Posted by Jen from Moksha on Jan 26th 2021
Pretty in Pink: How We Make Our White Chocolates Pink for Valentines
"Will we get a date night in February?" wonders Michael Caines as he checks the gloss on the cooling pink chocolate squares for the Love Flight. He is working hard at the job he loves. Michael's chosen passion is pouring out overtime into the grinders here at the factory in Boulder, Colorado, to make fresh pink craft chocolate, our star product of the season. It is made from liquid vegan white chocolate blended with organic raspberries for a fresh luxurious treat. In the splendid Mexican film Like Water for Chocolate, effort and emotion go into the food to a surreal level. In reality, the nuances of labor and love that are behind our vegan pink organic chocolate are all in the bars and you can taste it.
Michael Caines hand-pouring chocolate in Boulder, Colorado.
An oral fixation?
We really hope that when you get some in your hands, you take a little time with it. Eat mindfully. Close your eyes for the full effect of what in the expert tasting world is called mouthfeel. With Moksha pink chocolate, it is a glossy and smooth melt. You may notice the sensuous texture even before the creamy fruit and delicate chocolate express themselves. But you don't need to be a "super taster." If you know chocolate flavors, you will find them floating around. But the pink chocolate is particularly silky, and the sensation moves this indulgence way beyond flavor. Yes, this chocolate is felt as much as tasted.
Dive in! Vegan white raspberry chocolate.
It's the butteriest plant-based butter.
Plant-based fats are part of a healthy diet, and they also are the perfect vehicle to carry subtle natural chocolate essence. You may have read how we make our own cacao butter as part of our bean-to-bar process. We don't "deodorize" it just to make a dull vanilla bar. Read on for a little more from Michael about the arduous process to get this liquid gold.
"I take 100% cocoa nibs and grind them for 24 hours to make cacao liquor. I then put the liquid into a strong cotton sack and then press the contents at pressures of up to 8500 psi in my pristine Hanaro butter press. The bag holds the mass inside and the liquid fat oozes out the side of the press, which is then collected as a separate chocolate component. I make ten kilos of cacao butter a week to make three hundred bars. Each bar is 40% cacao butter and 100% artisan.
A short list of ingredients: cacao butter, coconut cream solids, cane sugar, and freeze-dried raspberries.
Non-dairy milk from a global citizen
Staying true to our plant-based values, Michael chose organic coconut cream powder for the "milk," for its texture and flavor that harmonizes without obscuring. Coconut palms notoriously self-plant, don't require pesticides or herbicides, and are harvested by hand, so they are good global citizens as well. (Real milk powder just didn't meld well with our Peruvian cacao flavor profile, either.) Vegans appreciate it and if you have a nut allergy, the coconut is usually not a problem as it is actually a drupe, or seed – like a mango, date, or coffee bean. Of course it is the perfect base for our crispy coconut flake inclusion bar, but it's time for the PINK!
The melangeur churning white chocolate before the red raspberries are added.
Midwest organic berries
Moksha Chocolate sources its organic raspberries harvested in the peak of their season in Wisconsin, prime berry farmland and perfect temperature fluctuations for sweetness and nutrients. Antioxidants and gorgeous color are best retained with freeze drying, and it's the only way to ship the very best so that it's fresh enough for these sassy pink bars. It takes two days of grinding all of these ingredients together in the melangeur for perfect tempering, to attain the ideal snap and texture.
Love takes its form!
The chocolate makers have prepped the molds and they are ready for the hand pouring of the pink chocolate. A bit of a chill, and BAM, the bean is now a glorious bar to package for our fans! Another seasonal treat is ready for delivery, pickup, or shipping that day – if we work late. And in late January, we do. There's no substitute for handcrafted chocolate, fresh and made by someone who loves their job. Michael heads home in the Colorado January chill to make dinner for his family – no surprise that he is the chef in the house.