Eat This: Twenty-Four Blackbirds’ Fresh Cacao Pâte de Fruits
East Haley Street Chocolate Producer Using Cacao Juice to Make Unique Gummy Treats
The traditional limits of chocolate are being stretched to the gills on East Haley Street, where Twenty-Four Blackbirds founder Mike Orlando is now growing cacao plants, experimenting with fermentation techniques, and envisioning novel ways to turn this tropical species into edible treats. His latest ready-for-consumption idea is pâte de fruits — which is really just a fancy way to say gummy candies — made from fresh cacao juice. “We’re the only company in the world making these,” said Orlando of the vegan treats, which, with cinnamon and spearmint touches, taste a bit like bites of apple pie. And if you’d prefer to stick with his truffles, he’s recently perfected ones that blend turmeric and ginger, cardamom and black peppercorn, and a pseudo-bourbon flavor eerily reminiscent of an Old Fashioned cocktail.
428 E. Haley St., (805) 464-6074; twentyfourblackbirds.com
