Cannabis-Infused Chocolates

Norumbega

Provisions

Photos by Liz Caron

If you’re here following me, you obviously have an interest in all kinds of chocolate. How about cannabis-infused chocolate, handmade with single-origin cacao beans in small batches? Do you feel a little funny about that? I do. I love the fact that fine chocolate is involved, but I have to admit to some ambivalence about the cannabis part. Do I need it? Do I want it? Do you? There are some days I might, and when I do, I want it in chocolate, in a controlled dose.

 I have nothing against cannabis at all, and in fact, enjoyed it in college. But the smoking? Ugh. Excellent chocolate instead? Yes, please. I’m not alone in this opinion, and it’s people like you and me that are helping companies like Norumbega Provisions thrive. “This isn’t a ‘stoner’ product,” says co-owner Joanna Russell. “Here the focus is on the product with a cannabis add-on, not cannabis with some kind of carrier.” She and her husband Chris started the business last summer, in the thick of the pandemic. “I have an entrepreneurial drive and excellent project management skills that I just wasn’t using,” she tells me, when we meet for coffee.

 Joanna had been a nurse and a nursing instructor for many years, teaching at three different colleges and getting to the point where she felt “maxed out”, even before Covid-19 struck. She and Chris had been tossing around ideas, and chocolate was one of them. “Cannabis is becoming a more accepted part of life,” she says. “It seemed like the right moment to get into the business.” They had hoped to get into the recreational part of the business, but it turned out that a medical license was easier to come by, and they were eager to get going. While Joanna had the medical background, she had no experience in chocolate making. But where there’s a will, there’s an online course. She spent last summer learning the art of fine chocolate making, practicing molding, blending and tempering. “I’ve come a long way since the beginning. Working with chocolate has become soothing for me, and has tapped into my creative side,” she explains. Yet, Joanna is also really able to come at the product from a scientific perspective. Nursing gave her plenty of experience with medication dosing calculations. “This was a natural transition,” Joanna says.

 I visited Joanna at the small café (now closed) where she leases space to manufacture Norumbega Provisions. She and two co-workers were busy, wrapping, packaging and waiting for a batch of chocolate to come to temper. Tempering can be a tricky operation, sometimes even dependent on the weather. But Joanna is patient, stirring and testing until the chocolate reaches the optimal temperature at which it will harden with a glossy sheen and a satisfying snap when it’s bitten. Liquid cannabis oil is carefully measure and added, and when it’s ready, the cannabis-infused chocolate is poured into molds embossed with a leaf.

 The single origin, fair trade, organic chocolate is purchased in bulk from Bixby Co., located in Rockland. The milk chocolate is vegan, lightened with coconut milk, and available with a dusting of toasted coconut and Maine sea salt, if you’d like. Dark chocolate from the Dominican Republic, clocking in at 61% cacoa, is also available straight up or with ground espresso beans. Additionally, Joanna makes sea salt caramels and gelées in blueberry and citrus ginger flavors. All are exceedingly delicious, and would be the kind of thing you’d want to eat even if they didn’t give you a little buzz.

 Norumbega Provisions specializes in low to midlevel doses of THC, and some product with CBD as well. Orders are placed online and payment takes place offline with cash.  A prescription is required, and can be obtained after a short discussion with Joanna regarding any allergies or contraindications you might have. The state of Maine does not require a diagnosis, meaning you just have to say that you believe medicinal cannabis can be beneficial to you. Joanna passes the information on to a nurse practitioner who provides the prescription, for a small fee. Medical certifications are valid for one year and may be used at any medical cannabis dispensary in Maine. Joanna is happy to guide you through the process and recommend products and dosage.

 We’ve all grown up, far beyond those bong days long ago. Thank goodness, right? This is the grown up product you might enjoy now, fitting for our tastes, needs and even our curiosity.