A lot goes into our protein chocolate to make it what it is today, that delicious, creamy texture with a rich indulgent taste packed with a mighty protein hit, it's not like it grows on trees...wait a sec, well it sort of does!
Our high protein chocolate starts its lifecycle as a cocoa bean. Cocoa pods are grown on trees throughout Central, South America but mainly in Africa, which is where our beans come from. Believe it or not, the seed/beans inside these pods are extremely bitter yet the white pulp around these is the sweet part of the fruit. Various animals are attracted to the fruit but discard the seeds!
There are various steps that need to go ahead before our protein chocolate can be enjoyed.
Firstly...
Harvesting and Drying
The pods are broken up to release the beans and pulp which are then placed in 'bins' and then covered with banana leaves. The heat from climate then ferments the mixture and the beans turn dark brown in colour and the pulp melts away leaving just these magical beans.
This process can take anywhere between a few days to up to a week. The little beans are then left in the sun to bathe and dry, once dry they are delivered to us and here is where the magic happens...
“Cocoa pods are grown on trees throughout Central, South America but mainly in Africa, which is where our beans come from.”
Roasting
The beans are now roasted in large, rotating ovens for up to 2 hours sometimes, drying the beans and bringing out delicious flavours and scents. The outer shells are then cracked and discarded leaving behind broken bits of cocoa bean which are called nibs! You have probably heard of these being enjoyed by many people, but they are extremely hard and very bitter still, and not a recipe for indulgence.
Grinding
These nibs are then grinded down further using a refiner which generates heat to also melt the cocoa mass which is then separated into Cocoa solids and Cocoa butter. It is here where we add a sprinkle of cane sugar, and the wonderful Whey Protein Isolate, to the cocoa solids to naturally sweeten it up and add in that protein punch! The whey isolate is sourced from grass-fed cows, and is all natural and free from any hormones, sugar and sweeteners.
Is the protein chocolate ready yet!? Almost, but it's not as smooth and creamy as we would like...
Conching
This strange term just means that the chocolate is run through a type of mixing machine ( a conch machine) for several days, which gives our protein chocolate that smooth, creamy, melt-in-the-mouth quality which we know and love.
It's got a Temper!
The protein chocolate is then tempered by mixing it, folding it, cooling it then reheating it a few times, giving it that shine and snap.
This is also where we will add other delights such as Whey Protein Crispies to produce our crispy range, our natural orange/mint oils and ground arabica coffee beans for our espresso variety.
Ta Da! The chocolate is then poured into our 70g slab or 40g mini or even our lovely miniature heart moulds to bring you a healthier indulgence , that fuels your body with essential proteins and fats!
We hope you enjoyed reading, and enjoy our delicious High Protein Chocolate...
Check out our delicious protein chocolate
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