Meltdown Artisan - AU | Particl Company Profile

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Everytime I go to make a winnowing reel, it for some reason wants to put dainty classical music on it…and it’s not wrong! 😂 Here is the dance of crushing the bean and winnowing away the husk-a crucial step in defining the texture and flavour of the final chocolate!

When people compare the pricing of bean-to-bar craft chocolate to the stuff you can buy off the shelf at a big supermarket, it’s often because they’re not really aware that craft chocolate just isn’t the same thing. What we produce is not the same as your Cadbury, your Lindt, your Whittaker’s, or your Tony’s. When you compare the price per kilogram of Cadbury vs. Meltdown Artisan, there is going to be a stark contrast-not just in the pricing, but in the cost, the value and the quality. We can tell you exactly where our beans have come from-not just the blanket country of origin, but right down to the co-op and the farmers. You can talk to us directly about how the beans have been processed, what kind of roast they’ve undergone to best bring out their profile and what those profile flavours are. We don’t make chocolate in big batches, but we do make to feature variation in harvest and terroir. You can be confident that your choice as a consumer is based on well-placed trust, not greenwash certifications. Comparing craft to supermarket is like comparing goonbag wine to a fine vintage, or Gesha coffee to $1 coffee from a service station. Both have their place, but they are not comparable. The price gap is closing faster than you might care to know, and personally, I’d rather spend my money knowing that my choices were of value to everyone along the way.

I have my postponed impending surgery coming up at the end of July for my hysterectomy and diaphragmatic endometriosis excision, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t actually pretty terrified. While I’ve wrapped my head around the hysterectomy (as much as one can) and what that recovery might look like, I’m so worried about the excision on my diaphragm and the long term impacts of what this could mean for my ability to work. The prospect of having even a percentage of pain relief is incredible, but on the flip side I’m scared of going through it all for no relief, or surgery on my diaphragm leaving me unable to breathe properly or with phrenic nerve damage. I was diagnosed with pelvic endometriosis just over 5 years ago, and I chose to address it holistically, through lifestyle change and minimal hormonal intervention. While hormones can often suppress the symptoms of endometriosis, they don’t necessarily stop the disease from progressing (with the exception of some new drugs which help to slow progression and shrink lesions)—and as women, hormones have such a huge impact on the rest of our bodily functions. Anyway, that was the path that I chose, and since then, earlier this year after a follow up scan it showed that my disease has progressed to Stage IV endometriosis, meaning it is now beginning to impact my other organs and stick things together. It’s also decided it wants to be all up in my diaphragm muscle! I guess the reason I’m sharing this is to say, that if you’ve got endometriosis and your pain is being dismissed, you’ve GOT to keep advocating for yourself. For ages, I had convinced myself that I had a huge tumour under my rib cage that no one was finding, and before doing the MRI in January I was crossing my fingers that they would find one so I had a reason for all the pain I’ve been in for the last 2-3 years. #Endometriosis is not just a pelvic disease. I think I’m also sharing in solidarity for all of my fellow endo pals, because I’m sure there are other people out there that are sh*t scared about their own surgeries and journeys too… I see you 💛 P.S. Please no femme-splaining or one-downing. All of our pain, experiences and choices are valid.

I’ve just made a fresh new batch of @typoflora chocolate bark with some beautiful cocoa butter from the Solomon Islands. I asked the lovely Shannon of Typoflora to create this illustration for me years ago when I was working on an ‘illustrator series’ of chocolate. The theme across all of them was that the illustration had to feature cocoa somehow, and she did the most beautiful job of capturing the essence of cocoa in its pods and flowers. Even though she created this years ago, it’s still a classic and a popular favourite, especially with florists! The cut-off for Mother’s Day delivery is today!!! For TONIGHT ONLY, I’ll be upgrading all orders to express post, so make sure if you’ve left things to the last minute that you hop online and get it done right now! This might just be the perfect 🌸thing for Mum this year! ❤️

The first time I ever tried Tian Op smoked coconut was at @joestablesydney. Joe was my shop neighbour at Darlinghurst, and introduced me to Tian Op, a Thai candle used exclusively to perfume food made with a blend of spices which impart the most delicious smoky flavour. He used it on a signature smoked ice cream-I don’t often get ‘mind blown’ moments with food, but this was one of them. This week I’ve made some pandan coconut cookies which unfortunately aren’t vegan in and of themselves, but you’ll taste the fragrant smoke from the candle singing through the chunks of Tian Op smoked vegan white chocolate. If you ever tried it in block form, you’ll know exactly what I mean ❤️ This is up under ‘Baked Things’ along with a matcha peanut cookie this month! 🍵 🥜

These lucky cats have been around for a while now! They’ve recently undergone a little twist with the addition of chai spices and black tea. Still vegan friendly, and still blood delicious!

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This week I’ve been working on getting a few new products up online! ✨ Firstly, I ran out of Crack Koalas so have made what I think might be my favourite ever batch but in such a small quantity that it makes me so sad me that they won’t be around for very long. They are made with the very last of my cocoa beans from El Ceibo, Bolivia and have amazing notes of rum, caramel and ripe banana. The new bean-to-bar Crack Koalas are much richer in chocolate tones than their old counterparts, really aiming to feature the profile of the cocoa origin so if you’re after more of a caramel vibe, Twicks bars with the chewy caramel layer might be more your thing! Secondly, I’ve uploaded the cuteness of Pistachio Praline Pandas, and a few of the blocks I made right before Easter including a smoky oolong and lychee bar, and my ‘ode to falooda’ of which you can find the story a few posts back. Even though we’ve just had Easter, there’s always an excuse to make it a chocolate occasion 😉

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Not long to go now until the day of Mum! Still lots of bonbon boxes left and ready for dispatch ASAP! Flavours included: 💚 White Chocolate Apricot Jelly with Pistachio Cardamom Praline 🧡 White Chocolate Mango Jelly with Macadamia Tonka Praline ❤️ Milk Chocolate Raspberry Jelly with Peanut Praline 💜 Milk Chocolate Blackcurrant Jelly with Chai Hazelnut Praline

White chocolate pistachio praline pandas! Made with Bougainville and Solomon Islands cocoa butter ✨ Coming soon…

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Mother’s Day is around the corner and some of you have already discovered that I uploaded a few new products late last week! The hero though, is the Jelly Praline bonbon pack which has four different combinations of jelly compote and nut praline…it’s the first bonbon box I’ve made in a while and I’m already feeling inspired to move onto the next for release in late May. The flavours in this pack are: 💚 White Chocolate Apricot Jelly with Pistachio Cardamom Praline 🧡 White Chocolate Mango Jelly with Macadamia Tonka Praline ❤️ Milk Chocolate Raspberry Jelly with Peanut Praline 💜 Milk Chocolate Blackcurrant Jelly with Chai Hazelnut Praline Limited stock available. Once they’re gone, they’re gone! ❤️

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For all of the dog mummas in your life 🐾❤️ After campaigning for most of my childhood for a robotic dog, my parents finally caved and we got the real thing. Tucker was my first pup-feisty and tiny but with a mighty attitude. A few days after we rescued Macc, Tucker crossed the rainbow bridge and while my heart was breaking, Macc was there to receive and give all of the love I needed. Over the last ten weeks, after Macc’s accident, I have fiercely been ‘mother’ to him like no-other. His needs are as much my needs. All this to say, there are more ways to be a mum than to literally be a biological mother, and all of these should be celebrated.

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We can strive for perfection always, but as hand made products with a human element, you should know that not every knock out is perfect! It’s always tempting to edit out the “fails” but I’m proud to show that I don’t get it perfect every time.