Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,976
These
are the tropical rain forests
2
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:20,976
of Central America...
3
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,976
Where the elements combine
4
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,976
to create one of the richest ecosystems
5
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:50,976
on the planet.
6
00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,976
In the shade of the forest canopy...
7
00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:16,000
Lives one of the world's most prized trees.
8
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,976
The early civilizations
who made their home here
9
00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,000
venerated this plant.
10
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,976
A symbol of fertility and abundance.
11
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,000
A gift from nature.
12
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:40,976
Cacao.
13
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,976
The plant that gives us chocolate.
14
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,976
This tree is sensitive.
15
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,000
It only flourishes close to the equator.
16
00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:07,976
Like all good things,
17
00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:12,000
its fruit takes time to mature.
18
00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,000
Six months pass before the pods are ripe...
19
00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,976
And ready to harvest.
20
00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:03,000
It takes care and an expert eye.
21
00:04:05,001 --> 00:04:08,976
One wrong cut could damage the cushions
22
00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,976
which produce the precious flowers
23
00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,976
and the promise of more fruits.
24
00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,000
This is Julio.
25
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,976
From the small farm in Belize...
26
00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:52,976
He keeps alive a tradition
27
00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,976
that goes back 3,000 years.
28
00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,976
Transforming these seeds
29
00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:14,976
with their coat of sticky pulp
30
00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,976
requires dedication and patience.
31
00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,976
Under the heat of the equatorial sun,
32
00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,976
the beans are left for days to dry.
33
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,976
As their color deepens,
34
00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,976
their flavor awakens.
35
00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,976
Only then are they ready
36
00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,976
to become chocolate.
37
00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:29,976
As dawn breaks,
38
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,976
Julio and his team
39
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,000
are already hard at work.
40
00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,976
In the cool of the early morning,
41
00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,976
the process of heating cacao
42
00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,000
to make chocolate begins.
43
00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,976
Granite wheels blend cacao butter
44
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,976
evenly through the cacao liqueur...
45
00:07:13,001 --> 00:07:18,000
A process that can't be hurried.
46
00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:32,000
Gradually, the mixture evolves.
47
00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:36,976
Gritty cacao is spun
48
00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,976
into silky, liquid chocolate.
49
00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,976
Only a few chocolate makers like Julio
50
00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,976
exist in Belize,
51
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:09,976
creating chocolate from cacao
52
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,000
grown and ripened in
the surrounding forest.
53
00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:29,976
It's his passion
54
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,976
and a reminder to local Mayans
55
00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,976
that cacao is in their blood.
56
00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:44,000
Chocolate belongs to them.
57
00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,000
Deep in the forests of Julio's homeland...
58
00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:42,000
Relics of ancient Mayan cities.
59
00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,000
Wealthy and culturally rich...
60
00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:59,000
The Mayans traded across
this region and beyond.
61
00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,000
Here, cacao was used as currency.
62
00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,976
But transformed into liquid chocolate,
63
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,976
it had special meaning.
64
00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,976
It was consumed to mark rites of passage,
65
00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,976
to honor marriage,
66
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,976
birth, and death...
67
00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,976
And used to celebrate
the abundance of life.
68
00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:56,000
Centuries after Mayans
69
00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,976
first turned cacao into chocolate,
70
00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:05,000
this exotic delicacy arrived in Europe,
71
00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,976
sparking a sweet revolution.
72
00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:31,976
In the 19th century,
73
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,976
a Belgian apothecary
74
00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,976
coated his pills in liquid chocolate
75
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,000
to disguise their bitter taste.
76
00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:47,976
The pills proved so popular
77
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,000
that the healer turned chocolate maker.
78
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,976
Soon, delectable treats lined
79
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:14,000
the continent's most
fashionable countertops.
80
00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:38,000
Chocolate making became a fine art.
81
00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,976
A chocolatier is part artisan
82
00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,976
and part scientist.
83
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,000
Carefully working the cooling chocolate
84
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:26,000
makes it glossy and smooth.
85
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,976
Its physical properties mean
86
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,976
it easily melts in the mouth.
87
00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,976
The sweet scent is known to produce
88
00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,000
a feeling of calm in the mind.
89
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,976
Chocolate even contains the same chemicals
90
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,976
released by our brains
91
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,000
when we fall in love.
92
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:23,976
No wonder we offer it as gifts
93
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:28,000
to those we cherish the most.
94
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,000
Each bite is designed
95
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,000
to be a sensory delight...
96
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,976
Pleasing to both the eye
97
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,000
and the heart.
98
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,976
Back where cacao first grew,
99
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,976
chocolate remains more than a sweet treat.
100
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:42,976
Lake Atitlán in Guatemala
101
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,000
is the spiritual center of Mayan culture.
102
00:15:53,001 --> 00:15:54,976
Local people call it
103
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,000
"the navel of the world."
104
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,000
The place where all life began.
105
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,976
In the village of San Pedro,
106
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:28,000
women keep alive the ancient cacao culture.
107
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,976
Descended from Mayan tribes,
108
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,976
they are the protectors of the cacao.
109
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,976
Working with the beans connects them
110
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,000
with their ancestors.
111
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,976
Making chocolate is
about more than pleasure.
112
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,000
It's a sacred ritual.
113
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,000
Releasing the roasted
beans from their shells
114
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,976
reveals the precious nibs inside.
115
00:17:41,001 --> 00:17:44,976
Using a stone mano and metlatl
116
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,000
that's been handed
down through generations,
117
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,976
the chocolate maker grinds the nibs.
118
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,976
Her work is a prayer...
119
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:15,976
An offering to the gods
120
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,000
for the miracle of life.
121
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,000
She conjures the cacao into a rich paste...
122
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,000
To make a ceremonial chocolate drink.
123
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:52,976
Friends and family
124
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,976
gather beside the shores of the lake
125
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:59,976
to mark a change in the lunar calendar.
126
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,976
They celebrate the elements,
127
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,976
the source of all life.
128
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:39,976
It's an age-old tradition.
129
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,976
The elixir of cacao and water
130
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,976
is offered to the fire and to the sky.
131
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,976
Nature's gift returned.
9039
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.