Can chocolate improve your sex life? Brenden Durell spills the cocoa beans about cacao
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- 2 Min Read 
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- Published on February 2, 2024
- In Uncategorized
When Netflix’s “Too Hot to Handle” relationship expert, Brenden Durell, isn’t talking romance, his next favorite topic is cacao. Durell riffs on the history and importance of cacao as a healing modality and a perfect pairing for spiritual ceremonies.
When Brenden Durell, relationship expert on Netflix’s hit show “Too Hot to Handle,” isn’t talking romance, his next favorite topic is cacao.
Cacao, which is native to Latin America, is the most raw form of the cocoa most chocolate lovers are used to. Beans are roasted at low temperatures, which keeps the cacao’s antioxidants and nutrients in tact. and taste more bitter than cocoa. Raw cacao mirrors cocoa but without added sugars, resulting in a more bitter taste.
Durell, an expert on emotional and physical wellness, riffs on the history and importance of cacao as a healing modality and a perfect pairing for spiritual ceremonies. But as DETOUR learns, all cacao is not created equal. Big corporations are able to mass produce by frequently exploiting child labor in West Africa, which produces 70 percent of chocolate, including the most premium beans.
And, of course, we ask Durell the question on every chocolate lover’s mind: is chocolate really an aphrodisiac? Brenden Durell unveils cocoa’s bedroom mystique, plus lots more in DETOUR’s rapid fire.
Jasmine Stodghill is cofounder of DETOUR: Best stories in Black travel. She is a career educator, mentor and youth program facilitator. A graduate of New York University, Jasmine currently serves as a reading specialist for Columbia Public Schools. Jasmine also serves on the board of Central Missouri’s, Jack and Jill of America and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.. Prior to joining Columbia Public Schools, she worked at Brisbane Academy where she taught interdisciplinary courses, developed curriculum, and led the school’s accreditation efforts, as well as served as program director for P1 Enterprises LLC. A native of Rockland County, New York, Jasmine has worked with urban and rural populations from Charlotte, North Carolina to Ifrane, Morocco.
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