Raaka Chocolate Tour - Updated

Did you know you can take a tour of Raaka Chocolate in Red Hook?

I first tried Raaka at the Bryant Park Winter Village and I was instantly infatuated. Unfortunately, the bars I purchased immediately afterward all had a bit of a burnt aftertaste to them, so I went on a bit of a Raaka hiatus. But when the opportunity to tour came about last spring, I decided that since my pal and I had already toured another chocolate factory, it was as good a time as ever to revisit Raaka.

Upon entering Raaka headquarters, the first thing you see is the "gift shop."

 

And then you see everything else.

 

 The tour started with the beans, of course.

We got to taste some roasted beans, which I don't recommend. Some of the folks in the group were acting like they liked them. I'm not sure if this was because they were vying for more free stuff or if they wanted to appear as though they had a palate distinguished enough to enjoy such a wretched taste, but it was NOT GOOD and wasn't really intended to be.

 

Give me chocolate in all of it's refined glory any day.

 

The most exciting part of the tour was when we got to go into a gloriously scented room containing giant tubs filled with melted chocolate. It immediately crossed my mind that it was a little strange to be in this room not wearing a hazmat suit: the chocolate wasn't covered and, although we were all donning hairnets, we were also talking/coughing/sneezing and just generally shedding skin particles in a confined space amidst the melted product.

To my further surprise, we were then each given a disposable spoon with which to retrieve our own sample from said tubs*(please see update below). Let me set the scene: we weren't wearing gloves and were given the go-ahead to dip our spoons into tubs of chocolate ultimately intended for retail for a taste. While I like to consider myself germ-conscious (germophobe seems a little severe), this seemed more than a little unsanitary. But, in my ongoing efforts not to be a dud, I dipped my spoon and had a taste of truly glorious, melted chocolate. However, my satisfaction was short-lived; when I turned around I noticed that a few of the other people on the tour had chocolate all over their hands. I initially thought there had been some sort of chocolate accident, but then I realized: it was because they'd dipped them so far into the chocolate in an effort to get the most chocolate onto their spoon.

a proper taste

So then I was done. Not necessarily with humanity (although almost), but definitely with Raaka for the day.

I wasn't able to bring myself to purchase anything on the way out, I didn't sign up for the chocolate-bar making tour others were interested in, and I easily resisted the urge to run out of the building wheeling this giant bin of chocolate bars. The mystique was gone and it had been replaced by skeeve.

Not sure that I'll ever think of Raaka in the same way I did when I was originally introduced. I've considered that this may just be a case of it not always being the best idea to peer behind the curtain, but I'm pretty confident it errs more on the side of blatant lack of hygiene.

What do you think? Am I nuts, or does this seem in clear violation of health codes?
 
*UPDATED 1/26/16: I'm happy to report that Raaka's Community Director contacted me via email with the following information:

I wanted to reach out about your recent blog post.

I greatly appreciate your feedback on our tour and the worries about hygiene. I completely agree with your concerns and take them very seriously.

The employee who gave that tour was corrected over the summer on his practices in the grinding room of letting people dip their own tasting spoons in to the machine. The public is no longer allowed to go anywhere near that close to open machinery and the tasting is handed out by a gloved employee. We fixed this practice with this employee in June. 

Regardless of what has changed, I sincerely do apologize for your experience and am saddened to hear we've lost a customer, though I understand your reasons and consider them extremely valid. I want to assure you that we have changed it and are assuredly vigilant about our factory hygiene.

Thank you so much for your feedback and your support of the food community.

--

Peter Gray | Community Director | Chocolate Maker

             Raaka Chocolate 

     Handmade Virgin Chocolate

Abby Bean and the Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of chocolate.  Especially good chocolate.  Especially dark chocolate.  I'd been eying Mast Brothers chocolate for a while, but couldn't bring myself to splurge.  Only when a friend generously gifted VM* an Almond & Sea Salt bar did I realize the decadence I'd been missing.

I've eaten a lot of chocolate in my life, but this was otherwordly.  Dark, smooth, and pure: punctuated by a pucker of sea salt and the crunch of roasted almonds- definitely not a mere "candy bar".  As with all of Mast's offerings, the magic lies in the quality, minimal ingredients.

Everything about the taste and the packaging radiates luxury, but the price point is not for the sake of attracting attention.  It is a result of utilizing the finest, fair trade, ethically sourced ingredients to craft exquisite chocolate; and, it is highbrow without being exclusionary. 

Soon after, the same generous friend discovered that, as if Mast Brothers couldn't be any cooler, they offer tours of their Brooklyn factory. 

You can smell the chocolate from the sidewalk.

But it doesn't prepare you for the visual beauty of the shop.

Most importantly, there are tastings of many of their bar options available as soon as you enter.  

Unwritten: "Please utilize the tongs provided in order to maintain both decorum and sanitation, as well as to prevent A. Bean from having a spaz attack."

The tour began unassumingly and our guide, Ian, was understated and knowledgeable.  At the end of the tour I was happy to see him take a taste along with the group and have him assure us that he is by no means sick of chocolate; otherwise I would have feared he was an alien.

The other employees we came across during the tour were friendly as well, and allowed us annoying crazy bloggers to photograph whatever we wanted.  Note: I don't want to start rumors or anything, but I did spy toasted rice puffs in this room where the chocolate is made into bars...therefore, I anticipate a dark chocolate, vegan, artisanal (or, as Mast puts it: craft), crunch bar in my future.

The tour is enjoyable, informative, and suitable for any age.  The hairnets were an attractive bonus!  I admit, though, that I found it a bit overwhelming to be around all of that chocolate and still maintain my composure.

I took a visual measurement and determined I would not fit in this drum.

One of the highlights of the tour was this awesome contraption.

We were told that the factory will be expanding to triple its size; I can't even fathom that much chocolate under one roof, but I can't wait to see what magical equipment the new space will hold.

When the tour was over, it was hard to narrow down my selections.

I ultimately chose these:

Cocoa Nibs- "Go from bean to bar in one bite. Cocoa nibs are roasted, chopped and winnowed cocoa beans. A favorite amongst craft chocolate makers. Beautiful texture, authentically pure cacao."  I generally find cocoa nibs bitter, so I didn't think I'd like this one.  But one taste of the crunch and I was hooked.  Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, cocoa nibs.

the VEGAN golden ticket

Almonds & Sea Salt- (because it was that good the first time) "Biodynamic almonds from the Anderson family farm in central California headline this instant classic. The almonds are roasted in olive oil and sea salt, roughly chopped and distributed over single origin Dominican Republic dark chocolate."  Salt and chocolate done RIGHT.  Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, almonds, sea salt, olive oil.

And lastly (for now): Pecans & Maple- "Made with a beautiful blend of cacao from all around the world.  We slow roast and caramelize organic, American Native pecans with Deep Mountain Vermont Maple Syrup found in Union Square's Greenmarket."  Not overtly maple-y and the pecans are extraordinary; a crunchy keeper.  Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, pecans, maple syrup.

My next visit will surely include the Hazelnut for two reasons: 1) yum, - "Classic Italian pairing, made with the best hazelnuts in the world grown by our friends Barb and Fritz at Freddy Guys Filbert Farm in the Willamette Valley. Hazelnuts are roasted in-house and paired with our Venezuelan dark chocolate.", 2) Freddy Guys make the best hazelnuts!

And the Madagascar for it's decadent fruitiness- "This dark chocolate put craft chocolate on the map. The organic cacao is sourced from a single farm in the beautiful Sambirano Valley. Bold, with in your face notes of blood orange, raspberry and red wine (72% cacao)."  My companion, myself, AND the seven-year old in our tour group all agreed that the Madagascar was most fab.

Perhaps by then the crisped rice bar will have made an appearance!

Read more about the company and their commitment to their product on their blog.  In particular, make sure to check out this Wall Street Journal article chronicling their recent import expedition.  Don't miss the opportunity to take the enjoyable, chocolatey tour and- most importantly, go get some chocolate.

*Yes, the bar was a gift for VM.  Yes, it came with explicit instructions that I was to let her open it when she was good and ready.  No, there were no rules outlining whether or not it was appropriate to nag her until she did so...