Germán Santillán: A taste of Mexico's ancient chocolate-making tradition | TED

譯者: 柏陞 郭 審譯者: Yi-Ping Cho (Marssi)

This is Villa de Tamazulapan del Progreso,

這裡是塔馬卒拉潘普羅格雷索 (Villa de Tamazulapan del Progreso)，

a beautiful little village in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca.

一座位於瓦哈卡州 米斯特克區的美麗小鎮。

My village,

我的家鄉和周圍的 154 個城鎮

and the surrounding 154 villages of the region,

have a population of about 400,000 people.

現在約有 40 萬名居民。

For many centuries,

幾個世紀以來，

our culture has retained its mysticism,

我們的文化始終保有其神秘的色彩、

rituals

儀式，

and many culinary traditions.

和許多烹飪的傳統。

And one of those culinary traditions is our special connection with chocolate,

其中包含了我們和巧克力的特殊關係，

dating back 800 years.

這項傳統可追溯回 800 年前。

Our ancient, indigenous communities were among the first cultures in the world

我們當地的老祖宗是世界上最早

to use chocolate as a symbol for a social union.

將巧克力做為社交結盟 代表物的文明之一。

This image was made between the 13th century

這幅圖畫大約創作於 西元 13 世紀至 16 世紀初，

and the early 16th century,

and it is part of the “Zouche-Nuttall Codex.”

是「祖什-納托爾手抄本」的一部分。

The codex is composed of 47 painted deer skins,

這本手抄本是由 47 張 彩繪鹿皮製成，

all of which represent the history of the Mixtec region.

每一幅圖畫都代表著 米斯特克區的歷史。

There are many social dynamics taking place in this picture,

像是這幅記載許多社交活動的畫，

which specifically showcases the marriage between the Mixtec King and Queen.

特別展示出米斯特克國王 和皇后的婚禮。

And notice the cup of hot chocolate between them

如果你有仔細觀察， 他們正分享著一杯熱巧克力。

that they are sharing to seal their marital bond.

這項儀式是為了確認他們的婚姻關係。

This tradition is still alive today,

這項傳統現在依然存在，

with chocolate front and center

巧克力在我們社會最重要的活動中

during the most important events of our communities,

扮演不可或缺的角色，

like births, weddings and even funerals.

像是出生、結婚，甚至是喪禮都是。

But even though Oaxaca has a rich history of chocolate,

但即使瓦哈卡擁有一段 豐富的巧克力歷史，

and even though people enjoy chocolate all around the world,

世界各地的人也十分享受巧克力，

ancient Mixtec traditions around how to grow cocoa,

關於如何種植、處理

process it and prepare it are fading away.

以及料理可可豆等古老的 米斯特克傳統正逐漸消失。

Mexico is considered the cradle of chocolate,

墨西哥可說是巧克力的發源地，

but four out of five chocolates made in Mexico are made with foreign cocoa.

但是在墨西哥，有 80% 的巧克力 是用進口的可可豆製成。

Meanwhile, the average age of a Mexican farmer is 63 years old.

而且，墨西哥豆農的 平均年齡已達到 63 歲。

So we need to train a new generation of farmers

我們勢必要訓練新世代的農夫

in order to keep our land fertile

來保持我們的土地肥沃、作物繁榮。

and our crops alive.

I wanted to do something about this,

我想為這件事做點什麼，

and given that I truly believe in preserving and spreading the wisdom

由於我確實相信我們應該盡力保存

from indigenous communities to modern life,

並將老祖宗的智慧傳達給現代，

I turned my attention back to Oaxaca’s rich history of chocolate.

於是我把焦點轉向瓦哈卡 豐富的巧克力史。

And also, I wanted to try to support economically in my region,

除此之外，我也曾想試著 在經濟方面支援我的故鄉，

which has been considered one of the poorest regions of Mexico.

一直以來這裡被認為是 墨西哥最貧窮的區域之一。

So I teamed up with a tenacious team of local people

所以我集合當地居民， 組成一個堅毅的團隊

to embrace our regional chocolate culture

一同接納我們故鄉的巧克力文化，

and make it a sustainable industry by its own right.

並且使我們的文化自立 成為一個能長期發展的產業。

We call it Oaxacanita Chocolate,

我們的產品叫做瓦哈卡尼塔巧克力，

and it’s unlike a mass-marketed bar of chocolate.

它與市面上大量產銷的 塊狀巧克力不同。

That’s because we rescued two native cocoa bean species.

這種巧克力的原料來自兩種 被我們挽救回來的原生可可豆樹。

We started by growing 20 trees on a rooftop,

一開始我們先將 20 棵樹種在屋頂上，

and we’ve expanded our tree growth to five towns,

後來又在另外五個鄉鎮種植，

cultivating 5,000 cocoa trees and counting,

我們種植了 5000 棵可可樹， 而規劃等工作都仰賴

with the help of professionals like engineer Iván García,

工程師伊凡‧蓋西亞 (Iván García) 等人專業的幫助。

who was a gardener in the United States

伊凡過去在美國當任園丁，

and has decided to come back to his community

後來決定回到他的故鄉

to be part of this taste movement.

共赴這場味覺革新。

We also talked with traditional cooks of the region

同時我們也和區域內的 傳統料理廚師交流，

to learn about the regional recipes.

並向他們學習不同地區的食譜。

There were many different ways

除此之外，我們發現他們的祖先

that their ancestors used to prepare hot chocolate,

製成熱巧克力的方法各有不同，

starting from how the cocoa beans were roasted using clay comales

從如何用陶土烤盤烘可可豆

to the many methods for stone grinding the paste.

到用石頭研磨成糊，方法五花八門。

And now with this ancestral knowledge,

結合老祖宗的知識，

we make a hot chocolate that uses spices like cinnamon,

我們在熱巧克力裡加入 像是肉桂之類的香料

flavors like almonds

或是杏仁等其他口味。

and less sugar than most people are used to tasting,

我們巧克力的糖含量 比大多數人食用的還要少，

and that is a faithful representation for this millenary tradition.

我相信這一點正是 對千年傳統忠實的展現。

This recipe creates a rich, smooth, velvety flavor

這個配方創造出濃郁、 香醇、滑順的風味，

that warms not only your heart,

感到溫暖的不只有你的心，

but your soul.

還有你的靈魂。

And we, of course, wanted to engage the very communities

當然，我們想要與更多社群交流，

whose wisdom and skills have been passed down over generations,

特別是那些擁有 世代傳承的智慧和技術，

but are in danger of disappearing.

但是卻面臨消失危機的社群。

Our employees are mostly women,

我們的員工絕大多數是女性，

some of whom are having their first financial opportunities

對當中有些人來說， 這是第一份支薪工作，

to support their families.

能讓他們貼補家計。

People like Doña Rocío,

像是羅西奧女士 (Doña Rocío)，

who is our roast master,

她做為我們的烘焙師傅，

and who already knows the importance of tatemado,

早已熟練 tatemado 過程的重要性。

which means over roasting in traditional cuisine.

在傳統料理中， tatemado 是指重烘焙。

Over roasting allows the cocoa beans to develop a stronger flavor

重烘焙除了讓可可豆的風味更濃烈，

while enabling us to more easily clean the husk off the bean.

還能使我們剝去外殼的工作更順利。

And then there is Doña Maricruz,

而這位是瑪麗克魯斯女士 (Doña Maricruz)，

whose knowledge about cocoa beans has taught all of us

她將所知的可可豆知識傾囊相授，

how to screen cocoa beans for quality,

從如何篩選可可豆的品質，

classify the different varieties

到區分可可豆的品種，

and mix certain bean species together

甚至是將不同品種的可可豆混合，

to create subtle but distinctive flavors in the chocolate.

調製出微妙且風味獨特的巧克力。

And we engage in local artisans

我們也和當地的工匠合作，

to create our packaging with sustainable materials

用他們所使用且永續的材質

that they are already working with,

去製作我們的包裝，

like woven baskets, clay cups and molinillos.

像是編織籃子、陶土杯還有打泡器。

Together, we cultivate the cocoa from the trees,

就這樣，我們從一起栽種可可樹，

produce the chocolate

生產巧克力，

and package the final product.

到最後的產品包裝。

We started operations on a tiny scale

我們的小事業

in an empty room of my grandmother’s house.

從我外婆家裡的一個小空房發跡。

In 2015, we sold about 50 kilograms of chocolate.

2015 年，我們售出了 50 公斤的巧克力。

By 2020, we sold over 1,800 kilograms of chocolate,

到了 2020 年，我們賣出了 超過 1800 公斤的巧克力。

and our work has been recognized by the US government,

我們的努力得到了美國政府、

the International Youth Foundation

國際青年基金會

and Facebook,

和臉書的支持。

leading us to be the first Mexican chocolate company

我們成為全墨西哥第一家獲得國際認可

to be awarded internationally for social impact.

具有社會影響力的巧克力公司。

Working with a community for a community has taught me

在與過去曾教導我的 社群一起工作時，

that we can simultaneously preserve traditions,

我發現我們除了能維護傳統，

economically boost the region,

又能改善當地的經濟，

employ people locally

雇用本地勞工，

and sell a delicious product

同時販賣可口的產品，

with a history that people care about on a global scale.

並讓一段人們重視的 歷史進入全球的視野。

That potential lies in local communities around the world,

世界各地的社區都藏有這股潛力，

so let’s invest in our indigenous history.

所以，我們來投入本土的歷史吧！

That history is full of wisdom,

其中富含了智慧，

and who knows,

而且說不定

it may also be delicious.

它也相當美味。

Cheers.

乾杯！