Monday, March 9, 2015

Behind the Scenes at Undone Chocolate


Just over a month ago, we had a chance to try Adam & Kristen Kavalier's Undone Chocolate... super-high quality dark chocolate bars made locally (at Union Kitchen.) Needless to say, we were impressed (click here to read our review) and decided to delve a little deeper, to find out what makes them so special. The short answer is science, most of which admittedly goes way over my head. Adam did his best to dumb it down for me; but confusing or not, I haven't had this much fun not eating in ages.

Luckily, there's a bit of math involved as well (I was never very good at science.) It starts with beans, big totefuls of 'em. 30 pounds produces about 240 bars, and Adam's crew makes around 300 bars a day. Considering each bar of Undone Chocolate has just two ingredients (organic cacao and cane sugar) those beans are very important. Important enough to pay premium dollars for, via direct trade with farmers in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other countries.


Anatomy of a chocolate bar (Photo: Undone Chocolate)

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are Undone Chocolate bars. Said beans are crushed to expose the all-important nibs, which are combined with cane sugar in a grinder for up to three days. From there, the chocolate is poured into plastic molds, which are placed into a refrigerator to age. The aging process varies (from two days to two months) but the results are definitely worth the wait. So are the health benefits: Two squares of Undone Chocolate packs more antioxidants than a glass of red wine, half-a-pound of blueberries or almost three cups of green tea.

Adam & Kristen Kavalier (Photo: Undone Chocolate)

Sadly, my words don't do justice to just how "cool" the creative process is (evidently, I wasn't very good at writing either.) At least now I understand why each bar costs 7 bucks. To be honest, I'm surprised it doesn't cost more. Undone Chocolate is available locally (click here to find a retailer near you) and online. Available soon, you can purchase tea as well (may as well use the entire bean, right?)

It starts with great beans...

Click here to learn more about Undone Chocolate. Healthy and delicious: What more can you want?

Nibs


Tools of the trade

Almost ready...

Just chillin'