp, Judy Dench, Lena Olin, Alfred Molina, Carrie-Anne Moss, John Wood, Peter Stormare, AND Leslie Caron!
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZTllNDU0ZTItYTYxMC00OTI4LThlNDAtZjNiNzdhMWZiYjNmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzY1NDgwNjQ@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)
The OG.
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjcxMjg1Njg2NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjQ4NzMzMw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)
The Tim Burton remake. I think Johnny Depp is the only actor to show up on this list more than once
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNDM4NTk0NjktZDJhMi00MmFmLTliMzEtN2RkZDY2OTNiMDgzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)
Wonka’s Origin Story.
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWU0YjUyMTYtMGNkMi00MWNmLTg3ZDEtZmJmNGM2NGQwMmUxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTU3NDU4MDg2._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYWM5N2U5N2MtMDE2NC00NGQyLTgyMGItMjk0Mzg2ZGM0ODEzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY5MDE5NA@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTk0YjVjNGQtNWUyYS00NGI1LWIwN2UtZjEwNjNiNjQ1OGM5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzgzODI1OTE@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)
Original title: Merci pour le chocolat
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjllZWUzNDAtMmM3Zi00YjA0LTlmMzktMDUwMzZkMmIxMTIwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzEyNDg3NzE@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYTYyMDRhYzYtOGQ5YS00ZjE1LThhNzUtNWM4OGVjNTg5MzdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg)
More Wonka! No other movie on this list has inspired so many others to comment.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Inf5du8u7OE/maxresdefault.jpg)
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Sq56aF4EehA/hqdefault.jpg)
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7Z1p7TMPXFM/maxresdefault.jpg)
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FNmKFRcUltE/maxresdefault.jpg)
And of course, SNL had to have its Wonka moment!
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/45pHxBZyTag/maxresdefault.jpg)
What kind of world would this be without Adult Swim taking their shot? (Not one I want to live in.)
Tunes
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WIKqgE4BwAY/maxresdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCIAKENAF8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-CYAC0AWKAgwIABABGGIgSihlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCqySoBbEfYB4MXqyO1lGOprIJIBw)
I am not generally a fan of metal – but I can’t see anyone hating on this. Click here for the lyrics in English. There is a link on this page to the pronunciation of the Japanese lyrics (romanization).
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/babymetal-babymetal-2ed448cf-6ee1-44c9-ba82-431a873e09e9_53031_TABLET_LANDSCAPE_16_9-1480x832.jpg)
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/67290c70-3470-4cd7-bfe9-2efb52c51a65_CUSTOM.jpg)
![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2024/06/BABYMETAL---SCENE-QUEEN---WEB.jpg)
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rWy1w7WXeq0/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGBQgZShkMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAtMYV66PGEbE80Q9Sb7Nbu2zZ30g)
Like a chocolate version of Macarena – may not be suitable for younger listeners.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m5kHx1itU8c/hqdefault.jpg)
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kNUZ313Pp7E/maxresdefault.jpg)
Spoiler alert: Parody
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DbK-5ImUu-s/maxresdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCIAKENAF8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-CYAC0AWKAgwIABABGHIgOShAMA8=&rs=AOn4CLD6S-xT3k7-CRTTJddOA6KZV7Xa1w)
Spoiler alert: Another parody
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cBp9y_8H1S8/maxresdefault.jpg)
Spoiler alert: Still yet another parody. The link takes you to 3:22 in, when the song starts.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EwTZ2xpQwpA/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGGUgWyg6MA8=&rs=AOn4CLDCpTIpz1j6tJBRKA-LlT_3nJGvIQ)
The OG – published way back in 2007!
Questions?
If you have questions, you can ask them live during the episode or, if you are a ChocolateLife member, you can ask them in the Comments below at any time.
Episode Hashtags and Related Accounts to Follow
#BeachReads #BeachWatches #BeachListens
#cocoa #cacao #cacau
#chocolate #chocolat #craftchocolate
#PodSaveChocolate #PodSaveChoc
#LaVidaCocoa #TheChocolateLife
Future Episodes
Chocolates made at origin (in a producing country).
World Chocolate Day is Sunday, July 7th.
Part 1 will take place over on Bean to Barstool and will take a look at pairing beer and chocolate from the perspective of beer. Part 2 will take a look at pairing chocolate and beer from the perspective of chocolate.
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