Handmade, vegan chocolate that tastes good and does good.

It all started with a spatula and a bowl in my little Leamington kitchen. I’d just had my twins and discovered we were all dairy intolerant. I’m a chocoholic…this can’t be!

The vegan chocolate I could find at the time was all over sweetened and packed with filler oils and ingredients I’d never heard of. As a mum of young children, I wanted to ensure that what we were eating was good for us, including our chocolatey treats.

After a few inevitable disasters (although believe me, they were all delicious, if not pretty), Rawsome Chocolate was born. Dairy free, Gluten free and soya free yumminess. The biggest compliment I get with my chocolate is that you would never know it was vegan.

So how is it made? I was very conscious from the start that I only wanted to use the very best quality, ethically sourced ingredients and so went to great pains to seek out producers who met these high standards. The cacao I get is from agroforestry managed plantations in Peru, where the crops are grown within the existing natural environment. No pesticides or fertilizers are used and there is absolutely no child labour involved. The sugar, similarly, is unrefined coconut sugar from Indonesia which The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation named as the single most sustainable sweetener in the world in 2014. Coconut trees use minimal amounts of water, and growing trees improve the soil structure and can turn marginalised lands into lush jungle. The dark chocolate is just these two ingredients before adding natural fruit, nut and extract inclusions to give the vast range of flavours. The mylk and white chocolates use nut or seed mylks which add healthy fats to the bars and a delicious creaminess while never taking away from the natural cacao flavour.

This chocolate is unroasted. Every bean has a flavour profile shaped by the soil and climate it grows in, as well as the care each producer takes in cultivating and processing it. This fruity flavour is often roasted away. My customers tell me that they love this fruit forward flavour showing the real character of the bean. I do, and I’m sure you will too.

I hope, with the great support from you, my wonderful customers, this can grow into a legacy business which not only supports the producers of these gorgeous ingredients to continue to do their great work, but also to support my family and others in my community. My daughter was born with cerebral palsy and I gave up my job as a teacher to care for her and her twin brother. She is amazing and determined and I hope that if she chooses to, she will be able to gain employment in Rawsome Chocolate. Whether she does or not, I aim to give a chance to other people with disabilities to come and work with us, as it is so much more difficult for those with a disability to find employment, and I hope to help give them the skills to achieve whatever their ambitions are.