How Much Caffeine is in Chocolate?

Chocolate or coffee, which has more caffeine?

Chocolate contains hundreds of chemical compounds including polyphenols, powerful antioxidants thought to stave off cancer and heart disease, as well as psychoactive compounds such as theobromine, theophylline,  and caffeine.  Theobromine and theophyliline are mild stimulants that are also partly responsible for that familiar and welcome chocolate buzz.  We all know caffeine as the stimulant found in coffee that brings us clarity and energy in the morning, but how much caffeine is in chocolate compared to drinks like coffee, tea or cola?

Let’s cut to the chase right now – chocolate doesn’t contain much caffeine.  Of course, the actual amount of caffeine you get depends upon factors such as the percent cacao (cocoa), where the beans were grown, how they were processed after harvest and how much you consume as a “typical” serving.  What’s a typical serving of chocolate? That’s up to you, but for high quality dark chocolate, you need much less to feel satisfied, so I’d say 20 grams at most which is a little less than half a small bar or 1/4 of a large one.  With that in mind, here are a few facts about caffeine in chocolate:

CHOCOLATE	CAFFEINE PER SERVING	SERVING SIZE
Milk Chocolate (junk)	4 mg	20 g
Milk Chocolate 45% Cacao	16 mg	20 g
Dark Chocolate 60% Cacao	24 mg	20 g
Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao	28 mg	20 g
Hot Chocolate (typical)	9 mg	8 oz.
Hot Chocolate – Rich	24 mg	8 oz. (made with 15g of 80% cocoa)

Unless you are monitoring your daily caffeine intake for medical reasons, there is no reason to get too caught up in the numbers.  The numbers don’t say much unless you compare them to something familiar, so here are some facts for common beverages:

BEVERAGE	CAFFEINE PER SERVING	SERVING SIZE
Brewed Coffee	140 mg	8 oz.
Single Shot Espresso	63 mg	1 oz.
Decaf Coffee	9 mg	8 oz.
Black Tea	65 mg	6 oz.
Green Tea	28mg	6 oz.
Coke Classic	35 mg	12 oz.
Red Bull	78 mg	250 mL

You may be surprised to see that a shot of espresso has less caffeine than a cup of brewed coffee despite its reputation as a sort of rocket fuel for the weary.  Actually, because the water is in contact with the espresso beans for only a short time, it does not fully extract the caffeine, but pulls out all the best coffee flavors and aromas into your cup.  So where does chocolate stand next to that little cup of espresso?  To get as much caffeine as a single shot of espresso, you would need to eat about three servings of 60% dark chocolate or 4 servings of quality milk chocolate.  On the other hand, to match the caffeine kick of a cup of coffee, you’d need to down 2 entire dark chocolate bars, 3 milk chocolate bars or 6 cups of hot cocoa.

Most people shouldn’t worry one bit about the small about of caffeine in chocolate.  If you’re worried that eating chocolate at night is going to keep you awake, don’t.  Don’t worry, that is.  Like most other good things in life, chocolate is best enjoyed in moderation and moderate amounts of chocolate are not going to affect most people.  But don’t come away from this thinking that milk chocolate is the best choice since it has less caffeine!  Eat milk chocolate if that’s what you like most, but generally speaking, dark chocolate will have more of all the healthy compounds that we seek from plant-based super foods like blueberries and grape juice, not to mention, more satisfying chocolate flavor.  So, rest well knowing you are choosing a healthy artisan food.

References and Notes:

[1] The data are averages from multiple sources.

[2] Goldberger BA, Lessig MC, McCusker RR, Cone EJ, Gold MS. Evaluation of Current Caffeine Content of Coffee Beverages: Recommendations for Clinicians Regarding Caffeine Exposure. Society of Biological Psychiatry’s Annual Convention and Scientific Program 2003. San Francisco, California.

[3] Mayo Clinic - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211

[4] Wikipedia on Caffeine

[5] Center for Science in the Public Interest

[6] Amano Chocolate Blog

Summer Drinking Chocolate Recipe: The Mega Omega-3 “Raw” Chocolate Shake

Health Benefits of Flaxseed and Cacao

Blueberries, cocoa nibs and flaxseed combine forces to make this Mega Omega-3 Chocolate Shake

There has been an overwhelming amount of information published on the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, such as those in flaxseed – everything from cancer prevention to improved cardiovascular health and improved vision.  On the other hand, the health benefits of “Raw” chocolate (that which is minimally-processed and kept at low temperatures), are less well publicized, but no less important.  Cacao (the plant from which chocolate is made) is loaded with antioxidants, and cacao nibs – the roasted and cracked “beans” from the cacao pod – contain more than ten times the antioxidant content of blueberries [1].  Cocoa nibs (A.K.A. cacao nibs) are roasted as an essential step in developing the flavor of chocolate, but since all the downstream steps to make chocolate are skipped, nibs can be considered a minimally-processed food.  Put these two antioxidant superpowers together and you’ve got a satisfying and healthy treat.

The flaxseeds also act as a kind of binder and thickener so that you can create a thick shake that will keep all those beautiful cocoa nibs suspended.

Now, flaxseeds are shelf stable in whole form, but due to their oil content, will eventually go rancid after they are ground open.  So I recommend that you only grind as much as you need for a week or so and then keep what you don’t use in a tightly-closed container in the refrigerator.  The cacao nibs should be finely ground just before use in order to release the  natural fruity flavor and aroma of cacao.

The Mega Omega-3 “Raw” Chocolate Shake

What you’ll need:

• 2 Tablespoons organic flaxseed (unroasted). Roasted seeds can be used instead to give a more nutty taste, but I prefer the lighter, more natural flavor of the unroasted seeds.
• 3 Tablespoons finely ground cacao nibs.
• 1 cup organic low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 1 ½ cups frozen organic blueberries (if you use fresh blueberries, then add an extra ½ cup of ice).
• 1 cup organic soy milk (you may substitute regular low fat milk or almond milk)
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 2 tablespoons honey
• A blender

Preparation

Grind the flaxseed in a coffee mill for about 10 seconds.  Press your finger into the seeds after grinding – you should not feel any hard shells. Grind the cacao nibs in a coffee grinder for 15 – 20 seconds.  Some people claim success grinding nibs in the blender before any other wet ingredients are added, but my opinion is that this is not good for your blender.  Add everything to the blender and blend until the blueberries are no longer whole.

Kai likes it!

Serving

Fill tall glasses and float some nibs (virgin, not finely ground) and a few blueberries on top.  Enjoy and ask yourself: “do I feel healthy yet?”

Variations

•  Use 8 pitted dates instead of the blueberries.  They complement the chocolate well with an understated sweetness.
•  Use frozen pitted dark cherries instead of blueberries. They taste just as yummy (but can be difficult to find organic).
•  Vegan version: leave out the yogurt and replace it with ½ cup coconut milk.  For this version, use blueberries; not dates.

Want more summertime drinking chocolate recipes?  Take the short chocolate survey (6 questions) and I’ll email you a 10-page recipe booklet: “Cool Cacao, Our Guide to Summertime Chocolate Drinks“

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Notes:

[1] The reported antioxidant capacity of foods varies by the method used for chemical analysis, so you may see different results reported here and there.  What’s clear is the antioxidant content of cacao nibs is among the highest of any food on an equivalent weight basis.  I will try to research the specifics for a future post, but I think you guys are more interested in other things for now.

[2] Kai likes everything.

[3] I paid for all the materials used to make this recipe.

Book Review: Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat

Soon after writing one of my more popular posts, A Mind Full of Chocolate, which introduces the concept of mindful eating, I came across a new and very important book that applies mindfulness and other progressive methods to the issue of weight management.   Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent- Repeat Cycle by Michelle May, M.D. is a fresh look at an old problem.

Best Health Book of the year by National Book Awards

As an evangelist for fine chocolate and a Certified Fitness Nutritionist, I have a sort-of moral obligation to provide people some tools to eat reasonably, right? The way I look at it, maintaining a healthy relationship with food, including chocolate, is what enables you to enjoy good food for the rest of your life without worry. There’s no need to pretend you don’t love food or to distance yourself from food – that would be unnatural.   Maintaining a healthy balance is what’s important and that’s why it’s so refreshing to find a book that helps people achieve that balance in a natural, but not necessarily effortless way.

It would be unfair to call this a diet book since it really does usher in a new way of thinking about eating – a more holistic approach.  But let’s recall the diet books of the past.  There was the obvious low-carb craze in which, if I could exaggerate a bit, you starve yourself almost completely of carbs in the first phase until your body switches into a new biochemical state so that you start to smell and feel strange and then you add a few carbs back in the second phase until you feel somewhat normal again.  You get to eat loads of meat and fat.  Don’t worry, it’s complicated and unintuitive, but it works.  Right.  Or how about, let’s eat grape fruit for 2 weeks or…peaches, or whatever until you are entirely fed up with that food and don’t feel like eating much.  All such approaches are a form of calorie restriction – creating a rigid set of rules around what you can and can’t eat so in the end, you simply eat less.  Less, that is, until you can’t take it anymore and go back to whatever you were doing before you started the diet.  And that was working, right?

Contrast that to Dr. May’s approach:  you learn to become more aware of your body and your emotions – gaining insight to why you eat and how you feel during each part of the eating cycle.  You ask yourself the simple question: “am I hungry” and based upon this, make conscious decisions about what to do next while fully awake.  By awake, I mean mindful of your feelings and the physical state of your body (physical feelings of hunger or fatigue, for instance).  She also explains how to put mindful eating to work so you enjoy food more and feel more satisfied with each meal.  This all might sound a little touch-feely, but Dr. May brings it all down to earth with practical, tangible methods.  She outlines many common scenarios and offers strategies for dealing with each one. For instance, how do you deal with the sugar craving that might come with the afternoon slump or how do you recognize and respond to certain emotional triggers.

There’s also a rating scale to help you conceptualize the stages of hunger from 1 to 10.  It seems to me that this and other skills outlined in the book are easy enough to learn and apply so they can become habit and a seamless part of one’s life.  No complex rules, just concepts and skills that allow you to be in charge of your eating.  However, there is plenty of factual nutritional information including guidance on balancing certain types of nutrients, but it’s all kept pretty light rather than textbook-like.  I think if you are going to eat mindfully and intelligently, you need a basic dose of nutritional knowledge to back you up.  The book equips you with what you need to know so you maintain a healthy balance.

But lack of rules doesn’t mean lack of guidance.  There are plenty of specifics in this book, it’s just up to you to decide what applies to you and what to use in each situation.  Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat helps you through many common scenarios such as how to resolve emotional eating, how to stop using exercise as a punishment (“if I eat this, I will need to do an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill”) and, of course, how to make nutritionally sound choices.

I sometimes wonder if some people are afraid they might finally find the solution that actually works.  What if you ask the question “am I hungry” and don’t like the answer?  In an unexpected twist,  Dr. May says it’s still all up to you what you do.  Even if you are not truly hungry, you might still decide to eat.  As long as you are aware of what you are doing an why, it’s OK.  It’s better than mindless, impulsive eating.  It’s just part of the path of being more aware of the reasons for eating and what it’s doing for you. The assumption is that eventually you will make healthier choices more often because you are more aware of what you are eating and why.  Even better, you can still have an affectionate, but healthy relationship with food.

Trying hard find something wrong with this book, I dove deep into the later chapters where there are series of recipes, expecting to find bland or dumbed-down concoctions.   What I found instead was that the recipes were created with the help Dr. May’s husband, a professional spa chef.  After I got beyond my fixation with the chocolate chip cloud cookies and bittersweet chocolate souffles, I found some tasty, but straightforward recipes:  roasted roots, southwestern stew and olive tapenade.  The recipes strike a good balance between easy preparation and excitement.

In short, it’s all about you – not about some one-size fits all set of rules – it’s about how you feel, your reasons for eating, your situation, your relationship with food.  In the end, I think this is the start of a paradigm shift where we will see more approaches like this that integrate a holistic and flexible approach including mindfulness.  Readers would be well served to read this book and ride the front of that wave.

Disclosures:  I was given an Advanced Reviewers Copy of this book for free.  I am not compensated in any way if you buy the book or click on any of the links in this post.

The World’s 10 Most Famous or Infamous Acquired Tastes

They say that when two people fall for each other too fast and have a real intense, passionate relationship at the very start, the couple will, more often than not, break up.  This sort of relationship is just a flash in the pan.  On the other hand, relationships that start off slower – with some caution or uncertainty, are the ones that last.  I don’t know if this is true, but I know that some of my favorite foods didn’t start as love at first sight.

Some foods just don’t taste great the first time you try them, but slowly grow on you over time.  Why is this?  Could it be that the mind needs to be conditioned to them as being normal and safe?  Do we get bored with familiar flavors after years of the same food and seek tastes that are out on the fringe?  In college and graduate school I ate Frosted Mini Wheats for breakfast almost every day and spaghetti with meat sauce made from frozen balls of hamburger I kept in the freezer.   I’ve long departed this comfort food zone to become known among my friends and family as an adventurous eater having ingested such joys as fish eyes, ba-sashi (raw horse-meat sashimi) and uni.  Yet I wouldn’t consider most of these to be an acquired taste; there’s a distinction. (For the record, I don’t really like fish eyes or  ba-sashi, but I’m glad I tried them).

What is it that makes us reject a taste?  One theory has it that bitter tastes are a survival mechanism that prevent us from eating  poison.  Fortunately most poisons taste bitter or vial so your reflex is to spit it out.  Herbivores evolved with a fairly tolerant pallet – less sensitive to bitter tastes – but with big livers.  Think about a deer grazing on any leaf or seed she finds without worry because her liver will deal with the occasional poison.  By contrast, carnivores, have smaller livers and a keener sense of taste.  We humans are picky eaters! Or at least early humans were.

So here’s my unscientific theory:  modern humans, being the rational thinkers that they are, subconsciously realize that they didn’t die from the brussel-sprouts poison the first time, so if they are hungry enough, they try it again.  ”Wait, the brussel sprouts didn’t kill me the second time either despite their vial sulphurous odor, maybe I can learn to like these smelly yellow-green balls.”  Not me, but brussel sprouts makes it on my list of the World’s Most Famous and Infamous Aquired Tastes:

10  - Brussel sprouts - In defense of these infamous vegetables, they are a very healthy choice with 1/3 of  calories coming from protein, they are loaded with vitamin A and calcium and they may help fight cancer with the phytochemical, indole, not to mention good old antioxidant vitamin C.  So, if you haven’t tried them, you’d be smart to give these mini-cabbages a whirl on your fork.   The verdict:  they’re not for me but everyone should try them twice!

9 – Sushi -  There are many people that just won’t do  sushi – whether it’s the concept or the taste, I don’t know, but these folk will probably only go so far.  I believe sushi may be an acquired taste in that if you are willing to eat some of it, you eventually branch out into more and more adventurous variations like Ikura and Uni (sea urchin).  But it’s not an acquired taste in the sense that we are reacting to bitter tastes.  Rather, it’s more of a psychological thing for westerners – simply the idea of eating raw fish.  If we were introduced to the concept at a young age and not told that it was something strange, there would be no problem.  Take as proof my son, Kenji.  At age 2, we gave him ikura – glistening orange-pink spheres of salmon roe that pop in your mouth releasing a glorious burst of salty-fishy liquid.  Here he is happily eating an (obviously) home-made ikura nori roll.  In terms of health, I would say sushi is at least neutral, but I have haven’t studied it much.  In general, fish is a healthy food, but avoid eating too much of the big predatory fish such as tuna since mercury tends to concentrate  at the top of the food chain.  Keep everything in moderation and life is good.  The verdict:  I’m on the fence as to whether sushi is an acquired taste at all or just a cultural pre-disposition that you need to work around.  Sushi is a wonderful break from the day-to-day monotony of beef and spaghetti, so yes, let’s eat more.

8 – Natto – Let’s stay with Japan for one more.  Even the Japanese are split on about natto.  If you were speaking  Japanese English, you might say “the flavor and texture are, well… a little bit difficult.”  Natto is simply soy beans fermented along with a specific bacterium. The process results in smelly mixture of beans and paste. When you draw it up to your mouth, long strings form between your chopsticks and your dish.  It’s usually eaten for breakfast over rice.  I spoke to an older Japanese gentleman who told me that when he was a boy, a “natto man” came through the neighborhood early every morning  with a wood box of natto on a on a bike.  He’d yell out through the neighborhood “Natto! Natto!” and this became the boy’s alarm clock.  Of all the Japanese people I’ve polled on natto, about 30% like it and 70% don’t, but then there are the health benefits.  There are unique compounds in natto that are thought to reduce blood clotting and aid in the prevention of Alzheimer’s.  I think as more Japanese people age, they will come to acquire a taste for natto.  The verdict:  I hated it at first, but now when in Japan, I eat it for breakfast over rice and love it mixed with some maguro sashimi.  Since it’s perfectly polite to bring the rice bowl up to your face in Japan, you can use this trick to get around the long strings.  Try it.  It’s good for you.

7 – Blue Cheese –  Some people are turned off by classic favorites such as Stilton, Gorgonzola and Danish Blue cheese due to their strong flavors and aromas.  But there’s nothing like some Stilton on a cracker with a glass of deep garnet, full-bodied red wine – a Cabernet or Shiraz, perhaps.  If you are ever in Paris, try the Roquefort salad at a small place called Le Petit Chatelet right next to Shakespere and Company and across the street from Notre Dame.  You can sit at small outdoor tables almost on the sidewalk and watch the people pass by as you enjoy this delightful, simple dish.  OK, but how about the health benefits?  Cheese is rich in calcium and calcium from food is more effectively absorbed than calcium from a supplement.  So take your calcium as food rather than a pill.  Sure, there are non-dairy ways to get calcium from food such as kale, broccoli, almonds, sardines and tofu, but cheese is fun.  Too much fat is not the best thing, so enjoy this delicacy in moderation (there’s some debate recently about whether fat is the villain that it’s made out to be – a complicated topic that we don’t have time to deal with here yet, but let’s just say you need a little of everything in your diet, so don’t leave out the fats altogether).  The verdict:  blue cheese in moderation probably won’t change your lifespan one way or another, but if you learn to like it, just think what a wonderful life it will be.

6 – Red Wine – I meet many people, mostly women, who drink only white.  It’s true that red wine is chemically more complex than white and may trigger allergies and headaches in some sensitive people (if this is you, don’t despair – there are nine other things to taste on this list)!  One thing that distinguishes a truly acquired taste vs. something you simply discover you enjoy, is the work you need to do to discern differences and subtleties.  Enjoying wine is about comparing and appreciating the differences in body, color, nose (aroma), fruitiness, tannins, approach (early tastes), finish (what you experience after you swallow), etc.  There are endless possibilities; that’s what makes wine fascinating.  I’m convinced that some people are turned off by red wine because they were served wine as a cocktail when that particular wine really needed to be paired with food.  Drinking some full-bodied reds by themselves can feel like being assaulted by tannins and astringency.  Wine-food pairing can completely change the experience.  Next time, try drinking with someone who understands wine-food pairing or visit a restaurant with an experienced staff that can advise you.  There’s plenty of information on the web on wine-food combinations, although that might take a little experimentation on your part.  If you think of wine as food rather than a cocktail, it will greatly enhance your enjoyment besides leading to a healthier habits.  If you drink wine only as part of a meal, you’re more likely to be moderate about your drinking and the alcohol will be absorbed more slowly so you’ll be more likely to remember the flavor the next day, week, month….  The verdict:  I can’t with good conscience recommend any form of alcohol to everyone.  If you already drink, then the health benefits of red wine in moderation have been well publicized.  The usual recommendation from the FDA is up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.  Consider that each individual is different, so the “right” level might be less for you.  In the end, wine can add an extra dimension to meals leading to infinite combinations with food.

5 – Scotch – In Edinburgh  Scotland, you can tour the Scotch Whiskey Heritage Museum right in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle.  Here you learn all about the process and history of Scotch while riding in little oak-barrel train cars.  When I took the tour ten years ago, I honestly felt a little silly as an adult sitting in what feels like a kid’s amusement park ride, but I was rewarded at the end with a guided Scotch tasting.  This was probably the first time I had tasted decent Scotch. Predictably, it was all lost on me.  Although I’m still not a Scotch drinker, I have learned to like it, especially once I heard it does pair well with chocolate.  So last night I decided to tested this out with some Aberlour Single Highland Malt (aged 10 years) paired with Vintage Plantations 75% Dark (I know I said I’m not a Scotch drinker, but we bought this bottle for our great uncle Ray to enjoy when he visits and since he lives 2000 miles away, it’s been sitting half-empty on the shelf for six years).  What I found was the the chocolate didn’t enhance the Scotch as much as the Scotch enhanced the chocolate.  Against the backdrop of the super-dry, grainy Scotch, the chocolate seemed more sweet (despite the 75% cacao content) and some of the fruit notes and fruit acidity sang out louder.  It also seemed that the Scotch had a pallet-cleansing effect so that each new bite of chocolate seemed more fresh similar to how eating crackers or bread allows you to taste different wines without getting your tongue too confused.  The verdict:  again, I can’t recommend alcohol to those who don’t already drink it. If you drink Scotch, try it with chocolate.

4 - Grappa – I have to commend the Italians for being frugal.  I’ve always wondered if grappa was invented like this:  some wine maker got tired of throwing away all of the skins, seeds, twigs and other fibrous matter left after pressing the grapes and said: “hey, how about we distill these dregs and make a sort of brandy at about 75-120  proof.  We can put the clear liquid into fancy tall bottles and charge a lot of money.”  Huh? Have you ever tasted this stuff?  I can be rough.  Wait, remember that acquired tastes are about finding the nuances and comparing the differences among food and libations.  In the case of grappa, one can, in theory, discern the variations in grape variety and  flavor though all that alcohol and heat.  There was a grappa craze sometime around 1995 and I tried repeatedly to like this drink since it was a cousin of wine.  No luck.  Some of you out there may love this grappa – let’s call it a cult following, but I’ve decided to pass.  The verdict – if you are not already a grappa lover, I see no reason to start.

3 – Coffee – one clear test of an acquired taste is to ask the question, would most children like this food or drink?  If the answer is no, you’re probably faced with an acquired taste.  I once offered a 12 year old some chocolate-covered espresso beans (upon her urging).  She immediately spit it out onto her plate as her face went into contortions.   Case closed.  Yet, coffee is obviously wildly popular among adults and people go to great lengths to satisfy their personal preferences.  Those nuances of flavor again.   A quintessential acquired taste.  The Verdict:    Coffee is in the top 3 for a reason.  I can’t argue against it’s ubiquity around the world.  Just don’t over-do it with the caffeine.

Lindt Excellence 90% Cocoa

2 – Dark Chocolate – You knew this would show up somewhere on the list, right? But why should it be an acquired taste?  Like with red wine, I still fine many people who stay in the comfort of the milk-chocolate arena.  If this is you, consider starting out small – try some 50%  or 60% dark and see if there is something you like there.  The health benefits of dark chocolate have been much publicized in the last few years including the discovery that dark chocolate is high in disease-fighting antioxidants.  If you eat chocolate with a high cacao content (say over 70%), you will get more of the desirable favinoids and less sugar.  I decided to practice what I preach and push my own limits by trying some Lindt Excellence 90% Cocoa Supreme Dark.  Ninety percent!  Check out the deep dark color in the photo.  It’s intense but smooth.   Almost no sweetness to be found really, just some creaminess from the cocoa butter and hint of vanilla (contains vanilla beans).  I’ve had Lindt’s 99% bar too.  In my opinion, this last one is best used as a topping on ice cream or other treats.   Update:  Theo Chocolate has a great 91% cacao bar that’s organic and single-origin Costa Rica.  Surely this will be the target of a future tasting and post.   The Verdict:  slowly eat your way up the % cacao scale and you will find fantastic full favors and experience a greater diversity of chocolate styles.

1 – You tell me – what’s your #1 acquired taste?

Remember that aquiring a taste is not pretending that you like something because it’s trendy or your friends enjoy it. It’s about searching for diversity of flavors that you eventually find rewarding.  Try something new and most of all, enjoy the search.

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Disclosures:  I paid for this chocolate myself.

A Mind Full of Chocolate

After a week of doing business in Europe along with two American colleagues, we settled in for the weekend in the Alsatian city of Strasbourg, France.

My eyes jumped between her face and her plate as she performed some mysterious slow acrobatics with her knife and fork.  She dragged her knife slowly through the beautifully-prepared sauce and caringly wiped it over an impossibly small piece of terrine in a caressing kind of way.  “What the hell is she doing?” I wondered to myself, trying to keep focused on the conversation.  I cut off a big chunk of quail and chewed aggressively followed by a quick bite of bread and a healthy gulp of wine.  Soon, I sat in front of an empty plate as she continues like this through the whole dish as if the food was incredibly valuable and every bit must be savored.  “Doesn’t she understand that if she eats faster the next course will come out of the kitchen sooner!”

I slowly came to understand that the food was incredibly valuable and should be savored and enjoyed slowly.  After all, I’d traveled thousands of miles to be here, the chef had labored over the dish, perhaps something that she had perfected over years, and I was in good, intelligent company, and younger than I ever will be again.  Of course I should have slowed down and savored the moment.

The reasons to eat mindfully are many – …

Oenophiles have long known that good wine …. The same is true for chocolate.

After a long, tiring week of doing business in Europe along with two American colleagues, we settled in for the weekend in the Alsatian city of Strasbourg, France.  Strasbourg, while delightful in itself as a city to tour by foot, was simply a launching site for our wine tour that weekend.   My former boss had been working just outside of Strasbourg at the time and recruited a french woman from the office to show us the sights.    She did a fantastic job leading us through one small town after the other along the Route des vins d’Alsace where we sampled the Rieslings, Gewurztraminer, Tokay Pino Gris and other white wines characteristic of the region.

I learned a lot about wine that weekend, but the most important lesson came during Saturday’s dinner.  It was a modest restaurant who’s name escapes me – tucked into the woods on a hill with a stone exterior reminiscent of a small castle. When dinner started, we Americans attacked each course with exuberance as it arrived, but something completely different was happening with the French woman who sat next to me.  My eyes jumped back and forth between her face and her plate as she performed some mysterious slow acrobatics with her knife and fork.  She dragged her knife slowly through the beautifully-prepared sauce and caringly wiped it over an impossibly small piece of terrine in a caressing kind of way.  “What the hell is she doing?” I wondered to myself, trying to keep focused on the conversation.  I cut off a big chunk of quail and chewed aggressively followed by a quick bite of bread and a healthy gulp of wine.  Soon, I sat in front of an empty plate as she progressed slowly through the whole dish occasionally stopping to set down her fork to engage more in conversion before resuming her careful, thoughtful consumption.  She was acting as if the food was incredibly valuable and every bit must be savored.  “Doesn’t she understand that if she eats faster the next course will come out of the kitchen sooner!”

I slowly came to understand that the food was incredibly valuable and should be savored and enjoyed slowly.  After all, I’d traveled thousands of miles to be there, the chef had labored over the dish, I was in vibrant, intelligent company, and I was younger than I ever would be again.  Of course I should have slowed down and savored the moment.

It’s not only the French or even Europeans who eat this way (certainly not all French people have the same habits either).  In Glasgow, Scotland, I once ate at a restaurant where the meal was broken up into distinct stages, each with it’s own environment like how changing the scenery between acts of a play makes the story more interesting and engaging.  We started off in a sort of lounge area with overstuffed chairs and a cozy living-room like atmosphere.  It was here that we would casually peruse the menu over a drink and place our orders with the waiter, but only when we were good and ready.  Then, we were brought into the dining room for a the main dinner.  After desert, we moved to a room with high tables and no chairs where we stood and chatted more over coffee.  Each change of scenery brought more awareness to our environment and asked us to pause to enjoy the food and the total experience.

Onsen meal. Yamagata Japan, November 2007

OK, France, Scotland – both western countries and in the whole scheme of things, not too different from each other and known for their generally more relaxed approach to life vs. to go-go-go productivity of the United States.  But what about another hard-working industrialized nations?  Surely they must embrace our fast-food, TV-dinner culture.   Yes and no.  Sometime between my 40 trips to Japan and the time I spent living in Tokyo for much of 2007 and 2008, I came to understand that the the Japanese know well how to relax over a meal too.  Don’t get me wrong, I had plenty of quick raman noodle lunches in Tokyo Central Station on the way to catch a train.  But to balance things out, there were the many business dinners at the local izakaya and a few dinner parties  in Japanese homes.   Fine slivers of yellow-fin sashimi served over chisso leaf on a long rustic ceramic platter.  Natto mixed with meguro (fermented soybeans with tuna sashimi) emits a pungent yet intriguing aroma. The food was always beautifully presented and this alone was enough to give you pause – to sit back and observe for a moment before it all disappears.

But what took me by surprise was not that the food was unusual (I expected that!), but in the amount of restraint my Japanese friends took in devouring it.  It was more like a slow grazing from the common dishes spread around the table. Taking a bit and then settling back to talk or drink some more.  No hurry to snatch up the last piece of toro before someone else gets it.  Just casually and slowly enjoying the time.  Being there with the food.

Since that weekend in Alsace, I’ve worked (sometimes struggled) to practice more mindful eating — being fully present during the meal and aware of the tastes, textures, feelings and emotions associated with food.  This is nearly impossible with young children at the table, but still, I try not to eat in front of the TV, the computer, or while reading.  Just be there with the food and listen to what it has to offer.  The Center for Mindful Eating, an not-for-profit focused on education in the principles and practices of mindful eating, expands the concept further to include choosing food that is both enjoyable and nourishing, acknowledging your responses to food without judgement, and improving your awareness of hunger and satiety clues from your body.  There is even some evidence that mindful eating may help with weight control.  Whether you can loose weight this way or even care, it seems obvious to me that mindful eating would have benefits in promoting of stress reduction and overall health.

Thich Nhat Hahn, the venerable Buddhist teacher, puts it like this “When we are mindful, we recognize what we are picking up.  When we put it into our mouth, we know what we are putting into our mouth. When we chew it, we know what we are chewing.  It’s very simple.”  As he explains, if you are not there with your food, the food isn’t there either. You should hold only the food, not your worries, your job, your plans.  You should chew just the food.  By pausing for a moment to realize the food, to be there, only then does the food become real.

So what does this have to do with chocolate?  Chocophiles know that fine chocolate should be savored slowly and with full awareness.  I’m guilty of eating a few pieces in front of the TV, but when I taste chocolate for the blog reviews, I always work in a quiet environment, free of distraction and focus on how all my senses respond to the chocolate.  Think about the environment in which you enjoy your chocolate.  Try setting a separate time for enjoying chocolate with friends and family – after a meal or as it’s own “tasting” -everyone sharing their impressions and opinions.  Eat small pieces taking time to pause and reflect. It becomes more than just what you are eating, but your awareness of the whole experience.  Also, the better the chocolate, the deeper and bigger the experience.  We don’t need to eat large pieces of truly fine chocolate since smaller ones will give us a wonder range of tastes and sensations.  They give us much more to reflect on.  Fine chocolate demands that we be present since the experience is so much more rich.

The practice of mindfulness takes constant practice over years to master.  One simple way to begin, one that can have immediate impact, is to be mindful of how we eat.  Mindful of chocolate.

Please share your ideas and comments on eating chocolate mindfully.