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New Zealand Chocolate Journal

what ingredients should be in chocolate

what ingredients should be in a good quality chocolate bar

What ingredients should be in a good quality chocolate bar? The real answer sits on the back of the wrapper,...

cacao beans are on a baking tray ready for roasting in the oven

The Science Behind Roasting Cacao for Better Chocolate

How does roasting cacao beans change the flavour of chocolate? Bite into a raw cacao bean and you'll taste almost...

A women making a chocolate bar from cacao beans

How to turn cacao beans into a chocolate bar

How do you turn cacao beans into a chocolate bar? It's a question I get asked often, and the honest...

women eating high-cacao milk chocolate

What chocolate has the least sugar but still tastes good

Discover how low-sugar bars made with quality cacao can taste richer, and how to choose one. Read our guide now....

Chocolate tasting gift sets: how to pick one worth giving

Chocolate tasting gift sets: how to pick one worth giving

A thoughtful chocolate tasting gift set does more than deliver sweetness, it changes how someone thinks about chocolate. Most people...

A young women eating low sugar milk chocolate

Why milk chocolate tastes so sweet and what to buy instead

You unwrap a milk chocolate bar, take a square, and wait. What hits first is sweetness. What hits second is...

enjoying a good quality milk chocolate bar

What Makes a Great Milk Chocolate Bar?

Most people pick up a milk chocolate bar without a second thought. It's familiar, comforting, and easy to reach for....

image of raw ingredients that make white chocolate

What Is White Chocolate Really Made Of?

Most people have written off white chocolate entirely, and honestly, that's fair. The versions they've tried were either cloying, waxy,...

a young women enjoying tasting chocolates

Why chocolate tastes too sweet?

It's worth asking why so many chocolates strike the palate as overly sweet, because the reason lies not in the...

Single origin cacao beans from the soloman islands

Why New Zealand Chocolate Is Worth Paying Attention To

Most people hear "New Zealand chocolate" and picture a green wrapper at the supermarket checkout. That's fair, it's been there...

How to Pick Your First Flavour-Forward Chocolate Bar?

How to Pick Your First Flavour-Forward Chocolate Bar?

If you're asking what chocolate bar should I start with if I want more flavour, you're already asking the right...

a hand breaking a wayne raven dark milk chocolate bar

What Is Dark Milk Chocolate?

You have probably seen it and wondered. You might have even picked it up, put it back down, and kept...

wayne raven chocolate bar cacao beans and milk with sugar is never first

Why Balanced Flavor Matters: The Secret to Better Chocolate

Have you ever wanted more from your chocolate than just sweetness? True indulgence is found in balance. Discover how prioritizing...

Matcha powder being sifted on to a white chocolate bar

What Does Matcha Chocolate Taste Like?

People often ask us, 'What does white chocolate matcha taste like?' The short answer is that it combines the creamy,...

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New Zealand Chocolate Journal Insights, So You Know What You're Tasting

The New Zealand Chocolate Journal is where the thinking behind chocolate
that tastes good gets shared.

You'll find articles on flavour, cacao sourcing, and what actually goes into
making chocolate from scratch that tastes good and balanced rather than just
sweet. Written from a maker's perspective by Wayne Raven, who has
been refining good tasting chocolate since 2019.

Sugar is never first™ here. That applies to the chocolate and to the
conversation about it.

We're making chocolate from scratch, from raw ingredients in New Zealand -
a small and growing movement. This journal is where that story gets
told.