cacao prieto.

chocolate bars
19th century mélange | 21st century reproduction
liqueur tasting

it's not every day that you get invited to see the inner workings of a chocolate factory, just ask arthur slugworth. you might imagine my delight then when on sunday we were given a tour at the red hook factory of cacao prieto.  the chocolate rums and liqueurs produced on site are not the only intoxicating elements of the place; the blend of 19th and early 20th century aesthetic appeal with 21st century ingenuity also makes for a heady combination. white-tiled walls and wooden floors with a century or more of golden patina set the stage for an army of small machines, each engineered or retrofitted to produce positively delightful chocolate. the place is a dream for nerdy science-types and chocolate-lovers alike. yes, james and i found ourselves equally enthralled. cacao prieto prides itself on producing bean to bar chocolate using single origin cacao beans shipped straight from the dominican republic to brooklyn. we even got to take a giant whiff of the fermenting beans, and i'm here to tell you, this is the real deal.  nut & cacao spread

it won't shock you to learn that we came home with a little treat of our own. i've been eating their nut and cacao spread by the spoonful on my toast every morning this week. hazelnuts, almonds, sugar, and cacao with a pinch of salt, it's like nutella's more handsome younger brother. if you're in the area, a trip to red hook is definitely in order. check out their website for more of the cacao prieto story.