about bsc
black sugar company started as a personal passion project of professional baker Colin Matthew, who discovered the incredible versatility and flavor of black sugars while attempting to source unrefined sugars for recipe development. After struggling to find a way to purchase unique sugars like Japanese Kokuto or Colombian Panela, he began to source them personally, leading to the birth of the black sugar company.
what are unrefined sugars (aka “black sugars”)?
Unrefined sugars are sugars in their purest, most whole form. They neglect the modern centrifugal refining processes that strip the natural molasses out of sugar, allowing them to retain their inherent flavor qualities that display the terroir of the region they’re grown. The result is a granular sugar that has greatly different flavor notes depending on the region of the world it was grown. We currently offer two varieties:
Japanese Kokuto from Hateruma, Okinawa
producer: Murakami Syuoten
At the southernmost tip of the Okinawa Prefecture, on a tiny island of barely 600 residents, one of the most prestigious and unique sugars in the world is grown and produced. Haterumjima black sugar is an unrefined whole sugar cane produced by harvesting fresh sugar cane sap and slowly reducing it down over open fires until it forms a moist, granular sugar with a completely unique flavor profile. Thanks to the island’s unique position on a coral reef, tasting notes of sea salt, mineral, and tobacco make this a sugar a unique pantry staple.
Colombian Panela from Boyaca
Probably the most ubiqitous of the unrefined sugars is Colombian Panela. Serving as one of the nation’s top exports, Colombian Panela is still produced by artisans in much the same manner as it was hundreds of years ago. Fresh sugar cane sap is boiled in large vats over wooden fires, fueled by spent sugar cane stalks. This syrup forms little golden granules as is cools, leaving a sugar with buttery caramel and molasses tasting notes.