Description
We’ve noticed lately that quite a few people are looking for natural options for their cocoa powder for hot chocolate (or anything else, for that matter) that haven’t been treated with anything to make them edible. With good quality, that’s completely unnecessary, but then you have to have good quality—and that simply costs more. The cocoa itself costs more, so make sure you process it properly after harvesting to maintain its quality.
Anyway, as far as we’re concerned, it’s completely worth it—because the difference is obvious after one sip of your hot chocolate. You don’t even have to compare it to lower-quality cocoa to notice it. And of course… if you always had that very dark (almost black) cocoa powder at your grandmother’s house, you undoubtedly have a close bond with it—and there’s nothing wrong with that. Cherish that. But if you don’t have that much, or want something different, it’s fun to try it for your cocoa powder, in addition to tasting good quality chocolate. We already had some great options from Marou from Vietnam and To’ak from Ecuador.
Ingredients: cocoa powder (100%).
Contents: 150 grams.
This cocoa powder comes from Paradai, the award-winning chocolate makers from Thailand. Fun fact… if we remember correctly, they won the highest award at the International Chocolate Awards in 2024 for their Chantaburri chocolate—which was exciting, of course, because after a few preliminary rounds, a jury of chocolate specialists determined the best, from a selection of truly top-notch chocolates. But the biggest wave of attention for these makers came when a small tasting panel in Germany declared the bar the best, actually in a comparison with only a few other bars, including supermarket bars. But then the major newspaper Bild picked it up, as did several other media outlets in Germany and Austria—and then… the bars were quickly sold out in Europe.
The cocoa powder comes in a beautiful box with clear Thai inspiration. The cocoa is then sealed in an airtight bag inside that bag. A bit more packaging than with Marou’s cocoa powders—perhaps Paradai could learn a thing or two there. They also print the slogan “we cannot buy happiness, but we can buy chocolate” on the box, well, we forgive them for that too. 😉
By the way—actually important, but we’re putting it below because we’re only just thinking about it—the cocoa powder comes from one specific cocoa farm, the one where Warit, one of Paradai’s founders, grew up. His mother still grows cocoa there, and they use it to make the Phuket chocolate bar and this cocoa powder. So, in the Phuket region. Of course, but that goes without saying: just natural cocoa powder, not alkalized.
