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Organic Chocolates Never Tasted So Good

Anna@Green Talk — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:11:16 +0000

Photo of Green and Black’s Dark Chocolate and Wine Collection

While I was at the New York Chocolate Show, I was feeling a lot like Charlie, the main character of the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as he toured the Wonka Chocolate Factory. Although the Show did not have Oompa-Loompas or Everlasting Gobstoppers, it featured some amazing and diverse chocolate makers sure to please everyone’s palate.

This article is part II of my series on organic chocolate companies at the Show. In my first article, “Organic Chocolate, a Little Taste of Heaven,” I featured Christopher Michael Artisan Chocolates, Toffee Taboo (Sendall Chocolates), Berkshire Bark, and Francois Pralus. All these companies had different approaches to their chocolate confections, which added to the fun of the Show. This article features some more delicious chocolate makers. So, let’s go sampling.

Insane Chocolate

As I approached TCHO’s booth, I heard a young woman say, “this chocolate is insane.” I laughed to myself saying she probably gave TCHO the highest compliment one could give. After tasting some of the dark chocolate pieces, I would have to agree, TCHO’s chocolate was really good.

TCHO makes dark chocolate with 70% cacao content in such flavors as “Chocolatey,” “Fruity,” “Nutty,” “Floral,” “Earthy,” and “Citrus.” The cacao beans for the Citrus, Fruity, and Nutty chocolates are certified organic. In addition, the beans in Fruity and Nutty are fair trade as well.

The Company’s concept is to choose your chocolate based on flavor, not percentage of cacao as evidenced by the above flavor wheel. For more information about the flavor of each bar, check “Our Chocolate.”

This Company has a unique story no different than its name. For all of you start-up and marketing lovers, watch the above video on how TCHO created their chocolate company. Simply put, TCHO is the marriage of Silicon Valley technology, beta testing to find the right taste for their chocolate, good old business sense to find the right raw materials, and branding their product.

I asked several chocolate lovers their favorites as they nibbled the chocolate samples. Most liked the nutty chocolate. When I tasted this chocolate I did not discern a nutty flavor. Perhaps, I ate too much chocolate before or my palate is not that refined to pick up the subtle taste of roasted nuts. I found it dry but rich.

A variety of TCHO chocolates can be purchased online. A package of 2 sixty gram bars costs $12.

First Fair Trade, Organic Bean to Bar US Chocolate Factory

Seattle based Theo Chocolate is one of the first organic, fair trade chocolates made in the US. With a motto chocolate grows on trees, this Company takes to heart the triple bottom line, planet, people, and profits. They use only pure, sustainably grown ingredients and are sourced locally when possible. Partnering with their growers has ensured that the growers receive a living wage and access to education for their families. Other green practices include powering their factory using green energy sources, using sustainable packaging and printing methods, and educating the public about social and environmental accountability during their 7 day a week public tours of their factory.

Theo 3 ounce origin bars are made of dark chocolate with a range of cacao content from 65% to 91%. All origin bars are vegan and soy-free. If you love adventurous chocolate bars, consider the 3400 Phinney 2 ounce Milk or Dark Chocolate Flavored Bars, with such combinations of fig, fennel, and almond dark chocolate, coconut, curry and milk chocolate, chai spices and milk chocolate, and others. For those who love sampling different flavors, the Theo Confections might be right for you.

In addition, the Company has teamed up with Jane Goodall, a leader in the environmental movement for over 40 years, to contribute a portion of the proceed from the sale its Theo Jane Goodall bars to benefit cocoa farmers, promote conservation of the rain forest, and contribute to the Jane Goodall Institute’s efforts to save the chimpanzees, to name a few. The cacao content for each of the bars is 70% for the dark chocolate and 45% for the milk chocolate.

While I was at the booth, munching away, I asked the Theo people, which bar was the best selling. They replied the Theo Venezuela 91% cacao bar. Personally, I was not enamored with it since it was too bitter for me. Blame it on my love of frosted flakes as a kid, but I liked the Theo Blended-Cocoa Ghana-Panama-Ecuador Dark Chocolate Bar with a cacao content of 75%.

All bars can be purchased online or locate a store near you. A 2 ounce 3400 Phinney Bar cost $3.25 and a 3 ounce Origin Bar costs $5.00.

An Organic Chocolate Buddha for that Serene Enlightened Feeling

As we were leaving the show, I spotted the above chocolate Buddha at Oliver Kita‘s booth. I stopped to admire him despite my children yelling at me that they had enough chocolate for one day. (I know. Isn’t it amazing that they said they had enough chocolate for the day?)

So, I turned to the woman at the booth and said, “is he organic?” Surprisingly, she said yes and said that Oliver Kita makes a variety of organic, fair trade chocolates. Well, she got my attention despite the fact I wanted to nibble on Buddha’s toes.

The Company makes their chocolates in New York’s Hudson Valley with chocolate from the Rhone Valley in France. They are preservative free, contain non-GMO ingredients, and packaged in either recycled or recyclable materials.

Oliver Kita is known for his masterful combination of chocolate and exotic fruits and flavors from around the world. His organic creations include an organic chocolate and peanut butter Buddha ($22.75), assorted box of 72% cacao bon bons ($40), 70% cacao dark chocolate bar ($5.50), and organic cocoa pods ($20).

The organic products can be purchased online.

The Olde Organic Chocolate Staple

When I think of organic chocolate, I think of Green and Black. This UK Company has been creating organic chocolate products since the early 1990s. Its name is quite literal to its creed. The green part of the name, of course, relates to being organic and the black part of the name relates to the dark chocolate which is almost the color black. Their beans hail from hundreds of small farmers in Belize and Dominican Republic with their Maya Gold® products earning fair trade status.

Green and Black products include bars available in 1.5 ounce and 3.5 ounce in many different flavors including milk chocolate, white chocolate, caramel, toffee, almond, and dark chocolate to name a few. A 3.5 ounce bar found at my local health food store costs $3.89.

For those who wish to share bite size chocolate nuggets, the Green and Black dark or milk chocolate Bags would fit the bill. For bakers, the Company offers a Baking bar or Fair Trade Cocoa Powder as well as a 100 page chocolate recipe book. In addition, the Company offers hot chocolate mix and organic ice cream.

I tried both their Milk Chocolate (which contains 34% cacao) and Bittersweet 70% cacao Dark Chocolate bars. Ever since I have discovered the richness of dark chocolate, milk chocolate does not taste as good to me. I prefer the rich dark chocolate bar.

After sampling a dozen chocolate pieces, I was pretty sick to my stomach, but a happy sick to my stomach. What I love about dark chocolate is that you only need a little nibble to satisfy your chocolate cravings. In the case of all the organic chocolate companies that I visited at the Show, all of their dark chocolates were rich and deeply satisfying. Want to treat yourself to organic chocolate, consider any of the companies listed in this article or “Organic Chocolate, a Little Taste of Heaven.”

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Organic Chocolate, a Little Taste of Heaven

Anna@Green Talk — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:56:37 +0000

What is the 8^th wonder of the world? Chocolate, no doubt. At the 11th annual New York Chocolate Show, I was a pig in mud being around hundreds of some of best chocolate makers, all in the same room, giving out free samples of the best chocolate I ever tasted.

My husband has always wanted to go to this show thinking it would be fun for the kids to sample a variety of chocolate. Like father like son, they love chocolate. Who doesn’t?

Benefits of Chocolate

According to an article by the University of Michigan Integrated Medicine, there are health benefits associated with eating dark chocolate. Some of the benefits are as follows:

Contains flavonoids called procyanidins & epicatechins; flavonoids are part of a group of antioxidants known as polyphenols and are found in a variety of foods including tea, red wine, and various fruits and vegetables
Decreases LDL (bad) cholesterol oxidation
Reduces the risk of blood clots
Increases blood flow in arteries
May lower high blood pressure
May improve mood and pleasure by boosting serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain “

Now I know why chocolate makes me so happy! I would be remiss if I did not mention there are health concerns such as kidney stones, migraine headaches, and caffeine issues associates with eating chocolate. With any food, moderation is the key.

Welcome to the Chocolate Show

Here we were amongst all of these fabulous chocolate vendors giving out free samples. I bypassed the brownie booth and pushed myself beyond the peanut butter and chocolate booth so that I could concentrated on the organic vendors for Green Talk. (Do you see the sacrifices I make in the name of being green?)

Not all of the chocolate listed below are 100% organic but are making strives in local sourcing and/or using organic ingredients.

A Foodie’s Chocolate

Christopher Michael with one of his delicious chocolates

Owner and Chef, Christopher Michael describes himself as a savory chef and a definite foodie when it comes to creating his Christopher Michael Artisan Chocolates. He uses locally sourced herbs, such as rosemary and mint, and fresh cream and butter from a local certified organic dairy. The oranges and citrus in his chocolates are from the family orchard. Even his single origin beans from Venezuela are fair trade.

Michael told me that he sources beans from Venezuela because the flavor is second to none. It contains 61% cacao. However, the beans are not certified organic, but according to Michael, they are grown without pesticides.

Two of the chocolates that he seems to be most proud of were his Rosemary/Caramel and Spicy Pomegranate/Lime. Ordinarily I would not have associated rosemary with chocolate and turned my nose up at him when he suggested that I try it. After he insisted, I tried it, and was pleasantly surprised how refreshing it tasted. It really added a terrific flavor to the chocolate. The pomegranate/lime chocolate had a real kick to it which was unusual, but worked well together.

With such combinations as Hawaii infused ginger and dark chocolate (Hawaiian Ginger), spicy chipotle peppers and honey in a dark chocolate ganache (Chipotle and Honey), and a layer of pecans marzipan on top of a cinnamon ganache (Pecan Cinnamon), how can you not want to be adventurous? Michael created 29 different types of artistic bonbons for everyone’s pallet. Assortments of 12 chocolates ($24) and 24 chocolates ($42) can be ordered online.

Michael’s creations were my favorite in the show because I loved his concept of mixing herbs or other food with chocolate.

Sinfully Sweet and Salty Create a Winning Combo

Bob Sendall with his Toffee Tabboo

Toffee Tabboo is a mixture of Belgian dark chocolate topped with organic cashews and almonds that have been coated in a toffee mixture with white chocolate drizzled overtop.

Founder, Bob Sendall, the chef extraordinaire of All in Good Taste Productions, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania started serving Toffee Tabboo at the end of his events twelve years ago. In 2004, Sendall Chocolates was founded.

I enjoyed the combination of the sweet and salty taste. Toffee Tabboo is offered in various size boxes and can be purchased on the Company’s website or at selected stores. A 4 ounce box of Tabboo is $11.00.

The Husband Award

One of the founders at Berkshire Bark

Berkshire Bark’s chocolate was my husband’s favorite. The Company sells five different barks:

Midnight Harvest (Belgian dark chocolate with roasted nuts, dried cranberries, and fresh zest), Tropical Heat (Belgium dark chocolate and tropical fruits, macadamia nuts, Chile powder, and cayenne pepper), Mocha Buzz (Belgian milk chocolate, roasted almonds, caramel, Cocoa nibs, and crushed espresso beans, Pretzellogical (Belgian dark and milk chocolate, pretzels, peanut butter, and caramel), White Lightening (Belgian white chocolate, roasted cashews, ginger, lemon zest, and sea salt) and Jumpin’ Java (Belgian dark chocolate, roasted almonds, espresso toffee, caramelized chocolate nibs, and crushed coffee beans)

Midnight Harvest was my favorite, but my husband loved each one of the barks.

The Bark is made in the Berkshires without any preservatives. According to the Company, many of the small farmers they source from grow organically, but do not have the certification. However, the Company obtains its ingredients as much as possible from local sources. The beans come from Barrington Coffee Roasters, a local vendor, and the cream and butter used in the caramel comes from a Jersey farm, one of the founders, David, used to work at. They zest all of their citrus fruit by hand, and roast all of their nuts themselves. In addition, none of their dried fruits contain sulfites.

The bark comes in 2.8 ounce bars at $6 a bar. Bars can be purchased online or at selected retailers.

Making Chocolate the Old Fashion Way

Francois Pralus is one the three remaining French bean to bar chocolate makers. He makes his own chocolate rather than uses ready-coated chocolate. He is known as an expert in discerning the finest beans and the best characteristics of each bean. As one of the women at the booth explained to me, he lets the beans speak for themselves.

The Pyramide Biologique is comprised of 5 different 75% cacao single origin bars, which are AB organic certified. The Pyramide includes Ghana (bold taste with wonderful spice. Woodsy and peppery,) Equateur (strong hint of fig and citrus,) Republic of Domnicaine, Tanzanie (sweet), and Madagascar (fruity) The Pyramide can be purchased online for $29.38. (See both Chef.com and Chocolate Trading Company for more thorough descriptions of the bars.) Single bars can be purchased on this UK site.

My favorite bar (although not organic) was the Pralus Papouasie Dark Chocolate made out of 75% cacao. It was rich and had a distinctive taste.

For chocolate purists, the Company offers a 100% cacao bar without any sugar. I thought the pure chocolate bar was dry and tasteless. What was it missing? Sugar, of course. The American diet staple.

There were so many wonderful chocolate companies at the show that I have broken this article down into two parts. See “Organic Chocolates Never Tasted So Good,” for more organic chocolate choices.

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How Important is Buying Fair Trade Items?

Anna@Green Talk — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:13:06 +0000

Photo by permission of Robert Whitlock

Thaddeus Truitt, a senior at University of Oregon, recently contacted me about a survey that he is doing for his business administration class, “ Business Strategies and Planning” taught by Professor Elizabeth Hjelm. (This is a real college survey. I am confirmed the legitimacy of it with his Professor.) He explains, “my class is researching the fair trade market for food products and analyzing how fair trade adds value for consumers.”

The survey request has been posted throughout the blogshere including Facebook, class mates, etc. so that he can get a wide range of results. So, please take the time to answer his survey. It only takes a few minutes and does not ask for any personal information such as name, address, or email. In addition, if you have any feedback for him to make the survey better, I am sure he would like to hear them. Please list them in your comments.

As soon as the class has collected the data, I hope that Thaddeus tells us the outcome. I am very curious about what he discovers. Thaddeus, don’t forget about us!

After I took the survey, I found I had questions for all of you. Being the question Queen, I will just roll out the questions. Ready?

Do you consciously seek out products that are fair trade products?
Would you buy fair trade before you buy something green?
What images do you conger up when you think of farmers in third world countries? Did these come from newspapers, you tube, and/or TV?
Everywhere you read, you see the fever pitch of buy green, but do you also see buy green and fair trade too?
If purchasing fair trade is not important to you, why? Lack of information? Products not available? Price?

Don’t be afraid to tell me ”fair trade” products do not matter to you. I am the only one who see your email address. I am just curious.

Personally, I would like to see more corporate responsibility in this direction.

Let me know your thoughts to my questions. Again, please fill out Thaddeus’ survey and give him some feedback here on the site! Thanks for your help.Similar Posts: