MASON & CO
Mason Co deÀnes itself as the “craftsmen of chocolate”. In search for “good chocolate” in India that is at the same time vegan, the French husband-wife duo deeply researched of the Indian cacao industry by visiting farms and deciphering local markets. They started oͿ as a home kitchen where they experimented with diͿerent beans to assess Áavour and quality. Also a beanto-bar company, they now create organic and vegan chocolate products in a modest-sized artisan factory in the Villipuram District of Tamil Nadu.
Beans processed here are sourced from plantations along the South Indian belt. While its chocolate bars, powders and tisanes (herbal teas) play with safe Áavours that involve the usual chilli, peppermint and peanut butter to name a few, it is at the cafe in Auroville, near Puducherry where the real experimentation is evident. For one, the hot chocolate is spiced with turmeric, trues are created with vegan olive oil and coated in sweet cacao nibs, and the chocolate chia breakfast pudding involves date spirit, sea salts and fresh fruit. The most generous part about it all is the dedicated page on the company’s website that displays recipes suggesting how to innovate your own dish with the chocolates you buy from them