Theobromine
Some time ago, my friend suggested that I should try out Theobromine. Theobromine is an alkaloid found in the cacao plants, and works as a stimulant. Think caffeine, but supposedly slightly different. So off course, as I am always on look for some replacement of caffeine, I had to try it!
I've obtained a few cacao beans from my colleague, who chews them during work (I've tried that too, but I find them disgusting).
First I thought that simply crushing them would be enough, but it is better if you peel them off:
They are fragile, easily broken into smaller pieces:
I don't really like the taste, so I put there a lot of honey:
Resulting taste is actually pretty good.
Effect with just 4 beans was none that I could identify and realize. It was also quite late (23:30), so maybe I was just too much tired.
Next day, I've tried six beans with peeled off skins. Still, I would say that effect was really low.
Day after that, I've tried sixteen beans and actually felt some effects.
Roasted
I've tried to roast whole beans and also crushed pieces:
Roasted beans were almost fragile:
Then I've added some honey and made a kind of tea:
Taste was same as with unroasted stuff and the effect was almost none, so I've decided to end the experiment here.