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The live launch of The Secret Life Of Chocolate, the most unusual and encyclopedic book on the ancient history, pharmacology and mythology of the cocoa tree and its products you are ever likely to read. Based on years of painstaking research, it includes reconstructed ancient chocolate formulas and recipes from pre-Colombian Mesoamerica, and presents new scientific, historical and anthropological hypotheses about Cacao.
I cut off the first 5 minutes as people were still joining and there was an issue with the camera (red square on my face) which got sorted. It's a Facebook Live video, and the recording is a bit laggy - visuals not quite syncing with audio - and there are occasional audio drop-outs, but overall it's pretty good. Timestamps below!
0:2:18 BOOK TOUR: Brief description of the book's layout and contents
0:5:17 READING: Excerpt from the Conclusion
0:13:35 SHOW & TELL: Molinillo made from a branch of Theobroma cacao
0:17:12 BOOK TOUR: Description of Chapter 8, the Formulary (recipe section)
0:20:31 BOOK TOUR: Map from Chapter 1, showing Cacao-growing regions in Central America
0:22:53 BOOK TOUR: Excerpt from the Formulary (Chapter 8)
0:23:26 QUESTION: "Why did you decide to write about chocolate in particular?"
0:27:05 SHOW & TELL: Contemporary molinillos
0:31:55 READING: excerpt from Chapter 9, Death by Chocolate, on the mythology of Cacao
0:46:25 QUESTION: "Who was your biggest influence in research? Did you keep coming back to one or two books or specific researchers?"
0:50:31 BOOK TOUR: Diagram from Chapter 5 showing the hypothetical influence of Cacao's phytochemicals on the three types of "Love" defined by Dr. Helen Fisher
0:57:22 QUESTION: "Does chocolate have a ritualistic use?"
1:06:30 BOOK TOUR: Discussion from Chapter 5 on the use of Cacao and chocolate and personality factors
1:09:12 QUESTION: "Re: Terence McKenna's research on mushrooms and their impact on people's subconscious, can you draw some parallels?" READING from Chapter 7, Associates and Accomplices
1:20:10 SHOW & TELL: Making traditional hot chocolate - "Basic kakawa" recipe from Chapter 8
1:35:00 QUESTION: "Where can I get a gourd like that?"
1:37:00 READING: from Chapter 8, recipe for "Basic kakawa"
1:44:04 BOOK TOUR: look at the colour photograph section
1:56:05 QUESTION: "Do you relate chocolate or this research to your role as a herbalist?"
1:59:10 READING: From Chapter 4, Pharmaceutical Chocolate - Cacao/chocolate as preventive medicine against heart attack and stroke
2:10:31 BOOK TOUR: From Chapter 1, the timeline table of Cacao and world history
2:11:45 BOOK TOUR: Chapter 7, Associates and Accomplices, plants traditionally used with Cacao
2:13:26 BOOK TOUR: Appendix B, the mini-monographs
2:19:28 BOOK TOUR: Chapter 4, Pharmaceutical Chocolate - the composition of Cacao beans, pie charts and discussion
2:25:27 QUESTION: "Is it ok to use for someone who's a new mum?"
2:32:45 READINGS: from Chapter 3, The Chocolate Apothecary, on Cacao's traditional folk use to increase breast milk production and prevent malnutrition; and from Chapter 4, Pharmaceutical Chocolate, on a possible pharmacological basis for Cacao's use as a galactagogue.
2:40:47 QUESTION: "Any research on the medicinal use of chocolate in PMS?"
2:45:47 READING: From Chapter 7, Associates and Accomplices, on the potential harms of Cacao for male infants - a possible slight increase in the risk of testicular cancer in later life and next-generational genital deformity
2:54:55 SHOW & TELL: Making pinole, a traditional Guatemalan atole
3:06:00 SHOW & TELL: metate y mano, traditional Mesoamerican grinding table
3:12:07 BOOK TOUR: from Chapter 8, the Formulary - recipes for pinole and panecito
