Heathly chocolate. It sounds like an oxymoron, but Mullumbimby chocolate maker Sarah Wheeler, of Puremelt Chocolate has spent the past decade proving otherwise.
Her hand-made, small batch chocolate is not only guilt-free, it’s actually good for you, she says. So good, in fact, she describes it as therapeutic grade.
Created with just four ethically sourced ingredients – raw cacao powder, raw cacao butter, vanilla and a touch of dark agave – Sarah ensures the chocolate is never heated above 45 degrees during the chocolate making process so that it retains all of its antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
It’s cane sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.
Sarah started making her chocolate about a decade ago after a nutritionist advised her to add 50g of 85% cacao dark chocolate to her diet every day to assist with some health issues that were tiring her out as a mature mum. Dissatisfied with the quality of chocolate available on the market, she decided to make her own.
She’s been supplying her guilt-free chocolate to customers at the Mullumbimby Farmers Market ever since, and in 2016 opened her own chocolate lounge in Mullumbimby.
Along with her chocolate, Sarah has created a whole range of chocolate treats created with her same commitment to quality and ethically sourced ingredients, including brownies, fudge and drinking chocolate. She’s also picked up several awards along the way, including the Golden Fork at Sample Food Festival and Bronze at the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards.
Her most recent innovation, Love Bites – a chewy, delicious heart shaped treat made with almonds, chia seeds, Puremelt chocolate, and coconut sugar – have proved extremely popular with her customers.
“They’re everyone’s favourite,” she said.
The positive response has prompted her to create two new varieties – hazelnut, and hemp love bites, which contain hemp oil.
Sarah says it’s a joy to be able to create a product that people enjoy, and that feels like an indulgence, but is packed with goodness
“I really love that I’m providing something that’s delicious and nutritious,” she said.
“And because everything I sell is cane sugar free and gluten free and organic, a lot of people that can’t normally have delicious treats, can.”
– Find Puremelt at the Mullumbimby Farmers Market every Friday
