If you missed yesterdays ride you missed out. We had a chance to sample some incredible truffles. Below is a little info about this weeks featured company.
Missionary Chocolates truffles are handmade in SE Portland, in a certified domestic kitchen operated by owner & chocolatier Melissa M. Berry. We have been in business for 1 ½ years, and have been in several Portland Farmer’s Markets during the last two seasons.
I combine local organic berries, NW-sourced essential oils, and many other organic & fair-trade ingredients with organic coconut milk, which is the base for most of my ganache, or the inside of the truffle. During the summer I pick many of our raspberries, blueberries & blackberries that go into our popular seasonal truffles from organic farms on Sauvie Island, and fill my 2 freezers to the brim to carry us through the winter!
I use a variety of dairy-free chocolates in the truffles, but mainly use a 55% fair-trade chocolate from South Africa called Akoma, finding its delicate sweetness gives the truffles a nicely balanced, never bitter flavor that is often associated with other dairy-free chocolates & confections.
Since beginning in February2008 I’ve had the honor of winning 2 awards for my creations, the Meyer Lemon Explosion snagging Peoples Choice: 1st Place at the NW Chocolate Festival last September and I won a general “best confectioner” medal at the Chocolate Soiree in Salem, a benefit for the Children’s Theatre Foundation last December.
We are a company whose “mission” is to be a philanthropic organization, not a non-profit but a company that makes money to fund causes, most specifically in the area of natural medicine.
It’s my dream to use proceeds from Missionary Chocolates to open and help fund a inpatient holistic healing center here in downtown Portland, and is why I named it ‘missionary’ – I want a place for the broader community to connect with natural medicine services, because it offers & increased choice and better overall health. I want to create a wellness facility where people can come and be immersed in every type of health professional’s care, and focus on healing, inside and out. Our vision and purpose is to delight Portland’s tastebuds, but also further wellness in our community – body, mind and mouth! :)
If you are interested in our truffles visit our website at www.missionarychocolates.com
