raw chocolate class!

last night i had the pleasure of attending the ever-endearing and entertaining emma's raw chocolate class at zimt headquarters.
i knew NOTHING about making raw chocolate as i tend to mash banana with coconut and raw cacao powder or mix coconut oil with maple syrup and raw cacao powder to fix my chocolate cravings. will i get a thermometer and start getting some actual chocolate creations happening? we'll see. i would definitely document it on this ol' thing if i did!

emma showed us the slowly melting cacao butter that she mixed with cacao powder at 40 degrees. then it was cooled to 28 degrees and then brought up to 30 degrees to set.
then we made medallions (french accent please) or hearts and such, hehe. then we sprinkled beautiful things on top like coconut, cinnamon, chia seeds, rock salt, cacao nibs, and rose petals and waited for the chocolates to set! glorious!

please know she has just one more class on thursday, march 28th. so sign up if you wanna take part! i don't know when she will be offering classes again! this is one busy lady!
p.s. i got a sneak sample of a cookie dough she has started and is just waiting packaging for. think cookie dough in a raw chocolate bath? oh goodness! swoon! i haven't yet tried her raw caramel and i can't wait to!!! i'm grateful she keeps the cacao innovations flowing continuously!

zimt easter treats!

i feel super lucky today to have gotten to sample some zimt easter treats!

i couldn't believe these were raw organic chocolates! they tasted like conventional chocolate but without the weird "filler" taste. am i the only one that feels that some vegan chocolate tastes bland or like there is some waxy thickener in it? (but then conventional dairy chocolate is WAY worse. stomach ache AND mysterious additives? ECH!) oh and i HATE it when sugar is the first ingredient in chocolate! anyways... super exciting to know that these chocolates contain all satisfaction and no filler. ha.

 ha. i really should have taken some photos sans packaging huh. but on the left there are some unpackaged chocolate coconut crisp bars! yum! i totally know the right people ^_^ these bars are smokey tasting but i totally enjoy it. i enjoy chocolate with a "bite" and "smokey" works for me too. i don't know much about chocolate but apparently the smokey tasting beans are from bali. i'm not sure where the chocolate that made the easter shapes came from. but i guess if coffee (and well anything else, really!) can taste different depending on where it's from and how it was grown, harvested, etc., why would chocolate be any different?

zimt artisan chocolates

maybe a month ago, i was able to meet up with a friend who has started a glorious business: raw chocolate! i bought 4* kinds to try and i look forward to trying more!

dark chocolate ganache dark chocolate with a rich chocolate ganache centre

*meine minze rich dark chocolate peppermint ganache enrobed in dark chocolate

naranja rica dark chocolate with a sweet orange chocolate ganache centre

coconut crisp rich dark chocolate and crispy flaked coconut

*vanilla caramel smooth dark chocolate with a rich vanilla-caramel centre

nib'd rich dark chocolate studded with crunchy cacao bean nibs


*pfeffernib'd nib'd with a hint of peppermint 

süß orange nib nib'd with accents of sweet orange

*chocolate coconut fudge rich dark chocolate with a fudgy coconut chocolate centre

kaffee dark chocolate with roasted fair trade espresso

my favourite of the 4 i tried were the meine minze and the pfeffernib'd - they were smooth and perfectly sweet. the chocolate coconut fudge and vanilla caramel had chewy, lingering coconut inside but not in a melty, mahalo way. i need to get used to it.

anyways, mighty excited about raw vegan chocolate being available in vancouver! so far, you can get it at greens market and nice shoes.

i just heard for the first time from someone last week that cacao may not be the superfood everyone (especially david wolfe) claims. i have some carob in my cupboard now to mix so i don't overdo the cacao - i suppose it's just a reminder of 'everything in moderation'. i tend to go a bit crazy for cacao.

cacao! pow! i appreciate portlandia recognizing its hipster-status as a buzz word (or safe word, ahem) and not just a buzz-inducer!