Our latest blog installment comes from our Chocolatier Elsa, who's sharing some insider info on how she concocts our to-die-for chilli choc! Read on....
Firstly, the "raw" chocolate is melted down gently, along with our homegrown chilli powder and the other flavourings and ingredients required - depending on which bar I'm making that day!
Its important to temper the chocolate properly. Tempering ensures the fat in the chocolate crystallises in a uniform way, so that once it sets, the chocolate has that satisfying SNAP and a glossy finish - rather than being crumbly and dull. This process requires careful temperature control at every stage!
All our chocolates are laid out by hand, and we make batches of up to 60kg at a time - a relatively small batch size due to the handmade nature of the work.
At the Chilli Farm, we do all this in a small temperature-controlled room that we call the "Chocolate Box".
Once the chocolate is cooled, it gets lovingly packed and labelled by hand, ready to fill the shelves of our warehouse and on-site Farm Shop.