Polishing off that block of chocolate can simultaneously make you feel both completely satisfied and utterly remorseful. However Australian based company Pana Chocolate has discovered a way to end the battle of your taste buds versus your waist line.
Through the continued vision of a group of health conscious individuals, Pana Chocolate has created organic, raw, yet great tasting chocolate. They have used quality ingredients and loving preparation in order to produce a rich delicious texture that is also healthy.
They have catered for all appetites. From the classic but never disappointing “Raw Cacao” “Mint” or “Orange” to something more adventurous like “Sour Cherry and Vanilla” “Nuts” or “Coconut and Gogi”. If you’re craving something subtle yet, unusual then try “Cinnamon”.
Pana Chocolate lives by the motto “Love your insides, Love the earth” The importance of this motto is shown through the company’s dedication to abide by three standards; The quality of their chocolate, the health of your insides and the sustainability of the earth. The raw ingredients used hold the highest level of nutrients benefiting both your body and mind, Pana Chocolate is handmade locally in Melbourne, sustaining local produce that is environmentally friendly.
If that’s not enough to erase any chocolate induced guilt you may be experiencing then you will be pleased to know that it is also low GI, vegan, gluten free and includes no dairy or soy. Almost sounds too good to be true right? The use of natural, preservative–free ingredients in collaboration with a low GI organic sweetener, allows Pana Chocolate as the perfect indulgent, natural enough even for your children.
Business Development Manager, Michael Buschel gave us a little bit of insight into the creation of this beautiful product and possible future plans for Pana Chocolate.
Who is the creator of Pana Chocolate?
Pana Barbounis.
What inspired you to start this business?
Love of food firstly and the artisan way of life, getting back to eating real food. I identified a gap in the Australian market for raw, organic, vegan chocolate and I undertook some raw chocolate training in the UK. I really wanted to produce a high quality product and it took around 18 months to perfect the recipe.
What is your favourite flavour?
Raw Cacao – the original!
What does Pana Chocolate have in store for the future?
We would like to share our chocolate with the rest of the world. We are about to export to EU in October and now have partners in New Zealand and Japan…exciting times ahead!
Here at The Health Emporium we are stocking these high quality, kind, wholesome sweet treats so that next time you choose to indulge in that bar of chocolate you can feel grateful instead of guilty. For more information on these little gems check out the Pana Chocolate website www.panachocolate.com
How it’s made
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Cacao grown in organic environment
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Cacao pods harvested
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The cacao gets processed into the key components for the chocolate – cacao solids, cacao butter and cacao powder
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Ingredients are packaged and stored
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Raw ingredients are dispatched to Australia …
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… where they arrive at the Pana Chocolate kitchen
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Ingredients are weighed and proportioned
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The wet ingredients are then slowly melted, never going above 42°c in order to maintain high nutrient levels
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The dry ingredients and natural flavours like Goji berries or peppermint oil are added
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Everything is then mixed by hand …
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… and poured into moulds
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The chocolate is then set in the refrigerator,
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and packaged in boxes, ready to be enjoyed
