So for the most part I have woefully neglected this
blog. I now have a new puppy in the
house who eats any scrap on the floor she can find, so having chocolate in the
house is much more precarious than when it just used to go to my hips. And since I only wish I could be a
professional blogger, that means I can post whenever I want.
And now that I’m finished with excuses, we can get on to the
real reason you read this blog: amazing chocolate.
I’m not always impressed by local New York “bean to bar” gourmet
chocolates. I’ll be the first to admit
that I have been taken in by pretty packaging and a good slogan only to find
that the chocolate inside is stale and not very appetizing. So I was skeptical when I heard about Fine
& Raw sea salt and Raaka’s bourbon cask aged chocolate bars.
Both Raaka and Fine & Raw are advertised as “raw
chocolate” which means chocolate made in as close to a raw state as
possible. This means no refined sugars,
and the resulting bars are about as far away from Hershey’s as you can possibly
get.
Fine &Raw’s 70% sea salt bar was deep and refreshing
with a saltiness that you can actually taste, but doesn’t overwhelm the
chocolate.
Raaka’s bar was prepared by aging the cacao nibs in bourbon
casks. The bar is slightly thicker than most and has
a warm cherry flavor with a strong berry aftertaste. The bar tastes like the whiskey of chocolate,
smooth and hits you with a punch.
The bars are small and a little pricey, but completely worth
it because a little bit goes a long way.
You won’t want to eat these in one sitting, but savor them with a glass
of wine or cheese.
Check out their websites here:
