Herbaceous Green Sichuan Pepper
Herbaceous Green Sichuan Pepper
This was such a popular Limited Release bar we've added it to our Maker's Choice line!
Our Herbaceous Green Sichuan Dark Chocolate sourced from spice company 50 Hertz is truly unique. We always pair the natural flavor notes of our single origin chocolate with different complementary flavors, and this match up is spectacular. The herbal notes of our Peruvian Ucayali chocolate seamlessly meld with and carry the pine, floral and citrus notes of the Green Sichuan Pepper. And, the Ucayali chocolate already had a slightly cooling hit, but the Sichuan really amps it up for a cool breeze in the mouth after the lemon rush!
And, what you've heard about Sichuan pepper is true - it gives the same tingly sensation as if you were exposed to a low electrical current! ⚡️ The feeling is actually equal to 50hz, which is the rate at which electrons vibrate on most power grids. Incorporated in our chocolate you get a tingly, buzzing sensation. But don't worry - the only way this bar will actually shock you is with how intensely herbal it is!
Note that this bar is NOT HOT!
About the Herbaceous Green Sichuan Pepper
When Yao Zhao returned home to visit his family for Chinese New Year, his mom made a salad with local Green Sichuan Pepper oil, and lightning struck! First there was the tingle sensation and delicious vegetal flavors, and then there was the idea to share his hometown delicacy with foodies worldwide, and his culinary company 50Hertz was born.
Green Sichuan is not really a "pepper” so it’s not “hot" - it is actually a berry harvested by hand from the prickly ash tree, which is in the citrus family. Yao explains that the berry is comprised of an outer shell and interior seed, and the flavor is actually in the oil of the skin of the shell. In the shell various herbal and citrus flavor compounds are present as well as a molecule called hydroxy-alpha sanshool. This molecule causes a uniquely intense buzzing, tingling and numbing sensation on the tongue with a frequency of about 50 Hertz!
50Hertz works directly with farmers and co-ops in Chongqing who harvest the green “wild” variety of Sichuan annually, by hand. After they pick the fresh fruit from the trees they let the berries dry under the sun; the skin cracks open and the bitter, interior seeds fall out. To ensure high quality standards and that no bitter seeds remain to detract from the flavor experience, famers place the berries though a vibrating machine and finally hand-sift to remove any outlier seeds.
This Green Sichuan growing and harvest process is multi-step, hard work as no automation can be used. It’s challenging to retain farmer interest in growing this type of labor-intensive crop when more enticing and easier-to-harvest fruits like apples and peaches are options.
Despite farming challenges, Yao and his business partner Lois remain enthusiastic about the future of the aromatic and tingly Green Sichuan Pepper, and they will be joining their farmers this summer and participating in the annual July harvest!
About the Ucayali Cacao
The Ucayali cacao used for this bar comes from the jungles of Peru. It’s named after the Ucayali river, one of the major headwaters of the Amazon, and the farmers living along its shores grow several varieties of fine flavor cacao. They bring the cacao on boats to our partners at Ucayali River Cacao, where the beans are expertly fermented and dried at their new facility. We’ve personally visited the fermentation and drying facility and have met many of the farmers.
We also freshly press the cocoa butter for this from the same Ucayali beans we use to make the chocolate, resulting in intense single origin flavor and exceptional smoothness. We’re one of the only chocolate makers in the country to press our own cocoa butter, and it makes a world of difference in flavor.
Tasting notes: A complex journey of pine, rosemary, flowers, herbs, a slight tingle sensation and mouthwatering lemon
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