Chocolate (Raaka and others)

 Is it just me of has it been a while since I talked about chocolate brands? (Not counting my homemade chocolate, of course). 

I had tried a new-to-me brand of chocolate in Montreal over the holidays: a bar of Kétolat Sea Salt, because I was looking for something low-carb. Well, it wasn’t very good at all, and I won’t be buying that brand again. Luckily for me, I also bought a bar of my favorite Rochef Sea Salt (they changed the packaging since last time), and not only was it really delicious, it turns out it really doesn’t have that many carbs either! I’m sticking to Rochef in Quebec from now on. 

Then, since I already liked Raaka Pink Sea Salt, I decided to try other flavors. Raaka doesn’t roast their cacao beans, so their (vegan, ethical) chocolate actually tastes a bit fruitier than other brands – in a pleasant way. Many of their flavors are low-carb and/or free of refined sugar (like this bundle). They sold a bar of Tahini Swirl that, unfortunately, seems to have been a limited-time thing because I can no longer find it on their website. It was beautiful, though, as well as smooth and perfectly balanced. I loved it! They currently have a matcha swirl that is in the same style, though I haven’t tasted it. 

I also enjoyed their Oat Milk bar and Coconut Milk bar, but not the Pure Cacao & Strawberry & Coconut, which was much too bitter for my taste. The Maple Nib was a bit disappointing, because I couldn’t taste the maple much and I decided I don’t really like nibs in my chocolate. But then the Pink Magic was really fun: vegan white chocolate mixed with red-fleshed pitaya (dragon fruit). It was a little soft and melted very easily, but was also very good, so totally worth it. 

I also tried the Green Tea Crunch – again, I couldn’t really taste the green tea, but the crunch part was puffed quinoa which was small enough that I appreciated it. The one I’m currently eating is Rose Cardamom, which is really lovely! I’m detecting a pattern in that I can’t taste the rose, but the cardamom is present in just the right amount. All in all, I really like this brand!