Last week I was lucky enough to experience an evening of Rawlicious raw chocolate. Believe it or not, this raw chocolate is actually good for you. Yip, you heard me – I said there exists a kind of chocolate that is good for your health! And it’s delicious.
The reason this chocolate is so beneficial is firstly that it’s sourced from the finest cocoa beans on the planet (really – they went to South America to specially taste various raw cacao beans and decide which ones they wanted to bring back to South Africa). Once they had these wonder beans (which are, incidentally, a superfood) they didn’t roast them (as conventional cacao beans are) because they didn’t need to extract the flavour: it was naturally there. They didn’t have to add any flavourants, in fact, or dairy, because the raw product had all the flavour and goodness they needed. To make chocolates from the raw cacao, all Peter and Beryn (the raw chocolate gurus) do is combine the raw cacao nibs, slightly melted, with cacao butter to form a liquid, and then let it set. You can also add in goji berries (another superfood!) or more chocolate nibs, to give a little crunch, or any kind of nuts or treasures you might want your dark chocolate to have.
What I found so fascinating about learning more about raw chocolate was firstly that it tasted so wonderful… I had an idea that because it was good for you it would have to taste virtuous and dry – but not at all! The Rawlicious team also whipped up a chocolate frappe for us that was like an icy hot chocolate, absolutely delicious. The raw chocolate can be melted to form a chocolate fondue to dip fruit into, or formed into its own set chocolates or made into all manner of fabulous drinks, and although it’s not sweet at all (this is dark chocolate in its purest form), it is very rich – and deeply satisfying.
And it gives you a high! A natural high. Every woman knows that chocolate releases endorphins and makes you happy (if you’re feeling down, or up) – but pure, uninterrupted chocolate (not muddied by dairy or sugar) produces this high even quicker, and more powerfully.
It is, in short, my new favourite food! And a completely guilt free indulgence… What a rare treat. Find out more about raw chocolate, and all other kinds of raw treats, at Rawlicious – or pop into their shop in Tokai to taste that wonderous cold chocolate drink yourself… You won’t regret it!