Buy a large field of tall grass in a low southerly valley which has never been cut
in spring. Make sure it has many wild flowers of great variety. Avoid fields with nettles and coarse weeds. For five summers let the flowers grow tall and spread their seed. Scythe in high summer in the early morning when the dew is lifting. Leave the cut grass to lie till evening, then gather when wilted, into a stack.
Then, obtain five cows. A Guernsey cow is the best in this regard; the butter fat content is known to be high, and they are docile and friendly. They will butt lovingly at you when it comes time to milk. Rub them daily with your hands, all over their bodies, paying particular heed to the udders, and the ears. Keep their rear ends clean.
You will need a large cacao farm. It must be chosen with care to provide the best soil and climate for the cacao trees. The beans will take five years to come in quantity. You must be kind to the labourers whose souls live in the cacao and flavour your chocolate. The harvest should be small, and the drying beans fanned day and night. Do not allow the drying to be hurried.
Let the beans then be roasted and ground with care and precisión. Let the smoke rise amongst the cacao trees to drive away insects. Do not allow the labourers to
lie on the ground in the grip of their euphoria for it is a fact that the act of roasting the beans creates a heavenly perfume which can hold the will of a man in an iron embrace. Let the powder not be alkalised. It creates falsity.
Choose a skilled chocolatier. Preferably Swiss, in a high canton. Do not employ a man who smokes cigars. His skin will transmit the odour. Have the made blocks well wrapped and sent in spring, for extremes of temperature can cause the chocolate to bloom.
Milk the cows early each day and keep the milk in a cool place on slabs of slate,
in a north facing dairy. When the cream rises, skim it off with care and place in a large lined copper pan, with the slabs of chocolate broken up, and set it to warm
over a stove heated to a good heat. Let it be stirred and not beaten until it is all of
a good dark rich colour and small bubbles – only a few – appear. Warm the cups.
Ladle the chocolate into the cups. Drink in silence.
Sally’s poems have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, most recently Raceme, ARC, Salzburg Review, Frogmore Press, London Grip and Magma. She won the Wasifiri Poetry Prize in 2013. Sally is currently working on a pamphlet and novel. Her website is www.sallystclair.com. Instagram @sallystclair.writer.