As with all our Limited Edition bars, it’s a chance for us to be creative and come up with something experimental in concept and flavors. So many of our ideas stem from our love of the outdoors in Utah and this bar is certainly part of our homage to nature.
Living in the Wasatch Mountain range, like so many others, I love to have an escape from the snowy winters here. And the best remedy for the winter chills is a quick road trip down to Southern Utah to skamper around the red rock deserts.
The deep red rock hues, vibrant cactus greens, and warm sun on your skin are everything you need to heal the soul and reinvigorate the body. Not to mention the earth shattering beauty of the national parks such as Zions, Canyonlands, and Arches to help give life some perspective.
I wanted to somehow distill this warm and life giving desert energy into a chocolate bar. Something beautiful to look at with a soft melt on the tongue, yet delivering a final fiery kick to the senses.
So I put these hairbrain ideas in front of our production manager, John. Never afraid of a challenge, he set to work creating the perfect oat milk white chocolate and experimenting with numerous spicy ingredients.
JOHN LANKFORD ON A CACAO ORIGINS TRIP
We work hard to source ingredients from suppliers that have integrity and focus on quality. This bar is a true success in sourcing for us. Our oat milk white chocolate is made with organic peruvian cocoa butter and Anson Mills organic toasted oats. Anson Mills focuses on heirloom grain varieties that are often harder to produce but are superior in flavor to most grains we find on the grocery shelves. The peelcorn oats we use have nuances of minerality, nuttiness and fresh field flavors that are cold-milled to order.
Once we started testing different spice ideas, this bar quickly became a collaboration with our SLC neighbors, Chili Beak, who work meticulously on their recipes to create the perfect balance of flavor and heat. Adding their Original Spicy Roast Chili Oil which has a flavorful blend of Chile de Arbol, Guajillo & Chipotle peppers. This gives the white chocolate its sandstone hue and spicy kick we wanted.
We finish with a light sprinkling of organic crystallized ginger for a chewy texture to balance the creaminess of the white chocolate base. And voila…the perfect chocolate representation of the Utah desert, aptly called Desert Sands.
Candied Ginger Close Up on Desert Sands Bar.
We hope that even during your busy work day, you can slow down, take a moment and let this spicy white chocolate bar whisk you off to the warm desert.
Even in the testing phase, this bar has quickly become a favorite for our Ritual team.
Our Limited Editions are always a great way for us to test people’s palates to see what gets a serious heck yes! So reach out and let us know what you think, as we are always considering bars for our main line bar family.
—Anna (Co-Founder)
