With no milk or sugar, this handcrafted chocolate with raw cacao beans is made in Goa by two health-conscious friends Arif Mohammed and Anna Steele who claim it has considerable benefits
BHARATI PAWASKAR
Who on earth, does not like chocolates? Kids, adults and even elderly are fond of chocolates. Chocolate is widely regarded as good-mood food as it contains several ingredients that are known to alter brain function and boost one’s spirits.
Paul Woods from UK has been on a weight loss regime and has been consuming the peppermint bar for three months. He is losing weight safely whilst understanding he does not need to deprive himself. “The bar,” in his words “gives me energy and inspiration to reach my weight loss goals in a healthy nutritious way!”
Rajesh Sing, a DJ from Mumbai, says he takes chocolate to parties and can dance for hours on the energy he gains from it. “Who needs false stimulants and drugs when we have raw chocolate? It works in harmony with my body,” he quips.
For Dr Anette, a German, the Ayurvedic combo was something she had been searching for and never found in a healthy chocolate before. The trio mentioned here are all speaking of the same brand of chocolate that they have fallen in love with - ‘Raw Rainbows’ - something that’s handcrafted at Anjuna with much care by Arif Mohammed and Anna Steele.
Arif began working on raw organic chocolates in 2011 when this hotel management graduate tried his hands on it upon his raw foodie friend Anna’s request. She wanted a chocolate without milk. Together they both tried and made chocolate using raw beans from Kerala. To their amazement, it turned out pretty good.This chocolate was like nothing else Arif had tried earlier. There was an altogether different taste. And this chocolate left a strongly positive effect on health and well-being after consuming it. After this, their product-testing efforts also witnessed positive response from customers. Encouraged, Arif and Anna continued their experimentation.
Raw cacao is made by cold-pressing unroasted cacao beans. The process keeps the living enzymes in the cacao and removes the fat (cacao butter). Cocoa looks the same but is not. Cocoa powder is raw cacao that has been roasted at high temperatures. The cacao bean is a strong medicine if used in the correct way. It is not meant to be diluted with milk. The fat present in chocolate has a complete quality in itself. This chocolate is raw which means the whole bean is used without roasting or heating in any way. “This retains the full nutrients without diminishing the health benefits that it brings,” explains Anna.
Arif’s stint with a raw food café truly came handy in developing the chocolate and adding more flavours to it. He offers eight flavours - peppermint, vanilla, orange, chilli, cinnamon, masala, coffee, cardamom and brahmi. Priced at Rs 50-160 each, their health benefits are endless, claim makers.
Raw cacao is one of the few plants that contain theobromine, a relative of caffeine, though with a weaker stimulant effect. Phenylethylamine in cacao is the same as a molecule that your brain releases when you are happy or excited. Anandamide, a brain chemical that positively influences your mood, memory and appetite and decreases your perception of pain, is also found in raw cacao. Raw cacao contains considerable amounts of the amino acid tryptophan, which your body converts to the calming neurotransmitter serotonin.
Raw chocolate also assists overall circulation and contains Magnesium which is particularly good for women. Chocolate is known for reducing the appetite, calming the nervous system and opening the heart as circulation is encouraged on a physical level and therefore the emotional level is affected too.
Not stopping at making only raw chocolate, Arif did some value addition to his product. He developed his craft adding organic Ayurvedic herbs sourced locally and chemicalfree organic flavours from UK such as peppermint, orange and vanilla. His beans came from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The differing products are a slice of square chocolate with grated coconut in the middle. It has cardamom in it and is known as Raw Bounty. This can be found in Artjuna a café in Anjuna along with cacao buzz, a small chocolate with flavours of chilly, clove, peppermint, orange and vanilla. These are exceedingly popular.
Arif also developed his own ‘bean to bar’ chocolate which contains coconut sugar or xylitol a naturally sourced sweetener.
Arif’s clients are mostly those who value health and well-being - Yoga teachers and students, body workers and therapists. There are Vegans who want to lose weight, athletes and also authors. “This chocolate stimulates creativity and original thinking.The Aztecs knew of these magical qualities and so the original name for chocolate is Therobroma meaning Theo (God) broma - drink so it is food of the Gods. Cacao is also an aphrodisiac, your general energy levels will circulate better and so you feel more life force.”
Arif’s chocolates are available at Bayfront, Outrigger OM Ganesh in Arambol, Raj in Morjim, Cottage Brittos in Aswem, ‘Bean me up vegan café’ in Anjuna. The only challenge is when people expect a typical commercial chocolate taste with high sugar and milk. “It’s a matter of re conditioning taste buds and sometimes people want to live with what is familiar,” Anna concludes.
