Roasted chickpeas around the world, and what makes Biena different

December 28, 2011

With people around the world celebrating the holidays, I thought it was the perfect time to write a post about roasted chickpeas around the world.  Whether its North Africa, the Mediterranean or South Asia – roasted chickpeas are a snack that is enjoyed around the world.  They are a staple that is flavored or coated with everything from black pepper to cumin to a hard candy shell.

However – there is a major difference between those roasted chickpeas and Biena roasted chickpeas.  While those go through a process that creates a powdery or chalky texture on the inside – ours are actually crunchy.  After many hundreds of trial batches – we’ve developed an entirely different and very unique roasting process that lets us create a roasted chickpea that’s crunchy – like a cracker or a wasabi pea.

When I started down the journey of creating this snack – I did a number of blind taste tests with both types of roasted chickpeas – and what we discovered is that we Americans seem to overwhelmingly prefer the crunchy type.  So that is what led us down the path of creating something entirely new.

And precisely because we are doing something new, and doing it from scratch – it has made the journey that much harder in terms of finding partners.  (“You’re looking for what??!”)  But there is no question in my mind that its all definitely worth it if we can deliver the taste experience that we want.  Happy holidays everyone!