Indulgence Alert: Kutai Raw Chocolat

Today, I had the pleasure of accompanying my parents to the Bryanston Organic Market - which is essentially an 'elite' fleamarket, which sells predominantly organic products. Organically grown food, clothing made from organic materials, toys made from wood, soya candles, art made from natural products, and local crafts and semi-precious stones... It is a collection of extremely interesting people selling extremely cool merchandise.


I first discovered the market a few months ago, and in the middle of my very own Johannesburg, I had a complete culture shock. Without intending to stereo-type, I felt like I had walked through a time-warp, into a land of hippies. Now, please understand, I mean that in the most complimentary of ways - it was the most wonderful experience, and I fell in love with the overall aura of the market. (Listen to me, talking about 'aura' and all...)


It is no surprise then, that I decided to go back there today, and took my parents with for the experience. Now, my sole purpose was to spend some time with my folks, but there was an underlying agenda, of course... chocolate.

At the very heart of the market, one will find a small understated stall that sells organic chocolate. There is something magical about this stall, and I'm not just saying that because I love chocolate so much. Dorileela Kutai, the owner of this budding business, is a beautiful young woman, with doe eyes and a stunning head of gypsy-like dark hair. With a foreign accent, and a charm about her that can not be explained, purchasing her chocolate for the first time made me feel like I had been transported into the movie Chocolat, and was being bewitched by the decadence of real, raw chocolate... if you've watched the movie (which is delightful, by the way) and been to Dori Kutai's store, you would know just how bizarre the similarities are. In fact, I figure if I hang around the market long enough each Saturday, Johnny Depp is bound to show up eventually.


So what is it with raw organic chocolate? The major difference seems to be that it does not contain any sugar / sucrose, gluten or dairy (both of which a lot of people are unknowingly intolerant of). Raw organic chocolate is also cooked differently to regular chocolate. In any case, the end result is an amazing flavour with the added bonus of being healthy.... yes.... healthy chocolate.


Having done some reading up, here are some of reasons why you should get your hands on Kutai Raw Chocolate:

• Cacao beans are the richest source of anti-oxidant on earth! By weight, raw cacao has more antioxidants than red wine, blue berries, acai, pomegranates and gogi berries combined. Raw cacao has 540% more antioxidant power.
• Over 300 compounds of minerals: sulphur (“beauty” mineral, helps build strong nails and hair, promotes healthy and beautiful skin, helps detoxify the liver, and supports healthy functioning of the pancreas), calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, and manganese, Vitamin C, plus some of the B Vitamins. Cocao also appears to have anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Rich in magnesium, it’s good for your heart! Cacao seems to be the number one source of magnesium of any food! Magnesium is one of the great alkaline minerals. It helps to support the heart, brain, and digestive system also important for building strong bones.
• Food for your brain- Increasing focus and alertness. Phenylethylamine (PEA) helps promote mental alertness and the ability to concentrate. The PEA in our chocolate can be of help to students taking tests, and to senior citizens who want to retain the mental capacity of a younger person and postpone the onset of dementia.
• Awakens the Love chemical (PEA) found in abundance in cacao.  PEA is the chemical that we produce in our bodies when we fall in love. This is likely one of the main reasons why love and chocolate have such a deep connection.
• Helps with weight loss – Because it has appetite-suppressant properties, cocao is often added to weight loss products to help control hunger.
• Anti-depressant, Cacao brings instant comfort and acts as a mild anti-depressant by increasing our serotonin and endorphin levels. Cacao helps stimulate the production of “pleasure nuerotrasmitters”, the chemicals in your brain that also get released during pleasurable experiences from intimacy to laughter with friends. These pleasure chemicals (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine) also act as anti-depressants for the mind.
• Natural aphrodisiac – The ancient Mayans used dark chocolate for fertility as well as for hightened pleasure during intimacy . The Aztecs also revered dark chocolate for its powers of erotic stimulation… yum!

(Sourced from: www.completeyoga.co.za/2010/11/raw-chocolate-the-healthy-news)

Of course, at the risk of being too obvious, I must point out that this is nothing like your regular grocery-store chocolate. So, don't expect it to taste the same - it does have a very different taste, and will take you by surprise. It's rich without being creamy, it's dark without being over-powering, and it's sweet without a nasty after-taste. Please, do yourself a favour, Fellow Chocolate-Lovers, and get some. If you can't get to the Bryanston Organic Market, you can order online on the Kutai Raw Chocolate website.

You can also hear from the lovely Dori Kutai herself on YouTube. 

It is only natural that my longest blog yet be all about chocolate :-) Peace Out!