I should start this post off by saying that I usually don’t stop when I see a sign for raw chocolate. There are many reasons but the main is that raw chocolate isn’t really raw. In order to become chocolate, it needs to go through several processes and steps where the mass is heated to above the temperature that would be considered raw. Chocolate is also quite a heavily processed food, regardless of how you view it, which isn’t really in line with the raw food movement in general. Heat does two things that are very important to chocolate. First, it makes it safe to eat. Without the heat you aren’t killing the microorganisms that may be living on your cacao (remember cacao comes from a farm). The second, very importantly, is that it is with heat that the flavours of the cacao come out and shine. Without heat, chocolate tastes bitter and one note, generally speaking.
I passed by RRRaw Cacao Factory while walking through Paris and decided to step in, mostly because they were advertising a hot chocolate with almond milk with a picture that screamed “you need to try me”. I had it and I didn’t finish it. I’m sure there is a market for this hot chocolate, and they sell it so there are others that like it, but I found it very bitter (and that is not just because it had no sugar added) and not very interesting. If you are trying to be sustainable by choosing organic and raw, note that almond milk has its own sustainability issues (it is very water intensive).
I also was quite confused by the brand itself. The store has chocolate making equipment inside, although when I asked, the staff member said the chocolate was made somewhere else. Rrraw is owned by a company called Nutrivitalite, a company I couldn’t find much information about. They make chocolate here using beans that are certified organic, vegan and gluten free. Now most chocolate is vegan and gluten free, and organic only tells you a little bit of information, so that alone doesn’t mean much. They don’t share any information about where their raw material is coming from though, which is usually the first thing I want to know.
If you dig deep into their website, there is a little bit more information, but nothing about the beans, the making or what makes it raw.
I mention all of this because I feel that raw chocolate is confusing most of the time. It shouts out “I’m better for you and the planet” but then the rest of the story is kept secret from consumers. How and why?
I tried to ask the woman working there questions, but she was completely uninterested in having a conversation with me. She did insist it was healthier for me, even though I knew little about the chocolate I was about to drink, somehow it was better for me (it was sugar free so that would make it healthier than chocolate with sugar in it). If you want my two-cents worth, it is much healthier to eat a chocolate that you enjoy and that is delicious, even better if you know the story behind it, than one that lacks transparency and taste.
The good news is that it is there. It is a part of a wider conversation that Parisians can have around chocolate. Try it, try others and make your own decision. Regardless, the best chocolate for you will be the one that you enjoy the most.
Rrraw Chocolate, 8 Rue de Mulhouse, 75002, Paris Open every day from 11:30-7:30pm on weekdays and 2-6 on weekends.
