Coffee connoisseur and founder of Truth Coffee David Donde has recently launched South Africa’s first – sugar-free chocolate made with just two ingredients.
As the man responsible for bringing specialty coffee roasting to SA, Donde has a history of pioneering flavour profiles that win over South African palates. Realising that the world of chocolate looks like coffee did before the rise of Speciality Coffee, a journey into chocolate began.
Now, he has transferred the expertise of Truth Coffee to cacao for a bar of Minimalist chocolate that defies expectations.
Donde says no one is brave enough to say “no sugar required”, referring to his bold approach to two of the world’s favourite little luxuries.
He says they did it with coffee in 2005 with the launch of Origin Coffee Roasting, and now they are doing it with chocolate.
Donde adds that the approach is simple: no bitterness in the chocolate to begin with, so no sugar is needed to overcome it.
According to the brand website, Minimalist’s classic chocolate bars are crafted from just cacao and milk, making for an after-taste and creamy texture that are seriously more-ish.
The brand’s extended product selection also offers something for the sweet tooth. Bon Bons come in five irresistible flavours: hazelnut, salted caramel, Truth coffee, dulce de leche, and Christmas cake, for some sugared decadence at its finest.
The chocolates are available from Truth Coffee, online, and at selected retail outlets.
For more sugar-free chocolate options, you can try the below.
Afrikoa
A well-balanced bar with an incredibly smooth finish, its sugar-free chocolate is made with a special blend of Xylitol and Erythritol. The 80% chocolate has fruity flavours of raspberry and hazelnuts.
There’s a low bitterness and no weird after taste. It has been laboratory-tested, so it's suitable for diabetics.
What makes the brand even more special is that it became the first chocolate brand in Africa made with fair-trade heirloom cacao beans, the first bean-to-bar company in South Africa to produce chocolate made from cacao sourced directly from African farmers.
Visit: www.afrikoa.com
Nova chocolate
These are sugar-free, gluten-free, and most are dairy-free and vegan-friendly, made of the best quality ingredients.
The company is passionate about creating and supplying healthier chocolate products that are delicious and more-ish, so we can enjoy a rich and decadent treat without the guilt, sugar rush, and intolerance.
Visit: www.novachocolate.co.za
De Villiers Chocolate
In a kitchen during Covid-19 lockdown, artisan African chocolate brand De Villiers Chocolate was created, from scratch, a sugar-free and dairy-free range of sustainably sourced chocolate.
The range of plant-based chocolate does not cause negative reactions, such as blood sugar or insulin spikes and gastrointestinal side effects, and is also Rainforest Alliance and Keto certified, as well as registered with the Vegan Society.
Chief executive and master chocolate maker Pieter de Villiers said that while there were many no-added-sugar chocolates on the market catering to health-conscious consumers, diabetics, and those following the ketogenic, vegan, and low-carb diets, most of the options were cheerless substitutes for the real deal, that is until now.
“We have been trying to perfect a no-added-sugar De Villiers Chocolate option for several years, and we're proud to say that this new range of sugar-free, dairy-free, and vegan chocolate meets the taste, texture, quality, and health benefits that we've been wanting to bring our customers,” De Villiers said.
Visit: www.woolworths.co.za