Vegan Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bar — 70% Heirloom Cacao

Vegan raspberry dark chocolate bar, 70% heirloom cacao, freeze-dried real raspberry crushed straight into the bar. Two ounces, twelve squares, Berkeley small-batch. This is the bar we reach for when we want fruit and cacao in the same bite — no jam, no filling, no artificial flavour, just cold-crushed berry meeting slow-melting dark chocolate. The raspberry snaps first. The cacao arrives behind it. Then a slow, quiet finish where the two settle into each other.

It is the kind of raspberry dark chocolate bar you break into a mug of pour-over. It is also the kind you keep in the drawer for the 4 pm slump. We make it in runs of a few hundred bars at a time on a two-week tempering cycle. Nothing here is scaled. Nothing here is warehoused.

What makes this vegan raspberry dark chocolate bar different

Real freeze-dried raspberry (Pacific Northwest)

Two decisions define this bar. The first is the raspberry — whole berries, flash-frozen at harvest, then freeze-dried until the water is gone but the aroma compounds are locked in. Nothing else survives that process the way a raspberry does. We source ours from Pacific Northwest growers — Oregon and Washington farms working the summer window when the berries hit their peak Brix. Freeze-drying preserves the tart lift and the seed crunch without the mush that plagues jam-filled bars.

70% heirloom cacao base

The second decision is the cacao percentage. We land at 70% because anything higher fights the fruit and anything lower turns the bar into candy. Seventy percent is the sweet spot where the cacao carries body without dominating, and the raspberry can still speak for itself. Under the fruit and the cacao, there is Madagascar bourbon vanilla (whole-pod, scraped in-house) and a small pinch of Himalayan salt to draw the berry note forward. Coconut sugar handles the sweetness. Cacao butter carries the melt.

The result is a raspberry dark chocolate bar that reads bright on the top, dark on the bottom, and does not need a wine glass or a candle to work. Berkeley kitchen. Small tempering machine. Real berries. Real bean.

Ingredients — freeze-dried raspberry, heirloom cacao, Madagascar vanilla

Pacific Northwest freeze-dried raspberry

• Freeze-Dried Raspberry* — whole Pacific Northwest berries, no flavour concentrate.

70% heirloom cacao

• Cacao*† — heirloom criollo-hybrid, fair-trade, roasted low and slow in Berkeley.
• Coconut Sugar* — low-glycemic, unrefined, no cane involved.
• Cacao Butter*† — cold-pressed from our own cacao lot, undeodorised.

Madagascar Bourbon vanilla

• Vanilla Bean* — Madagascar bourbon, whole-pod, hand-scraped.
• Himalayan Crystal Salt — a small pinch to lift the fruit.

*Organic. †Fair Trade Certified™.

Tasting notes

Tart berry lift

The raspberry hits first, bright and unmistakable, with the faint seed-crunch of real fruit.

Dark bittersweet cacao body

70% heirloom takes over the middle of the palate, rounded, not aggressive. The coconut sugar and cacao butter drag the finish long; it does not disappear the way cheap chocolate does.

Salt-lifted finish

The Himalayan crystal is present as a lift, never as a note; the berry reads brighter for it. No artificial berry flavour, no jammy sweetness, no candy-shop pink; just fruit and bean.

How to enjoy — pairings, gifting, dessert ideas

Wine pairings

A glass of Sauternes is the most rewarding match — the botrytised sweetness lifts the raspberry into full peach-and-honey territory. A dry rosé Champagne also works: the acid keeps up with the fruit, and the toast in the wine echoes the roasted cacao. For something non-alcoholic, an oat-milk latte at medium roast keeps the bar's tart-and-dark tension going for another beat.

Dessert ideas

Break two squares into a small ramekin and melt over a double boiler with a spoon of oat cream — instant raspberry chocolate mousse for two. Grate the bar over a fresh pavlova instead of shaved dark chocolate — the freeze-dried raspberry doubles up beautifully on top of the meringue and cream. Also excellent chopped into a granola batch just before the second bake.

Gifting. Valentine's, Mother's Day, anniversary, “thank-you for the plant-sit” — this is the bar we send when we want the recipient to think we picked something particular for them. Add a note at checkout.

Nutrition facts & allergens

Values approximate; placeholder pending final lab panel.

Allergens & free-from: vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, GMO-free. Made in a facility that also handles tree nuts.

Sourcing & sustainability

Our heirloom cacao is fair-trade certified and purchased through farmer cooperatives at prices above the Fair Trade minimum. Our raspberries are whole-berry Pacific Northwest fruit, flash-frozen and freeze-dried by a domestic partner — no imported fruit powder, no anti-caking agents. The Madagascar vanilla comes from bourbon-region growers who cure the pods on site. Everything on the label is organic. Packaging is home-compostable outer wrap over a food-safe inner liner. We do not use foil.

Frequently asked questions

Is the raspberry real or artificial?

Real freeze-dried raspberry, whole-berry. No flavour concentrate, no natural raspberry flavour, no colourings, no additives. If you crush a square between your fingers you will see the seeds and the faint pink stain — that is the fruit.

What percentage is the cacao?

70%. Bittersweet, not aggressively dark. This is the percentage where the cacao body can hold up to the raspberry without swallowing it. If you drink your coffee at a medium roast, this is your bar.

Is it vegan, organic, soy-free?

Yes to all three. No dairy, no whey, no milk fat. Certified organic. No soy lecithin — most mass-market chocolate uses soy lecithin as an emulsifier; we use cacao butter instead, which is why the melt is slower and cleaner.

How long does it stay fresh?

Best within 6 months of arrival. Store below 68°F, away from direct light and strong odours (chocolate absorbs). It will not spoil after that window — the cacao butter is naturally shelf-stable — but the freeze-dried raspberry is at its brightest in the first six months.

Shipping, storage & gifting

Ships flat-rate from Berkeley, California. In warm-weather months (roughly May through September) every order goes out with a cold pack. Gift note handwritten at checkout. Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are our two biggest raspberry weeks — order a week ahead if the date matters.

Vegan | 70% Cacao | Organic | Fair-Trade | Soy-Free | Gluten-Free | Berkeley small-batch