A Cacao Bar's River Journey
In Green Valley, where it is warm all year, Lani and her family grow cacao trees on a hillside farm. When the cacao pods are ripe, farm workers cut them from the trees. They open the pods and take out the beans. The workers spread the beans on mats in the warm sun so they can dry. After several days, the dried beans are ready to travel.
A small chocolate workshop sits near the river ferry dock. A cart carries sacks of dried beans from the farm to the workshop. There, workers roast the beans, remove the shells, and grind the beans. They mix the ground cacao with other ingredients to make chocolate. The workers pour the chocolate into molds. When the bars are firm, they wrap them and pack them in boxes.
A ferry carries the boxes down the river to Harbor Market, a store in the valley's largest town. A store worker places the bars on a shelf. Eli visits the market with his aunt, buys one bar, and eats it at home. The cacao began as a farm product, became a finished good at the workshop, and reached a consumer through the store.