Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - A Dreamy Day at a Cacao Farm

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey friends, for the best Get Sleepy experience, be sure to check out our supporters feed Get Sleepy Premium for our free listening weekly bonus episodes and access to our entire catalogue. Now, a quick word from our sponsors who make the free version of this show possible. Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas. As I said on Monday, I've had a pretty bad cold this week, so if my voice still sounds a little bit off, that's the reason why. Thankfully, tonight's story was one I recorded a good few weeks ago, so you'll only have to listen

Starting point is 00:00:52 to me like this for the next few minutes. Tonight's story was written by Kayla. We'll be travelling to the Costa Rican rainforest for a unique and fascinating tour of a cacao farm. It's a pleasure to have your company whenever you tune in and I'm so grateful that you make get sleepy a part of your nightly routine. I hope our stories and meditations are helping you to sleep as well as possible. Listen as often ask me how they can support the show, and the very best way is by signing up to our supporters' feed, get sleepy premium. Not only does it help us keep the show on the air, but there are numerous great benefits that make it the best listening experience for you and for your good night's sleep.

Starting point is 00:01:53 For example, everything is completely out-free. You get access to our entire catalogue of over 500 episodes, and you'll receive a brand new bonus episode every single week. In fact this week we have two premium bonus episodes coming out. Tomorrow TK will be reading to us as we visit a wildlife sanctuary with a boy named Ben. Then on Friday we'll have a special long length episode stitching together our spring and summer visits to Sarah's mountain cabin. A series I know many of you loved. So to hear all that plus everything else on Get Sleepy Premium visit GetSleepy.com slash support.

Starting point is 00:02:47 You get a seven day free trial when you first sign up so you can make sure you're happy. That's GetSleepy.com slash support. Or just follow the link in the show notes. Thank you all so much. notes. Thank you all so much. Ok, it's nearly time for our story. So just make sure you're nice and comfortable. Fluffing up your pillow if needed. And adjusting your position if necessary so you can relax and rest with ease. When you found the right spot in bed, bring your attention to your breath. Feel the air moving in and out of your body, nourishing you from

Starting point is 00:03:53 head to toe. Begin expanding your awareness of the breath. Follow the air as it travels through the nose into the lungs back out into the room. Feel the sensation of the chest, back and belly, expanding with each inhale, and deflating with each exhaled. In a moment we're going to learn all about chocolate which is considered the food of the gods. the food of the gods, and we'll find out how it turns from a bean to a mouth-watering treat. As you let the sound of birds swaying leaves and the grinding of cacao beans envelop you, of Kakau beings envelop you. Continue this so steady rhythm as we travel to Costa Rica and begin our story. You stand in front of a small yellow house, surrounded by leafy plants. A narrow, cobbled path leads to the wooden door.

Starting point is 00:06:16 The warm sun shines down on you, glittering off of the flat leaves of the palm trees in the garden. glittering off of the flat leaves of the palm trees in the garden. The air is thick with the scent of fruit, plants and flowers. You let your feet sink into the soft grass as you take in the orange and pink flowers, and inhale the floral and citrus fragrances. A smiling woman emerges from the yellow house. She wears flip flops, shorts and a long buttoned shirt. The woman introduces herself to you as Flory and explains that she'll be leading the cacao tour this afternoon. She waves you into the house and you slip off your sandals. Inside you notice the small bowls laid out on the square wooden table in the center of

Starting point is 00:07:38 the room. They are filled with cacao beans and powder and squares of chocolate. The walls are lined with shelves of chocolate and herbal tea. And there's a small kitchen with a stove, which Flory tells you you'll be using later to roast cacao beans. Behind the table is a small glass-panelled room with a stainless steel table and a large melting pot. You both sit down at the wooden table in the main room. Flurry explains how her family has been farming Kakao here for three generations. Kakao is an important and revered fruit to the indigenous people in this area.

Starting point is 00:08:47 Historically, they even used the beans as currency, and people would participate in cacao ceremonies. Many still do. First, Florey passes you the bowl of cacao beans and you pick one up. It feels smooth in your hand and smells earthy. You take a bite and let the bitter, yet satisfying taste fill your mouth. Next, you pick up a few of the ground nibs and run them between your fingers. You put them into your mouth and fill their graininess on your tongue.

Starting point is 00:09:50 and fill their grain melt on your tongue. The rich and sweet flavour rushes from the tip of your tongue, fills your cheeks and runs down the back of your throat. It's delicious. The pleasant taste of the chocolate and the excitement for learning how to make it fill you with a giddy energy. Flory tells you part of that chocolate can give you as much energy as coffee, except without the jitteryness. The energy from chocolate is both strong and calming, she says.

Starting point is 00:10:57 Soon, you'll learn more about the health benefits of the plant. Standing from the table, flurry guides you outside to begin a tour of the grounds. You side your feet back into your shoes and re-emerge into the warm air. Shades of green are dotted with yellow, orange and pink plants. As you walk down a gentle slope next to the house, it seems like every inch of ground is covered by something edible. Flory pulls up a green plant to reveal a bulbous root. It looks almost like ginger, but when she cuts it open, it's bright orange.

Starting point is 00:12:11 You take it from her and feel the rough skin on your palm. Rolling the root between your fingers, you bring it to your nose and inhale the spicy scent of turmeric. When you hand it back, you notice some to a papaya tree. You fill the ground cushioning your feet as you walk. The light brown trunk leads up to fluttering leaves, which are long and thin. The cluster of oval-green papayas hugs the tree just under the canopy, like an extended umbrella. As you follow Flory across the garden. You spot a wide lemon tree, a passion fruit tree with plush fruit, and a cluster of spiky aloe plants. You take a dirt path up a gentle slope. Here there's a group of short trees with what looks like giant lemons and limes growing on them.

Starting point is 00:13:54 Flurry explains that this is the cacao tree and the oval yellow and green fruits are the cacao pots. She pulls one of the yellow pots off the tree and hands it to you. It feels heavy and the skin is waxy and bumpy. taxi and bumpy. Together you collect a few more of the pods and carry them along the shaded dirt path back to the yellow house. Inside the room is cool as the fan spins overhead. Now, it's time to start making the chocolate. Florey places the yellow and green pots on the counter and slices them open to reveal fleshy white fruit.

Starting point is 00:15:10 She instructs you to taste one of the beans but not to bite into it. You place the white fruit in your mouth and feel it melting on your tongue. As you gently suck the sweet flesh off, you're careful not to break the bean underneath. The taste and texture remind you of a light-chef fruit. texture, reminds you of a light-chef root. When you remove the seed from your mouth, you are holding a cacao bean. You try a nibble of the raw bean, but it's soft and bitter. It's nothing like the chocolate you are soon to make. You take one from a yellow pod this time and notice the fruit tastes a little bit sweeter. The yellow colour means the pot is riper. Flory tells you that these beans with the white flesh on them are left to ferment outside

Starting point is 00:16:37 in the sun for a week. The beans absorb some of the sweetness of the fruit, which is what gives chocolate its flavour. Next, Flory brings out some cacao beans that have already been fermented, so you can continue the chocolate making process. She turns the switch to light up the gas stove and places a large frying pan on top. You pour the beans into the pan and begin dry roasting them. A rumours of chocolate float from the pan as the beans cook. You stir them round in the pan, listening to them gently clanging against the metal.

Starting point is 00:17:47 After a few minutes, you take the beans off the heat and pour them onto a plate. You pick one up, feeling its warmth in your hands, and take a bite. The shell crunches between your teeth and a warm cocoa taste fills your mouth. You slowly finish the bean, enjoying the contrast between this one and the bitter raw bean you tried earlier. Once you've finished taste testing, you roast another batch and pour them into a bigger bowl. Then, you and Florey walk past the glass room containing the melting pot and out the back door of the house onto the deck. Before you are two grinders ready for your roasted beans, on the grass on the other side of the deck is a long table covered with trays. You go over to look and see that the trays are are lined with flat banana leaves.

Starting point is 00:19:26 Cacao beans lie on the leaves, fermenting. Back on the deck, you pour the beans into the grinder. Spinning the metal handle around and around. The machine grinds the beans into smaller pieces called cacao nibs. You watch these uneven chunks fall into the tray on the other side of the machine. Grinding the beans releases the smell of chocolate, bringing back memories of enjoying chocolatey snacks as a child. Picking up a handful of nips, you take a deep inhale and then let them fall through your fingers.

Starting point is 00:20:35 You pour the rest of the beans into the grinder and keep churning the wheel, enjoying the beautiful background of plants and trees as you work. When all the beans are ground, Floury shows you how to sift the nibs through your fingers. The light shells fly away with the wind and the heavier ground cacao falls to the tray. You try it a few times, feeling the grounds falling through your fingers and watching the shells float away and flutter to the ground. The earth around the grinding station is covered in cacao shells, filling the air with chocolatey aromas. You hear the gentle hooting of birds nearby and feel the light breeze on your face. Everything about the afternoon feels utterly delightful and you haven't even tried the chocolate yet. A bright scarlet macaque flies into the branches of a papaya tree in front of you.

Starting point is 00:22:17 Watching it perch on the branch, you admire its wonderful colours and take a moment to listen to its song. Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. All of the fruit you've eaten and all the animals you've seen and heard, show you how beautiful this country is. After the nips are sifted, and the shells have floated away, you pour the tray of nips through the second grinder. This one will grind the beans even finer. Round and round you spin the lever, watching the nips being ground to a powder.

Starting point is 00:23:23 The scent of cocoa gets stronger with each turn. You're reminded of the warming sips of hot cocoa during cold winter months. The breeze gently brushes against your skin as you work. An iguana lumbas through the yard, oblivious to the delicious work in progress. When all the nibs are ground, flurry brings you a glass of water. You take a sip of the cool drink and wipe the sweat off your brow. Making chocolate is tough, yet satisfying work. As you rest for a moment, you breathe in and notice how the chocolate aroma mingles with the floral sense of the garden. The mixture is utterly delightful.

Starting point is 00:24:52 to lead delightful. After finishing your water, you carry the tray back inside and enter the chocolate making chamber. It's a small room and the most modern looking in the house. The temperature is cool and the glass windows all around let you look both outside to the garden and inside to the kitchen where you'll soon be getting to taste your hard and treat. On the stainless steel counter is an open-topped metal blender. You pour the chocolate powder inside and florey turns it on. The grinds spin round and round, becoming finer and finer still. First, any remaining nips turn into a powder until it looks like the kind of stuff you could use to make hot chocolate. But then, to your surprise, the powder starts turning into liquid. Flourie explains that the heat from blending lets the cacao butter in the beans come out. It turns the grinds into liquid chocolate. You watch the process mesmerized until the bowl is full of smooth chocolate. Floury hands you a wooden stick so you can taste test your creation.

Starting point is 00:26:56 The mixture is thick and gooey and the chocolate stays on your stick when you lift it out of the bowl. The blended cacao tastes rich and creamy. You can hardly believe no milk or sugar has yet been added to it. While you continue to taste test, Flory leaves the room and comes back carrying jars of colourful dried fruits. One holds spiky green guanabana peels. Another contains the dried seeds of a passion fruit. A third jar holds the white flesh and red skin of a dragon fruit. And the last contains dried maranjon. They're the tiny reddish orange fruits of the cashew tree, and they are loaded with

Starting point is 00:28:14 vitamin C. You take a moment to consider each flavor before you decide which one you'd like to put into your chocolate. Taking in the bright colors, you pop open the lids and smell the different fruits, sweet, citrusy and a little sour. When you choose the passion fruit, florey grinds the dried seeds into a powder. You pour the liquid chocolate straight onto the counter and watch as it expands from a drop to a bigger and bigger circle. Somehow it stays perfectly round as you continue pouring the rest of the chocolate out.

Starting point is 00:29:25 Floury sprinkles the passion fruit on top. The sweet smell of the fruit, mixing with the strong cocoa and you mix in the fruit with the chocolate. It feels soft and creamy as you stir it around. Once it's fully blended, you pour it into a heart-shaped ice cube tray. Flory puts the chocolate in the freezer. You lick the spatula, sampling the blended fruit and chocolate. The passion fruit, a little sweet and a little sour, mixes perfectly with the creamy and slightly bitter cacao.

Starting point is 00:30:36 You bring the mixing bowl out to the main room and sit down at the wooden table. Flurry joins you, and together you use sticks to scrape the sides of the bowl, eating all the delicious chocolate that was left behind. You are amazed that the unique yet scrumptuous flavor of the cacao beans at every step of the process. You can really see why it was to let any of the chocolate in the bowl go to waste. Flory Grins as she shares the snack with you and tells you about some of the health benefits of eating raw chocolate.

Starting point is 00:31:49 It can give you energy and relieve stress. Some people even experience cardiovascular benefits from eating this rich treat. remitting this rich treat. Flory also tells you that many of the plants she grows at the cacao farm are medicinal. They can aid in digestion, boost your immune system and improve mental wellbeing. With the grin on your face from all the raw chocolate you've eaten, the benefits aren't hard to believe. You continue chatting as you wait for the chocolate to harden, and you become more aware of your surroundings, noticing how the wooden house seems to creak and whisper. In just a few short minutes, your chocolate is ready.

Starting point is 00:33:05 Flurry pops the heart-shaped cubes out of the ice tray and onto a plate. The chocolate feels cool and firm in your hand when you pick it up. But as it starts to melt on your fingers, you place it into your mouth. You let the chocolate sit on your tongue and slowly melt. It tastes even better in solid form. When you mention this to Flory, she tells you that mixing the liquid chocolate with milk makes for a wonderful hot cocoa. Taking slow bites, the flavour of the treat explodes in your mouth. The chocolate is slightly better, but also creamy, and the passion fruit adds the perfect amount of sweetness. It tastes even more delightful knowing that everything you needed to make this wonderful treat was grown right here. And being responsible for the creation of the chocolate yourself makes it all the more satisfying.

Starting point is 00:34:53 While you eat, Flory puts on a pot of herbal tea. She tells you it's made from Gwanabana fruit grown on the property and is a powerful antioxidant. Before modern medicine, people used it to treat many illnesses, and it's still eaten or drunk today. The tea is smooth and bitter sweet, the subtle flavour perfectly complementing the cacao. As you sip on the tea and finish the chocolate. You laugh and share stories with your knowledgeable guide. She tells you about growing up in the rainforests of Costa Rica and how she learned to make chocolate. You tell her stories of your life and about some of your favourite treats from back home. Outside the sun is starting to set. When you take the last bite of chocolate on the plate, your mouth immediately tans into

Starting point is 00:36:28 a smile at the soothing taste. You take your time eating it, letting it melt slightly on your tongue, before slowly chewing. The taste spreads from the tip of your tongue through your tea outside. The mug warms your hands as you step back into the soundscape of Costa Rica. Halemunkeys laugh somewhere in the distance, jumping from tree to tree. And brightly coloured birds sing to you as the sun glitters on the leaves, each with their own shape. The warmth of the tea spreads through your body, making you feel fully relaxed and at ease in this magical place. The setting sun paints everything in a rosy glow.

Starting point is 00:38:13 The turmeric plants and the papaya and lemon trees. You feel so grateful for being able to experience this place, and you're especially grateful for having tasted the chocolate. Letting everything wash over you, you begin to feel even more relaxed, like you're ready to crawl into bed and fall asleep in the midst of the Costa Rican rainforest. you ... ... ... ... you ... ... ... ... ... I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room.

Starting point is 00:43:16 I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room.

Starting point is 00:43:32 I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. ... I'm going to do a little bit of the work. I'm going to do a little bit of the work.

Starting point is 00:44:12 I'm going to do a little bit of the work. I'm going to do a little bit of the work. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ... ... ... ... you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - A Dreamy Day at a Cacao Farm

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