Jhb North - Feb 24

making, she’s always been fascinated
by food. It’s often an entry point
into a culture, she explains, and it’s
bound up with our history in ways
we often don’t think of. That’s why, for
her, any adventure in a new country
starts with a cooking course. This
has left her with an impressive set of
culinary skills which, combined with
her natural tendency to question,
probe and generally find a better
way, meant that she was all set
to start experimenting with her
own chocolate.
“My favorite is 70 per cent
dark chocolate, which
is made to be savoured.
You need to let it melt in
your mouth so that all the
flavours you can develop
over time. Good chocolate
has a journey – a definite
beginning, middle, and end.”
temperature that destroys all the
quirks and nuances of flavour. They
have to, though, in order to create a
standardised product. That’s where
Ana is lucky – with a craft product,
there’s far more leeway.
This applies to flavours, too. While
most supermarket shelves will offer
up old faithfuls like nut and mint, Ana
loves drawing inspiration from what
she sees around her. For example,
Rrraw’s spekboom flavour was created
after a friend at Ana’s cooking club
introduced her to this quintessentially
South African ingredient, while the
cardamom and matcha spice of her
Sweetmeats variant was inspired by
Indian dessert.
Ana has spent a lot of time playing
with chocolate to find combinations
that hit right. That’s why the product
you’ll find at markets, online and in
shops like Pantry, The Farm Table,
Thrupps, Jacksons and health stores
looks very different to what she first
she launched. “Although we started
in 2019, we took the Covid year out
to learn more about the market. I
originally wanted Rrraw to be a naked
chocolate, without wrappings, served
in cubes – like the kind of treat you
receive when you order a cappuccino.”
What hasn’t changed, though, is the
attention to quality. Ana admits that
she was lucky to have developed a
network during her time in West Africa,
which allowed let her track down the
kind of suppliers that would fit her
exacting standards.
Although she found what she was
looking for in Uganda, she says that
her experiments with Rrraw are far
from over. “We’re still in the trial and
error stage,” Ana says. “Craft chocolate
is still a new concept in South Africa
– it’s where coffee was about 10
years ago, when people thought
that beans from Brazil tastes just like
beans from Uganda – so we need to
do a lot of education to help people
understand what makes Rrraw
different and special.”
She doesn’t expect this education
to take place quickly, nor does she
expect the market’s tastes to change
overnight – and she wouldn’t want
it to, either. “The plan isn’t to grow
this company until it can’t get any
bigger. The craft mindset is completely
different: we’re catering to people
who want something interesting,
something indulgent, and who
understand that when something is
a little more expensive, it means that
the product is benefits everyone in the
value chain.”
Details: Follow @rrraw.choco on Insta,
Facebook and TikTok.
This wouldn’t be just any chocolate,
though. For a start, Ana was
determined that her product
would benefit all involved, from
the producers who earned a fair
wage to the fans who got to enjoy a
superior taste. That taste is decidedly
unique, because Ana’s chocolate is
made from raw beans. “Most people
don’t realise that chocolate is as
complex as wine. Cacao beans taste
different depending on the region
they come from, and that taste can
be affected by everything from the
time of harvest to the weather.” It’s a
pity, then, that most manufacturers
roast their cacao beans at a
Fancy something different that is proudly local, try the Rrraw Coconut
White Chocolate Spekboom with zesty flavours. For Valentine’s Day, the
Rrraw Coconut White Chocolate Red Tart with Hibiscous and Strawberry is
a real treat. Ana Maria’s favourite is the single origin Uganda 70 per cent
Cacao Darrrk Chocolate with fruity and citrus notes. All handcrafted with
love. You’ll find the full range and stocklist at www.rrraw.co.za
February 24 Get It Magazine 15