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The Theobroma Cacao or ‘the food of the Gods’ is what we all know as the cocoa tree. It’s origin can be traced back to South America’s rain forests, particularly to Central America, although historians are still at variance over certain facts with regard to this tree.

It is suggested that the Mayans first grew the cacao tree in 300 AD, although others point to inadequate evidence that it was grown or at least harvested in around 3,000 BC. The Aztecs also used the cacao, but from about 1100 AD.

The chocolate (drink) that we all know nowadays was called ‘xocoatl’. It was a very exclusive beverage that was made with cacao, chilies, anise seed, vanilla, corn meal and some other spices. It is said that only royalty were allowed to drink it and then only from golden chalices, which were to be used for the purpose only once.

The cacao tree is very responsive to its environment and it most frequently grows in the shade of the rain forest canopy. If just for this reason alone, chocolate lovers should join forces with the environmentalists to save the rain forests so that the cacaos will continue to exist.

This tree is unusual because its fruits grow directly on its branches and trunk; midges cause the pollination of the flowers during the night time.

The cacao tree is very prolific, but not very fruitful. It can have in the region of 10,000 blossoms, but only about 10 to 50 of those will mature into fruits or pods. This is thought to be because the cacao tree can regulate the number of blossoms that will mature according to its ability to handle the energy loss of bearing fruit or pods.

The cacao tree regulates itself in this way to preserve its health. Too many pods might exhaust its energy so much that it could not survive a viral or insect attack or too many ripe pods might snap off its branches.

The cocoa beans grow within the pod, the fruit of the blossom. Harvesters wait for the pod to ripen. They will then break open the pods and take out the seeds, which are surrounded by a white pulp. This is thrown away these days, but it is thought that many years ago it was fermented into an alcoholic drink for ceremonial occasions. The beans are the source of chocolate, although there is plenty to do yet..

The seeds are very bitter at this stage and it is for this reason that they will go through a procedure of fermentation for between three and seven days. This causes the seeds to go through chemical as well as physical changes. The result of this was used for the royal drink, the ‘xocoatl’.

However, to turn it into what we recognize as chocolate, the fermented beans have to go through quite a few more processes. Processes by the name of: drying, cleaning, roasting, grading, opening, separation, grinding and liquefying.

After liquefying, you have pure chocolate in the form of chocolate liquor. This is sold to chocolate manufacturers and the good ones make high-class chocolate from it and the bad ones adulterate it so much that it is scarcely chocolate any more.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Gourmet Chocolate Candy. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts: Ideas

A person’s scent is a unique way of expressing oneself. Some people choose the perfume they wear depending on their frame of mind, some wear one perfume during the day and another in the evening, while many people choose to wear the same perfume all the time. Others have a favourite, very expensive scent that they wear only on special occasions.

Whatever someone does, the choice is a personal one. Some people use a perfume like a personal trademark, so that whenever you smell that particular bouquet, you automatically think of that one person. My mother used a scent called ‘Wild Gorse’ made by the monks on Caldy Island in west Wales for this purpose. Very, very few other people had that scent, as you had to go to the island to obtain it.

It is almost impossible to choose perfume for someone you do not know, unless you go for a famous, expensive name like Chanel No. 5. There are few women who would turn down a bottle of that, even if it was not their favourite perfume. The more you know the person the easier it should get, in theory at least.

So, how do you know which perfumes are going to be a welcome gift? That is the $65k question. There are several ways that reduce the odds of you making a mistake. You could take a sneak look on their dressing table to see what that person wears already.

If you think far enough ahead, you could bring it up in conversation with an off-hand compliment like: ‘Oh, what a lovely scent/after shave! I like that. What is it called?’. But you have to do it weeks before you need the information.

Or you could choose a scent that brings a special memory to mind, like the scent that was worn on their wedding day, anniversary, or graduation day. Perfumes like these bring back pleasant memories and make them feel good by association. If you are not a bosom buddy of the one you want to buy for, you could seek their friends’ guidance.

If you want to give a present of perfume to someone that you want to remember you by, why not invite them out for a meal or a show and a meal and present the scent in the restaurant? Most perfumes lose their effectiveness after four or five hours, which is why many women top up every now and again with a spray from their handbags. Very few men do this.

So, if you give the perfume later on in the evening, there is less chance of it clashing with what they are already wearing, meaning that someone is more likely to dab a bit on there and then, thereby associating the bouquet in their memory with the night you took them out. Just make certain it was a good night out.

If all of the above fails, then most department stores offer scent gift sets which include the scent , a powder and body wash. These scent gift boxes are a respectable option, even if the person only wears it to go to bed or around the house.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with men’s perfume. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts: Ideas

Just like with regular off-line friendships, online relationships have to be tended and to be allowed to grow over time. Here are some quick growing hints:

1. Take Time and Make Time: Does your online date get in touch with you often? Do you do the same? Neglecting virtual meetings is considered rude, so treat each other’s time respectfully. If that respect is lacking, it could mean that it is time to move on.

2. Communication Needs to “Feel” Right For Both of You: If one of you is too pushy about having a meeting, for instance, that can create uncomfortable feelings. So, please, don’t rush things; just take your time to learn more about each other and engender trust.

3. Respect Each Other’s Privacy: Don’t share the other person’s email addresses or digital photos with your friends online, for example; especially if your online date sent you the information in confidence.

4. Share Special Online and Offline Enjoyable Times: when online: send online greeting cards; links to favourite sites to upload digital photos of your favourite pet or car; download music and video clips; post on favourite forums of interest. When offline: if you’re exchanging addresses or post office boxes, send printed greeting cards and postcards and/or small items from your area (like a key chain with your state tree).

5. Share Recipes: People get tired of talking about the weather, so a popular subject to take refuge in is food. Sharing information about favourite foods and recipes helps to break the ice and even helps form friendships over your culinary skills, or the lack thereof, and tastes. Search your favorite search engine for free recipes to share and take photos of your culinary creations and share them with your date as well.

6. Bidding at Auctions: Ebay auctions sell just about everything, don’t they? There you go then, look about and enter searches like the dates you were in middle school and share cool memorabilia of old games, toys and TV shows from when you were a child or when your parents or grandparents were little.

Online dating should be an educational and fun experience. So, go on, take the time to learn more about each other and have fun while youre doing it! Take a cyber-stroll down ol’ memory lane together and see what’s cookin’. Tend your online friendship, water it with care and over time it may sprout and grow.

Are you a senior dater or have you been out of the game for a while? If you are get some online dating advice at Old Fiddles Dating Unique version for reprint here: How To Growing Online Dating Relationships.

If you are feeling romantic and you want to be alone with your loved one in a romantic place far from humdrum distractions, why not go to Paris and take a cruise? The cruise ships are gorgeous and offer haute cuisine with fine wines and a wide range of dishes. Service on board is excellent and if they know that it is a special voyage for you, they will go out of their way to make it even more special.

Just by choosing the city of Paris as your venue, you will be conveying the idea of romance, because as everyone knows, Paris has the reputation of being the capital of the world of romance.

So, how do you go about booking one of these cruises? Well, clearly, first of all, you have to be in Paris. This is not a difficulty, if you live in Europe as there are flights and sleeper trains. If you are American, you will have to take the longer-term view and start saving for next year.

Once in your hotel in Paris, you can either ask reception for details or go to one of the many Tourist Information Centres, where everybody speaks English. The cruise line staff will pick you up from your hotel on the chosen day, so that you will not have the hassle of having to find your way through a strange, busy city alone.

Once on board, the pampering starts with your welcoming on board and a complimentary drink to ignite the fires of romance. You will enjoy four or more hours of this, depending on which cruise you decide on, but they are all wonderfully romantic voyages aboard beautiful cruise liners.

Generally speaking, the cruise will start on the left bank of the river Seine, usually in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower. Some of these boats are made of a kind of perspex, so that your view of the streets and monuments is unimpeded. And of course, all the sights are lit up at night and in quite a stunning fashion too. You will also be able to gaze downwards into the water itself.

As you cruise on this glass boat you will be entertained by some of the finest musicians that Paris can offer you. Solo instrumentalists; quartets; classical music; solo artiste singers or a duet. There are also cruises with more modern music too, but I don’t find them as romantic as the more traditional stuff. However, you can take all these particulars into account when you book your romantic cruise in Paris.

You will not only pass by famous landmarks, you will also pass very close by them and even underneath them. Famous bridges; Notre Dame; the Louvre, and many more. Not only that, but you will see all these fantastic historical monuments while being pampered by the best hosts that Paris has to offer and drinking fine wines and champagne, seated at the bow of the cruiser in luxury.

Once your romantic cruise and your meal are over, you will be taken to a lavish show on the Champs Elysees, where you will be given a half bottle of champagne on entry. There is no need to worry about driving, so let your hair down and enjoy yourselves.

When you have had enough of the high life, you will be taken back to your hotel, in the same manner that you were picked up. However, there are other options too. You may want to go back to the hotel on a romantic horse and carriage, it will sustain that romantic mood.

Once you get back to your hotel, why not both get in the bath together? Light a few scented candles, open another bottle of wine and play some soft music. It will be an evening you will both remember for the rest of your lives, I promise you.

Owen Jones writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Valentine’s Day Gift Baskets. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts Ideas Also published at Going On A Romantic Cruise In Paris.

There are lots of destinations for people interested in sailing and if you are tired of the Virgin Islands then try the rest of the Caribbean.

The Caribbean islands are part of an island chain stretching 2,500 miles. Given the enormous distance, it is no surprise that tourists spend weeks out there in order to get pleasure from the splendour that it has to offer.

Just like in the Virgin Islands, there are lots of charter firms you can try for various hobbies. These firms come in different sizes, but perhaps the best is the yacht charter.

When you charter a yacht, apart from the yacht, the other elements and benefits that come with it are meals, separate guest rooms, a galley, toilet and shower.

Since you are the paying guest aboard the boat, you can customize the menu by telling the crew before the voyage what you want to eat. You can help out by buying the provisions yourself, having someone from the crew do it for an additional fee or choose a set menu from one of their pre-composed packages.

Since most of the islands in the Caribbean are small and uninhabited, you are sure to explore places that not many have seen. But if you can’t afford to rent a chartered yacht, don’t worry because you can probably get one that will cost as little as $50 if you are able to book a pre-arranged trip with several other guests to share the cost.

One thing you ought to be prepared for during you sailing vacation is the possibility of a storm. These generally occurs during the months of June to November. If you are not sure that this is the best time, book the trip on another date.

But if you are adamant about going on your dates, there are some online tools you can use to check if the area you will be sailing in has ever been hit by a storm before.

The other option is to plan your itinerary to the Caribbean islands further south because they are less likely to be affected by a storm. These places include the islands of Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Curacao, and Turks and Caicos.

If you like the idea of going sailing around the Caribbean there are ample opportunities. You could do far worse than start in St Croix in the US Virgin Islands and travel south or west. If you start in St Croix, which the pirates of old used to call Santa Cruz, you will not need a passpert and can take your pets with you, but you will need more ID if you call into foreign islands.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with St Croix Hotels. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.

It is a fact that very many men become extremely stressed out when the time comes to go looking for a Valentine’s Day gift for their girlfriends. This is usually because they are concerned about picking an inappropriate gift. They are worried about giving a gift that will be misinterpreted for the current phase of the relationship.

If they have just started dating their girlfriend, they may worry that an expensive present may be inappropriate, but at the same time, do not want to risk giving a present that will make their girlfriend think that they are mean.

This dilemma makes getting a present for your girlfriend for St. Valentine’s Day a difficult task. I will endeavor to give a few essential pointers below to help you get started selecting a fitting present for your girlfriend for St. Valentine’s Day.

The first thing you need to do when attempting to settle on a Valentine?s Day gift for your girlfriend is to consider what phase of the relationship you are currently in. This is very important because it will dictate which type of present you can give to your girlfriend. If you and your girlfriend have been dating each other for a long time and you are fairly confident that you are both committed to each other, you can contemplate an expensive present.

However, if you have only been going out for a short time and you are not certain where the relationship is heading, you might want to consider a less expensive present. There are no two ways about it, you have to weigh up your relationship, but you must also bear in mind that she might not reason the same way as you.

You may believe that everything is going well and that the two of you are strongly committed, but she may feel as though the relationship is going nowhere. If you are having difficulties working out where you both stand, talk to your girlfriend about it. She will like that anyway and it will help to assure the two of you that you feel the same way about each other.

Flowers are the old stand-by and are an ideal gift for a man to give his girlfriend on St. Valentine’s Day, whether it is a new relationship or not. It is also such an easy gift because it is so widely associated with Valentine’s Day that it is not liable to misinterpretation. A present of a dozen red roses is considered a romantic gift but it is also familiar enough that your girlfriend is not likely to read too much into it.

However, there is a common blunder associated with roses on Valentine’s Day. For instance, your girlfriend may be upset and saddened by a gift of yellow roses because yellow roses are usually meant to be a symbol of friendship and not romantic love, so speak to the florist.

Jewelry is an apt gift to give to your girlfriend on Valentine’s Day as long as the cost and type of the present is proportionate to the current phase of your relationship. This is not so tricky, it is black and white really. Ask yourself the question: ‘Is she worth $100?’.

However, a good middle of the road, romantic gift would be a box of expensive gourmet chocolates. It shows that you care enough to have sought out such a rare gift, to have spent more than a few dollars and that you think she is sophisticated enough to appreciate them. She will love them, even if she is on a diet.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Gourmet Chocolate Gifts. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts Ideas

Almost everyone has a liking for chocolate, even if they would rather deny it. But some of us have a craze for it and if you tried gourmet chocolate, this would turn into a devotion. The feel of its texture in your mouth as it melts is very pleasing and its richness takes this enjoyment to a whole new level. Some people even say that they prefer chocolate over everything else.

Although chocolate is scrumptious, some chocolates are more enjoyable than others. A Snickers bar is full of chocolate but it is also stuffed with peanuts and caramel and the chocolate is not so great anyway. Thankfully, there are gourmet chocolates to be had to satisfy any chocolate lover’s chocolate yearning.

There are enough different cacao inspired appetizing snacks out there to satisfy almost everyone. There are types of chocolate that some people almost certainly never have thought possible. Chocolates now even come in a chocolate-wine mixture to serve as a decadent sauce to a sweet.

Examples of the flavours you can get are: chocolate espresso merlot and chocolate raspberry cabernet. Many pure chocolate and wine lovers knew that wine and chocolate went well together, but would not have thought of mixing them in a sauce. However, when they are poured over ice-cream, they are a pure delight to the taste buds.

Chocolates called truffles of all kinds are also obtainable for those with an extra sweet tooth, whether you love dark, milk or white chocolate. There are also boxes of chocolate to suit everybody’s needs. They contain a wide variety of different gourmet chocolates. Some people really like coffee filled chocolates or cherry filled chocolates.

There are selection boxes of chocolates too which offer one or two of all the kinds of gourmet chocolates that that firm has to offer. Some of the combinations you will have heard of, others you will not. A selection box like this is a relatively less expensive way of getting to know a manufacturer’s products.

If you just want an normal bar of gourmet chocolate, then those are available too from first-class suppliers. It is best to look online or in Yellow Pages. I have seen dark, milk and white chocolate bars available, but I prefer the individual bonbons, although a bar is easier to carry in your bag and it is the same high-quality chocolate, but without a filling..

These small, but delectable gourmet chocolates make perfect, romantic gifts for your paramour too. Also, if you know a chocolate lover, then they will greatly appreciate the sophisticated taste of these gourmet delights. They will know that you have spent your time and money getting them the only gift they really wanted.

Online stores that sell these delicious treats often also have gift certificates available, so if you cannot pick the perfect gourmet chocolates you can definitely let them do it for themselves with your voucher.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Romantic Gifts: Ideas. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts: Ideas