Chocolate!

Wherever I am living, one of the first things I seek out is the availability of chocolate. Over the past few years I’ve outgrown my love for commercial milk chocolate – of the sugar and wax tasting variety. I have discovered the complex flavour of dark chocolate. It goes so well with red wine! 

In Ghana, I indulged from time to time on Kingsbite, the local chocolate, and marveled that the majority of cocoa beans that left the shores, went out as just that – dried beans. All the processing and profits went into the factories in Europe.

So I was pleased to discover in Grenada that A) there is an abundance of rich dark chocolate, and B) that the entire process is completely organic and local, from cocoa pods, to commercial bars.  And the packaging is just so adorable. It is professional, yet screams homemade with love and care. AND it’s delicious.

You can read all about the completely organic ingredients and processes here. They even have a carbon neutral delivery system to the USA, using only sailboats!!!

Another local delicacy made with the cocoa beans, is hand rolled chocolate balls. They are infused with many herbs and spices from pimento to bay leaf. I bought a package at the Easter Bazaar and we tried two gorgeous cups of fresh Grenada cocoa the other morning. Simple to prepare – one ball per cup, boil in water until melted. Add milk and sugar or honey to taste.

It is like nothing I’ve had before. Though there are hints of chocolate, it is much more like a complex chai. It’s amazing. I’ll be gifting some of those on my next trip to Canada for sure.

Signing off for the day with a decision to make – keep my second bar of chocolate for another day or indulge now? I think the answer is brown. And rich.