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Think Chocolate is now closed.
Anyone who doesn’t know that Brooklyn is where it’s at when it comes to fabulous artisanal food products is obviously taking a vow of media silence. Hip foodie brands are literally pouring out of New York’s hipster borough where craftsmanship and farm to table values are celebrated above all else. Artisan chocolate epitomizes this trend and we Hong Kongers love nothing more than staying abreast with the latest and greatest from around the eating world.
Not to worry, Sing Na Kwok, founder of Think Chocolate and cacao bean enthusiast, is your eyes and ears (and taste buds!) in the Brooklyn chocolate world, with their uber creative flavours and their technique-driven production. She sources the most delicious, healthy and unique artisanal chocolate brands from Brooklyn in a quest to satisfy Hong Kong’s choco FOMO.
Think Chocolate is Hong Kong’s first bean-to-bar chocolate retailer with a focus on specialty chocolate made with single origin cacao beans and harnessing unusual ingredients to create unique flavor profiles. The company is also passionate about raising awareness about the cacao bean’s myriad health benefits, most especially in its pure raw form. Think Chocolate only carries vegan & organic bars, with 100% raw varieties too.
Raw chocolate requires careful controlling at every step of the production process from harvest to mixing ensuring that it never exceeds 118°F/48°C in order to preserve the beans’ live nutrients and health properties. including extremely high levels of Vitamin C and magnesium. Raw chocolate bars have an extremely high cacao content with more antioxidants than green tea, berries or red wine! They also contain extremely high levels of vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, zinc, iron and magnesium amongst many others. In case we are not being blatant enough: cacao is a health food people!
Mast Brothers – Single Origin & Vegan
Even the most sophisticated foodies go tongue tied at the mention of brothers Michael and Rick Mast- they are credited with launching the artisanal chocolate movement and the bean-to-bar philosophy back in 2007. They source their cacao as sustainably as possible working with small farms and co-ops from around the globe. All bars are made by hand in their Williamsburg factory on made-to-order machinery designed by an aerospace engineer. Even their packaging is unique and special: each Mast Brothers bar has its own pattern to reflect the bar’s flavors and characteristics- hand-drawn by the founders themselves. Most of the bars contain nothing but organic cacao and organic cane sugar. They focus on single-bean origin bars with names like Madagascar or Belize to reflect the cacao bean’s terroir. They also have special editions like Black Truffle & Sea Salt (regularly sold-out and Think Chocolate’s Best-Seller) and Stumptown Coffee (from the uber trendy Portland coffee roasting company).
Fine & Raw – Fair Trade Superfoods
The Fine & Raw founders have a lofty mission, which is in their own words “to save the world through silliness and chocolate.” They are committed to creating ‘conscious chocolate’ and being as sustainable as possible. From sourcing 100% organic cacao beans to offsetting their carbon footprint to working with Fair Trade farmers to using recycled packaging made with non-toxic vegetable based ink, everything they do screams green. With ingredients like mesquite, coconut, Himalayan sea salt and truffles, their is a gourmet superfood edge to every bar that is irresistible.
Where to find this fabulous chocolate
Visit Think Chocolate’s easy-to-use e-commerce site- lucky Green Queen fans get 15% off all orders until April 9th 2014, use ‘GREENQUEEN’ code at checkout. Delivery is available for all Hong Kong orders. You can also satisfy your artisan chocolate cravings at Nosh in Sheung Wan and at Artichoke Canteen in Ap Lei Chau.
They also do larger bespoke orders such as weddings and corporate orders, as well as events such as chocolate tastings, private label orders & giveaways.
Don’t forget to like Think Chocolate’s Facebook page to stay up to date on all their news and update and be the first to find out what new artisanal chocolate bars are coming to Hong Kong!
Photo credit: EverJean via photopin cc, Mast Brothers and Fine & Raw.
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