> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://thechocolatelife.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Brazil Photoblog - URL: https://thechocolatelife.com/brazil-photoblog/ - Published: 2021-07-22T02:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2025-05-24T20:30:39.000Z - Description: Following up on the Clubhouse room “Origins: Brazil” on July 12th with featured guests Arcelia Gallardo and Rogerio Kamei. [Updated May 24 2025 to fix spelling and grammar. ] - Author: Clay Gordon - Tags: TCL Originals, Clubhouse, Travelogues These photos were taken on my first-ever trip to Brazil in 2017 as a guest of the organizers of the *Chocolat Bahia* festival in Ilhéus. Brazil was the second stop on my almost three-week-long trip. The first stop was Perú for the Salon del Cacao y Chocolate. *New York › Lima › São Paulo › Ilhéus › São Paulo › New York.* ## **Parte Um** — **São Paulo** I was fortunate to have wonderful local guides and hosts in São Paulo – Juliana and Tuta Aquino, Zelia Frangioni, Luisa Abram, and Arcelia Gallardo. While I was able to visit chocolate shops and factories and see some sights and eat wonderful food, it was not *all* fun and games – I was asked to be a judge for the first *Prêmio Bean-to-Bar Brasil* as well as to give a tasting to Prêmio entrants and participate in the awards ceremony. > Yeah. I know. The sacrifices I make for cacau e chocolate. ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/judgingSamples.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/samplingTable.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/clayRogerioMestico.jpg) L-R: Judging samples for the First Prêmio Bean to Bar Brasil; Tasting table with Prêmio entrants; A rare photo with me in it – with Rogerio Kamei of Mestiço in his workshop. ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/arceliaGallardo.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/zeliaFrangioni.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/claudiSchultz.jpg) L-R: Arcelia Gallardo; Zelia Frangioni; Claudia Schultz. From my **Faces of Chocolate* series. ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/griffitiLeft.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/griffitiMiddle.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/griffitiRight.jpg) Much of the wall art – I hesitate to call most of it graffiti – around São Paulo is amazing. ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/indoorMarket.jpg) An indoor fresh/cooked food and flea market. ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/sambaMusicDanceClub.jpg) Could **not* visit São Paulo without spending an evening at a club listening to music and dancing. ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/brigadeiroMariaB.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/brigadeiroAmma.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/beverageIcepop.jpg) L-R: Presentation of Brigadeiro at Maria Brigadeiro, credited with being the first “gourmet” Brigadeiro maker; Presentation of the Brigadeiro and hot chocolate at Amma – easily the best Brigadeiro I have **ever* eaten and the vegan hot chocolate, which is garnished with freshly toasted coconut chips, was also top-notch; maybe a maracuja caipariña with a tropical fruit icepop. ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/cocktailsBurgersBeer.jpg) My favorite set of signs for a restaurant – ever, **anywhere*. --- ## **Parte Dois — Bahia & Ilhéus** ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/GoogleMapsScreenshotIlheus.jpg) ### **Vários pontos de vista** ![Fazenda Venturosa](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/fazendaVenturosaPano.jpg) Fazenda Venturosa – Lola Gedeon and Jim Lucas ![Mais Fazenda Sagarana](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/fazendaSagaranaPano2.jpg) Fazenda Sagarana – Henrique Almeida ![Fazenda Lagedo do Ouro](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/fazendaLajedoDoOuroPano.jpg) Fazenda Lajedo do Ouro – Pedro Magheles ![The processing center for Mendoa Chocolates.](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/facilityMendoa.jpg) The processing center for Mendoa Chocolates. ![Ilhéus Harbor Panorama](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/ilheusHarborPano.jpg) Ilhéus harbor ![06h00 sunrise over the Pacific. One of the most spectacular I can recall.](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/sunrisePacificPano.jpg) 06:02, Friday, July 21 – Sunrise over the Pacific. Probably **the* most spectacular sunrise I have ever experienced. --- ### *The Single Best Meal* in Over 18 Years of Traveling to Origin In 2014, I had the opportunity to partake in the *Elevations* 17-course tasting menu with paired wines at **Central** (Lima, Peru), then considered one of the top five restaurants in the world. My host was Christopher Curtin, who was able to wrangle the last-minute spot because of his relationships with Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain and their chocolate project, the Good & Evil bar. That meal, interesting as it might have been *conceptually*, turned out to be no match for the simpler pleasures of the meal at Espaço Beija-flor. Normally closed on the day of the week we visited, the chef/owner opened the kitchen to us ... *and magic happened*. ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFloor_setting.jpg) The setting. (The chef/owner is in the blue t-shirt.) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFlor_libation-2.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFlor_mixedChipsPresentation-1.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFlor_mixedChipsPlated.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFlor_seafoodPlatter.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFlor_mixedGrill.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFlor_farofaBowl.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFlor_noLeftovers.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFlor_dessert.jpg) ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/BeijaFlor_infusedCachacas-1.jpg) LR;TB – Tropical libation served in a cacao pod; mixed chips; mixed chips w/ sauce, plated; grilled fish w/ garnishes; mixed grill; farofa; no leftovers (except for some of the garnish); dessert; infused locally-made cachaças – the green was extra-special. While Beija-flor is not a Michelin-starred restaurant (*and does not pretend to be*), the meal was that all-t00-rare combination of the perfect mix of people, ambiance, respectfully prepared and artfully plated tasty/unpretentious (authentic?) fresh/local food and beverages, topped off with unfailing grace and hospitality of the chef and staff. --- ### **Os Pés de Um Dançarino de Cacau** ![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/feetOfACacaoDancer.jpg) The Featured Image for this post: Valdir on the drying pad at Fazenda Sagarana – the feet of a cacao dancer, after dancing on the cacao. Watch Valdir “dance” on cacao! *The purpose of dancing on the cacao*, according to Henrique Almeida of Fazenda Sagarana where this video was taken, *is to assist in removing excess pulp*, accelerating the drying process. It is a traditional technique that is no longer widely practiced and that is criticized (or perhaps misunderstood) in some quarters as being “folkloric.” Upon first sight, my thoughts went to, “How could this possibly be sanitary?” Could the beans be contaminated by walking all over them in bare feet? I could ask this same question about traditional drying practices I have seen in places like Grenada where the beans are moved around on the pad by foot – but have never thought to question it. Upon reflection, and examination of the potential risks, I am less worried about the process if (and this is a big if) the dancer washes their feet properly and has no obvious foot diseases caused by microorganisms that might survive the acidity of remaining pulp. Whatever you think about the process, and whether you agree or disagree about potential health risks, I think you do have to agree it’s mesmerizing to watch. ### **More Posts on Brazil** [Cocoa and Chocolate in Brasil - Part 1In the mid-1980s Brasil was the largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans in the world. At one point, annual production exceeded 400,000MT. Then, witches broom (moniliopthora (formerly crinipellis) perniciosa) was deliberately introduced by members of the PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores, or Worker…![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeDiscoverChoc![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/12/3af92b82-0c6d-4b7a-aff5-f17b0fafc446.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/cocoa-and-chocolate-in-brasil-part-1/) [Cocoa and Chocolate in Brasil - Part 2The Mata Atlântica§ – the Atlantic Rainforest – is Brasil’s other rainforest. Not as well–known as the Amazon, covering 1,315,460 km2 (507,902 mi2), and stretching from the northern state of Rio Grande do Norte all the way to Rio Grande do Sul in the south, the![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeDiscoverChoc![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/12/8772fcbd-0f7d-4ce9-b609-a38d2be74963.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/cocoa-and-chocolate-in-brasil-part-2/) [Faces of Chocolate - BrasilFaces of Chocolate is an ongoing series documenting people working in cocoa and chocolate worldwide. These photos are of workers on the Lucas family farm, Fazenda Venturosa, which is west of Itabuna, in Bahia, Brasil. Left to right: Coi – Cosme Carvalho Ze – Jose Santos de Jesus Gazo – Jenivaldo d…![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeDiscoverChoc![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/12/dc7d29fa-c756-4af4-88b4-a7756d2e8739.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/faces-of-chocolate-brasil/) [A Visit to Fazenda Sagarana, Bahia, BrasilI was joined on this visit by Zelia Frangioni of Chocolatras Online – a leading chocolate blog in Brazil – as well as by Juliana and Tuta Aquino, owners of Fazenda Santa Rita. A video crew was there to record the visit. Fazenda Sagarana is a beautiful farm with some![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeDiscoverChoc![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/12/f656575b-3c5b-4c44-876a-6819cf0364ee.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/a-visit-to-fazenda-sagarana-bahia-brasil/) [What’s in a Brigadeiro?From the outside, a brigadeiro resembles a hand-rolled truffle, or truffe nature. It is anything but. The center of a classic brigadeiro is made by cooking down sweetened condensed milk until it is the consistency of a chewy caramel. When cool and set it’s quite firm and can![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeThe Archivist![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/12/02731005-a3bb-4f18-814f-3e184606934d.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/whats-in-a-brigadeiro/) --- > I could go on and on – but the post has to end *somewhere*. Thoughts on any of the photos? Share them in the comments.