MEGUMI ARAI Awase (合わせ) Chocolate
Regular price
Unit price
per
MEGUMI ARAI
Awase (合わせ) Chocolate
Chocolate infused with saffron, dried apple with beetroot juice and tarragon.
We collaborated with textile artist Megumi Shauna Arai to create a limited-edition batch of chocolate gifts, unique in that the flavoring of the chocolate bar itself, and the dye used to create a fabric wrapping sourced from the same botanicals.
Awase is the Japanese word loosely meaning “joined together,” or the act of combining things to form a new whole. Awase Chocolate celebrates the union between flavor and craft, and references the coming together of a group of friends and makers to create an object that is further meant to connect people.
The vivid colors derived from beetroot and Targetes Lucida (Mexican tarragon) were naturally processed to create dyes used to hand-dye a fabric outer packaging of the bars. Using fabric to wrap the pieces is a direct reference to Megumi’s Japanese heritage where wrapping cloths are used to wrap and/or to transport goods and gifts. Inside the package, chocolate flavored by beetroot-stained dried apple slices, saffron and flecked tarragon form the flavor base of the confection.
Once the chocolate has been consumed, the textile packaging, which Megumi also embellished with stitched details, becomes a multi-functional artwork that can either be repurposed to wrap other gifts, or used as a napkin or decoration. The aim here is to celebrate the historical processes of using dyes to visually enhance both materials and food, and to create a gift that has a lifespan beyond the chocolate bar itself.
Awase is the Japanese word loosely meaning “joined together,” or the act of combining things to form a new whole. Awase Chocolate celebrates the union between flavor and craft, and references the coming together of a group of friends and makers to create an object that is further meant to connect people.
The vivid colors derived from beetroot and Targetes Lucida (Mexican tarragon) were naturally processed to create dyes used to hand-dye a fabric outer packaging of the bars. Using fabric to wrap the pieces is a direct reference to Megumi’s Japanese heritage where wrapping cloths are used to wrap and/or to transport goods and gifts. Inside the package, chocolate flavored by beetroot-stained dried apple slices, saffron and flecked tarragon form the flavor base of the confection.
Once the chocolate has been consumed, the textile packaging, which Megumi also embellished with stitched details, becomes a multi-functional artwork that can either be repurposed to wrap other gifts, or used as a napkin or decoration. The aim here is to celebrate the historical processes of using dyes to visually enhance both materials and food, and to create a gift that has a lifespan beyond the chocolate bar itself.
Ingredients; organic heirloom cacao, dried apple, beetroot juice, saffron, tarragon and organic cane sugar.
Net Weight 60g (2.12oz)
AWASE (合わせ) CHOCOLATE; BEETROOT TINTED APPLE, SAFFRON & TARRAGON
74% HEIRLOOM BEAN CACAO, CHIAPAS, MÉXICO
Net Weight 60g (2.12oz)