Cacao Nibs: A Mayan Superfood?

Cacao Nibs

So on one of my many nightly excursions downtown, my friend and I visited Cornucopia, a cute "secret" market on the bottom floor of Thornes Marketplace (to those who haven't visited Cornucopia yet, it's a market that sells healthy options - almost like a mini-Whole Foods in a way). We were browsing through the aisles when all of a sudden, my eyes catch a brown plastic bag labeled, "Cacao Nibs". In that instant, I had felt a strange case of deja vu because I was positive that I had seen it earlier in a YouTube video. Which YouTube video? I have no idea, but I distinctly remembered the YouTuber praising her own bag of Cacao Nibs. So of course, I just had to try some.

I didn't know that it cost $9 for a bag. I only found out when I was at the cash register, ready to whip out my wad of cash (I wish!) and purchase my goodies. At that point, I thought that I might as well try something new - something "super".

I paid $9 for this!

I also didn't know that it was downright disgusting. When I got back to my dorm, I opened the bag and was immediately taken aback by a huge gust of a very bitter and pungent odor. "Do I really want to try this...? Do I really??" I just shrugged my shoulders - I paid $9 for this, I might as well! So I took a pinch of the nibs (what IS a "nib" anyway?) and threw them in my mouth - very bad decision. They tasted as bad as they smelled. Naturally at this point, I wanted other people's opinions on the nibs, so I asked my neighbors to try them. "Oh man, what IS that?!" "Yeah, that's pretty gross." "I thought it would get better each time I try some, but no, it just gets worse with time." "Mayan Superfood? Well, look at what happened to the Mayans!"

We concluded that these "Cacao Nibs" isn't food, they're a weapon.

I realize now that what we've eaten is the precursor of chocolate - raw cacao nibs. We're supposed to eat them with other foods, such as cereal or yogurt, and maybe we can even heat them up! But for now,  this bag of cacao nightmares will stay hidden in a very dark corner of my room. Perhaps it'll resurface when there's a serious threat - like a robber or a murderer. If we don't get them through the taste of these nibs, the smell will definitely knock them out.