This is my first requested topic, and nothing could make me happier! Chocolate. For me, it is certainly one of the most visible signs of God’s love in the world: something this pure and joyful and wonderful can only come from an unconditionally loving divine being! Now, I know you may be thinking: how are you going to integrate the topic of chocolate into a program of faith formation and resource development?
The starting point for this answer lies in the origins of chocolate itself! The history of chocolate can be traced to the ancient Mayans, and even earlier to the ancient Olmecs of southern Mexico. The Aztecs took chocolate admiration to another level. They believed cacao was given to them by their gods. Etymologists trace the origin of the word "chocolate" to the Aztec word "xocoatl," which referred to a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans. The Latin name for the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, means "food of the gods." Food of the Gods! Right from its earliest beginnings, the connection between divinity and chocolate is well established.
So, what makes chocolate so delicious? Science.
The secret of chocolate making lies in understanding the six stages of crystallization of cocoa butter. Cocoa butter, the “fat” in chocolate, can crystallize in any one of 6 different forms (polymorphs, as they are called). Unfortunately, only one of these, the beta crystal (or Form V), hardens into the firm, shiny chocolate that we want. Form VI is also a stable hard crystal, but only small amounts of it form from the good beta (Form V) crystals upon lengthy standing. When you buy commercial chocolate, it is in the form of beta crystals.
When you melt chocolate and get it above 34°C, you melt these much-desired beta crystals and other types of crystals can set up. If you simply let melted chocolate cool, it will set up in a dull, soft, splotchy, disgusting-looking form. Even the taste is different. Fine chocolate has a snap when you break it and a totally different mouthfeel from the other cocoa butter forms.
How can we get chocolate to set up in these hard, shiny beta crystals? The process of melting and then cooling the melted chocolate so that it will form beta crystals is called tempering. Tempering is necessary only for real chocolate which contains cocoa butter, not for compound chocolate or summer coating which contains fats other than cocoa butter.
Cocoa butter can crystallize into six polymorphic forms designated as I–VI according to their stability and different physical characteristics such as gloss, hardness, and melting point. The chemical composition is identical in all forms; only the arrangement of the lipid molecules varies.
The diverse polymorphs are formed under different crystallization conditions. The thermodynamically most stable form, VI, has a dull surface and soft texture; only form V shows the hardness and glossy surface appreciated by the consumer. Gourmets only accept chocolate in its crystal form V, as it is this form that has the noble surface sheen, crisp hardness and the pleasant melting sensation in the mouth.
SO, what are the implications for ministry? This answer lies in one of the greatest writing achievements of the modern age: J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. As some of you may remember, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry and a number of students were confronted with Dementors, the epitome of despair and hopelessness, on the Hogwarts Express, Professor Lupin provides much needed presence in his ministry to young people. Let’s take a look….
"A dementor," said Lupin, who was now giving chocolate to everyone else.
"One of the dementors of Azkaban." Everyone stared at him. Professor Lupin crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket.
"Eat,” he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me...”
…Professor Lupin had come back.
He paused as he entered, looked around, and said, with a small smile,
"I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know...." Harry took a bite and to his great surprise felt warmth spread suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes.
He strolled past Harry and disappeared into the corridor.
[In the Hospital Wing later in the chapter]
"Well, he should have some chocolate, at the very least," said Madam Pomfrey, who was now trying to peer into Harry's eyes.
"I've already had some," said Harry. "Professor Lupin gave me some. He gave it to all of us."
"Did he, now?" said Madam Pomfrey approvingly. "So we've finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"
Finally, why does chocolate taste so good? It is a gift from God. And who am I to ignore the will of God, in providing chocolate to others (and myself) as part of my ministerial responsibility? So, go and enjoy that delicious block of chocolate. Jesus wants you to.