Sanna Forslund Travels Through Chocolate

By David Nilsen

Sanna Forslund is walking down the streets of Stockholm when she catches the whiff of a scent from an open window. Suddenly, she’s no longer in her native Sweden, but in India, reliving an moment from a long ago trip. This experience of traveling through her senses is one she cultivates through her favorite indulgence, craft chocolate.

“When I want to travel with chocolate, I try to clear my mind, like with meditation,” says Sanna. “I’m just going to dive in and see where it takes me. I’m trying, in a sense, to be kind to myself, not having an expectation.”

Sanna is a chocolate educator who leads tasting events and classes to help people holistically experience bean to bar chocolate like she does. She is also the co-founder of The Chocolate Cooperation, a company importing craft chocolate to Sweden. I spoke with Sanna for Episode 26 of the Bean to Barstool podcast, and she talked about using chocolate as a vehicle for traveling the world.

“I take a random bar from my stash of chocolate and all of the sudden I get all these places,” she explained. Sanna has traveled extensively, and she calls upon those memories when tasting a bar. If she’s tasting a chocolate from an origin she’s never visited, she’ll do a bit of research about that location and try to imagine it while tasting. 

Through her events, she’s trying to help others learn to do the same.

“I help people create and understand a different world,” Sanna says while describing the chocolate tastings she leads. “And then they can really dive into the sensory experience, because I believe those two are connected.”

She’s found that she often learns as much from her attendees during these tasting sessions as they do from her.

“If I go in with the mindset that I know this chocolate, I know these bars, and I know the tasting notes, then it’s a one way communication,” she explains. “Whereas if I’m as curious to hear about what flavor notes or memories they get from tasting the chocolate, they will feel that positive curiosity from my side as well and then it’s easier for them to share.”

Our chemical senses of smell and taste are intimately intertwined with our emotions, memories, and imaginations, and while tasting chocolate has allowed Sanna to revisit many of her favorite places around the world, it also helps her visit the ones that are still on her bucket list. This has been especially true during the last year and a half, when a global pandemic has made travel impossible. Chocolate has been a way for her to celebrate life and beauty despite life’s challenges.

“Two things I couldn’t give up are chocolate and being outside in nature, because both of those things give me a lot of joy,” she observes. “I don’t want chocolate when I’m mad, because I don’t want to associate chocolate with sadness, or anger, or frustration, these really strong negative feelings. I want chocolate to be a way to travel, a way to find comfort in myself, and not when I need comfort.”

By quieting her mind and opening her senses to the amazing flavors of craft chocolate, Sanna is able to experience our beautiful world without leaving her home.

“As long as I have my mind and memories and a chocolate, I can go wherever I want.”

You can listen to my entire interview with Sanna below!