Wonderfully rich vegan chocolate with an eco-friendly twist
This year I’ve managed to give up or cut down on a lot of things. Something about the greater effort needed to acquire things in the COVID-19 hit world has somehow made it easier to really think about what I actually need to buy, versus things I just kind of fancy in the moment. I’ve stopped using lip balm, which felt like a pretty big deal given how addicted I used to be. But an equally big change for me has been that I basically don’t buy chocolate anymore. I used to get through bars and bars of the stuff; I’d always have one on the go. Anything from super fancy artisan chocolates to bog standard Cadbury’s. It was actually one of the things I thought about when I knew I was going to move country: will the chocolate be any good? On arrival I discovered that Cadbury’s doesn’t quite taste the same, but actually, I didn’t mind that much. From an average of one or two bars a week, I think I’ve actually only bought two or three bars in the whole time I’ve been in Australia.
Long gone are the days when ‘vegan’ was synonymous with ‘inferior’
This inexplicable lack of interest has had the unlooked for effect of cleansing my palette. Removing sickly sweet Cadbury’s from my diet has left me with a new interest in dark, intense and unusual chocolates. I think I’ve discovered the perfect chocolate to meet my new tastes: Pumpy Jackson’s Rocky Pink Salt vegan chocolate. I’m trying to work vegan swaps into my life wherever I can, so a vegan chocolate is a great find. Long gone are the days when ‘vegan’ was synonymous with ‘inferior’ (if indeed this was ever the case when it comes to chocolate). Pumpy Jackson is rich, intense and sophisticated. It is 62% dark chocolate, made with hemp and coconut milk, and by using monk fruit as a sweetener, it manages to contain ‘less sugar than a carrot’. All this sounds perhaps a little bit too healthy, but I can assure you that it has not compromised the flavour in the least.
This chocolate is tasty enough to be moreish, but complex enough that you’ll only need a few bites
Pumpy Jackson sounds like a character in a P. G. Wodehouse novel (and I can’t find any information about the origin of the name), but it is actually a Melbourne based chocolate company founded by Charlie Goldsmith. The chocolate is sustainably farmed and the packaging is carbon neutral. There is so much to like about Pumpy Jackson that it would be tempting to support them even if the chocolate didn’t taste as good as it does. Thankfully there’s no need to test this, as the chocolate is utterly delicious. So far I’ve only tried Rocky Pink Salt (sourced from the Murray River), but I’ll definitely be giving their other flavours a try, particularly the peppermint and the orange bars. I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for salty chocolate, and the subtle taste of the Pumpy Jackson bar is a great example of the genre (if that’s the right word). It complements the smooth richness of the chocolate, and adds a distinctly indulgent feel. This is chocolate to savour, and let melt on your tongue. Tasty enough to be moreish, but complex enough that you’ll only need a few bites.
You can buy boxes of 15 bars for $75 directly from the company themselves, but I bought mine through my regular Jim’s Home Fresh order. At Jim’s a bar will set you back a pretty reasonable $5.99. If you use my referral code (Helen3419) to get $10 off your first order, you’ll essentially be getting yourself a free bar of chocolate, and a bit more besides.
It’s been great to discover a healthier and tastier way to get my old fix of chocolate. I certainly won’t be reverting to a bar a week, but thanks to Pumpy Jackson chocolate will definitely be back on my menu.
If you’d like to get $10 off your first Jim’s Home Fresh delivery, head over to their website and use my code Helen3419. They’re a great company sourcing local produce and high quality groceries, delivering across Melbourne. Do give them a try if you want to avoid another trip to the shops! For a full review check out my blog post on them.
What are your favourite vegan chocolates? Is it hard to find good ones where you live or is the marketing growing? I’d love to hear your recommendations in the comments below! Thanks for reading!
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