Artisanal dark chocolates have become a crowd favourite today with their dark rich flavours & lack of sugar & preservatives. But it is not that easy to get artisanal chocolates out. There is an extensive process that follows. Get the journey here.
Cocoa Pods - These cute pods are harvested twice a year, cut open and the white gooey stuff is taken out. This white gooey stuff contains the cocoa beans.
Fermentation - The white gooey stuff is then fermented for days. This is when the flavours of the chocolate intensifies inside the beans.
Drying & Roasting - The beans are then sun-dried to avoid moulds. They are then nicely roasted at the right temperature for the right time.
Cracking & Winnowing - This is when they bring out the cocoa nibs from inside the shells of the beans.
Grinding & Conching - This process crushes the nibs into paste like consistency. Depending on the brand and the process, usually a stone grinding technique maybe used to bring out the best flavours from the nibs at this stage.
Tempering - This is the gorgeous bit you see the chocolatiers do on their cold stations - taking the liquid chocolate and bringing the shine into these chocolates.
Moulding - This is when the liquid chocolate is finally poured into moulds & shapes after which they are packed & shipped to you.
The beautiful thing about choosing our artisanal brands is that you are sure that the cocoa was produced sustainably & responsibly. Most cocoa farms in mass manufactured chocolates are in Africa where exploitation of human resources is notorious. Our chocolate is also handmade by people of less privilege - so you are supporting a family when you pick these chocolates.
