PORTUGUESE BLOOD | 2# - 200 GRAMS OF CHOCOLATE

This is one is, literally, to die for. While I was in Lisbon for midterm break last October, I had the chance to try 200 GRAMS of Chocolate. Honestly, the best brownies I have ever tried. This amazing Portuguese brand was created by Joana Tavares Alves, an aspiring architect student with a big passion for cooking. Not only these brownies are yummy and flavourful, the story behind this brand is joyful and inspiring. I had the chance to interview Joana and she is sooo nice!! See her answers below and dont't forget to follow 200 GRAMS of Chocolate on Facebook. This brand makes me so proud for being Portuguese and for coming from a country full of creative people.

How did the business start?

200 GRAMS of Chocolate started as a hobbie. I am an architect but another of my biggest passions is to cook! Since I was a little young girl, my dream was to have a bakery. So, I started baking my cakes for friends, for parties and dinners. In January 2013, after one year and a half working in Shanghai, I was back in Portugal, a bit lost, due to the economic situation that Portugal is going trough. So I thought it was the right moment to start developing this idea! I came up with a name, and started working online with home deliveries!

Who was your biggest influence?

Well, as I said before, I always loved to cook and to be around the kitchen while my mother was cooking. She had always been my biggest influence for everyting. I thank her all the strength that she has been giving me to keep going on and developing this project. Well, to all my family actually. They are my biggest support. I learned everything that I know about cooking with her. I love to watch cooking programs, and to follow cooking chefs!

Why brownies?

Because it's baked with chocolate!! I am a chocolate lover! Heheh :) I always loved to cook everything! But mainly desserts. Brownies because it was something I started baking when I was young, and really enjoyed it. Because everyone loved them when I baked them and always had a lot of compliments, like they were the best brownies that they had ever tasted!! I improved the recipe on my own way, changed some ingredients, add some new, creating a different diversity of flavours.

What have you achieved so far?

Since I started this online business, the feedback has been really positive and really good. 200 GRAMS of Chocolate is growing and getting known by a different branch of people. Some bloggers had also the interest to share this project, what was wonderful; Time Out Lisbon magazine also wrote an article about it. And, most of all, despite working alone and by myself at home, I got the opportunity to know a lot of people !

What are your plans in the future?

Right now, after 10 months working online, and realizing that this has grown really fast and in a positive way, I want to open a store, where people can go and enjoy the brownies in a different way! Different ways to present and serve them!!

What flavors do your brownies have?

So right now, we have 8 different flavours, The traditional chocolate brownie, raspberries, cheesecake, peanut butter, cookie brownie, crumble, nutela and fudge. but I am looking forward to try different ones, and to change this menu! What I want is, from now on, to have a new different flavour every two months, or at least one different in each season! Christmas is arriving, so it might come out something new!