WATCH: Rrraw Chocolate supplying chocolate to Africans one slab at a time

Indulgence is never so good when it comes in the form of chocolate, it’s a treat that rarely should be viewed with guilt however this cacao treat has a long and complicated history. 

Chocolate consumption has doubled in the last couple of years and the world is scrambling to meet the demands.

Different types and more ethically sourced chocolate is becoming more important.

Rrraw Chocolate offers dark vegan chocolate which is all handmade, from just simple ingredients such as cacao butter, cacao nibs, paste and agave syrup.

We sat down with the owner and founder of Rrraw Chocolate Ana Maria who can talk about chocolate the whole day. 

Becoming a self-proclaimed chocoholic during her childhood hood in Romania, during the Cold War, chocolate was a luxury in her country, once she had access to it regularly she was obsessed.

Well travelled and spending a vast amount of time in different countries in Africa, she wanted to close the gap between cacao farmers and their relationship with the Western world which is one side. 

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Not professionally trained as a chocolatier, the self-taught owner is making an impact in this sweet treat market. 

At first tasting her delicious chocolates at The Playground market in Braamfontein we wanted to learn and know more from Ana Maria as we were blown away by the quality of Rrraw.

The making of Rrraw is in the name, they are all-natural and is kept to their true state there’s clearly a difference once you have a bite from the main chocolate giants, the flavour is divine and unprocessed. 

WATCH: The making of Rrraw Chocolate

As they are all vegan with delectable flavours such as candied ginger, mixed berry, chilli flakes and organic white chocolate range one has to hold back not buying everything on offer. 

When she started her business in 2020, she used the first six months in lockdown to understand the suppliers in the African continent.

Ana Marie prides herself in only sourcing from African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, at times paying more for the cacao beans as a form of principle as many small farmers in the continent are severely underpaid as Europe gets a fair bigger share in profits.

“My Ugandan supplier, more than half of the people who work for him, I am paying more for the [set] price,” she says. Adding she imports her ingredients from Ugandam buying about 400 kilograms of cacao beans which would last a year, “but it has its perils, I had a shipment of beans coming in December but the [delivery man] was attacked in Zambia and had two sacks of beans that were stolen.”

Ana Maria adds this part is never easy, cacao beans were first discovered in Africa and are now grown in rainforests because of environmental changes. 

Ana Maria learnt to make chocolate like many people who learn new skills, through YouTube and the internet. She explains she watched Craft chocolate TV which has about 70 episodes and is set in Hawaii, it shows people how to make chocolate from scratch. She also trained at Chocolate Academy South Africa but a lot of Rrraw is self-made, the business owner also had to train her palette to produce the tasty flavours from her company. 

There are complexities in making chocolate such as the roasting profile, structure, texture and flavour. 

“There is an important factor in chocolate making, it is the harvesting, fermentation and drying in the place of origin. The fermentation is the biggest influence it can make or bring the bean because if you have fully fermented beans you cant save it, it’s never going to work.” 

Ana concluded by saying some farmworkers never get to taste chocolate because it’s never made by them, as about 70% of cacao comes from Africa the continent is used as an export chain, something she is trying to change to benefit the suppliers.