Here on the farm, we teach our guests raw chocolate-making. Today we decided that it was high time the volunteers got a taste of the action!

The recipe for raw chocolate is very straightforward – However, it can be difficult to source them, and it is sometimes easier to find them in the U.S. than here!

Our raw chocolate recipe is the following: 

• ½ cup cacao powder
• ¼ cup cacao butter
• ¼ cup raw honey
• 1 Tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Pinch of sea salt.

And that’s it – on top of this base recipe you can add the following, which we recommend for making incredibly unique and delicious chocolate!

• Cacao nibs for crunch
• Macadamia, Almonds, Cashews etc
• Sea Salt crystals
• Citrus Zest (Orange or Lime)
• Crystallized Ginger
• Cayenne pepper (Spicy!)
• Cinnamon
• Raisins
• Chai powder
• Cherries or Banana chunks

Step one: Make your own Cacao powder

We rolled the cacao beans under the rolling pin to loosen the dry skin, so we could remove it. We then added extra cacao nibs. We normally use the coffee bean grinder to create a fine powder (the recommended technique), however, it was broken, so we had to settle for a food processor. The processor wasn’t able to get the cacao to a fine powder, so sadly, the result was gritty chocolate. 

You can use pre-powdered cacao, but it is not as fresh, and it is usually oxidized. It’s much more fun and authentic to make your own. 

Step two: Melt cacao butter

Then, we melted the cacao butter (very carefully), until it became a liquid. We do this by boiling water under another pot, which allows us to melt the butter without burning it!

Step three: Combine

It was then time to combine! Using a food processor, we blended until combined. If it is too thick, then feel free to add more honey or cacao butter. The resulting product should be a paste, not a liquid! 

Step four: Molding

Using a spatula, spread the paste into your molds, and decorate with whatever funky ingredients you feel like! Then transfer it to the freezer to harden. 

The result:

Your resulting chocolate will be super intense – probably unlike any chocolate you have had before! It will give you the classic chocolate buzz, which is a combination of caffeine, sugar, and natural endorphins which are released in response to anandamide, present in cacao. Anandamide actually targets the same part of the brain as THC, and many claim it’s an aphrodisiac!!