Online Class About Chocolate Drinks From Oaxaca
https://meet.google.com/zxk-cgvx-uqr
Chocolate friends, we have the fabulous opportunity to hear from Gregorio Ruiz, of Teotitlan Del Valle, right outside of Oaxaca, Mexico. His family has been fermenting Theobroma Bicolor for generations. They are the only family doing it in the region. Gregorio's mother-in-law owns a well respected restaurant called Tierra Antigua and his sister-in-law owns Sobre Masa in Brooklyn. Basically, this family can do it all when it comes to Oaxacan cuisine and chocolate drinks. This is your opportunity to ask Gregorio questions and get to know more about the work he does. They are also a family of master weavers, using only natural dies. LOTS TO TALK ABOUT.
We will be joined by Mateo, the founder of Prophecy chocolate in Vermont. We will do our best to record it for those that cannot break away from work.
Meet Mateo
Mateo has spent years living in Peru, Colombia, and Mexico, learning directly from campesinos how cacao is grown, harvested, and transformed. In 2014, while living in the “Eyebrow of the Jungle” in Peru, he learned to make drinking chocolate using traditional methods — an experience that shaped his lifelong love for cacao.
He later imported heirloom cacao from the Cusco jungle and apprenticed in European‑style chocolate making. In 2019 he founded Prophecy Chocolate, creating craft chocolate from direct‑trade cacao. In 2025 and 2026, Prophecy Chocolate earned 13 medals in the International Chocolate Awards.
Mateo teaches about cacao at expos and universities, and when he isn’t making chocolate, he’s often on farms or in the forest, learning from growers and enjoying the plants that inspire his work
Meet Nettie
I create guided chocolate experiences that combine storytelling, history, sensory exploration, and first-hand stories gathered through years of traveling to cacao farms, meeting growers and chocolate makers, and exploring chocolate traditions around the world.
Chocolate is simply the starting point.
Through shared tasting, conversation, and immersive storytelling, guests gain a deeper appreciation for the people, cultures, and craftsmanship behind chocolate while creating meaningful connections with one another.
Every experience is designed to leave people feeling more present, more connected, and inspired to keep exploring long after the experience ends.