Living a Lie
Okay, so maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but there’s a bit of truth to it. A truthful lie? Now that’s an oxymoron. Alright, so if you took a tour of my factory (back when we were doing that) you probably heard me mention “aging” the chocolate. Well, that’s what I’m talking about. I know eventually someone will call me on it, so I’m going to beat them to it. When I began researching about chocolate making, post the decision to start Black Mountain Chocolate, I learned of this practice. Oooo, I thought, how cool! It’s like wine or cheese…well maybe not cheese, but it sounded really gourmet and artisinal, so I ran with it. What I’ve since learned, is that in truth, the chocolate is never as good as it is the day it’s made. I know this because I get the pleasure of tasting straight from the conche. Also, from the Tasting Drop Experiment, if you read that post.
It is known that chocolate is one of those foods that goes stale when exposed to light and air. You may have had a bar of chocolate, or even my tasting drops, and it appeared dull and gray, maybe even grainy when you ate it. It’s not bad for you, but it’s certainly not great or exceptional. That’s partly what I’m talking about. Yes, some will argue that it’s just bloomed, or out of temper, and that’s true about appearance and texture, but flavor is a different story. You see chocolate is largely mass produced, and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but you are certainly not getting it fresh. With the way the commodity market works and the demand for chocolate, it can’t be produced the way that I do it. That being, fresh from the bean. What’s the difference you ask? The difference is, that most chocolate you consume is made in bulk, stored for lengths of time, and then melted and tempered to produce the final product. Yes, it will have that shiny appearance and good texture and will most certainly taste like the chocolate flavor we are used to, but it could be better, much better. How much? Just try one of my fresh chocolate bars and taste for yourself.