Chocolate
Choose organic chocolate
Dagoba Organic Chocolate
Dagoba (a Sanskrit word for temple, as this company believes that chocolate is a sacred food) Organic chocolate is made from organic cocoa beans from Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, and Madagascar. They offer chocolate bars with varying percentages of cocoa as well as chocolate blends and infusions, drinking cocoa, baking chocolate, and more.Endangered Species Chocolate
These bars are easy to recognize by the colorful artwork showing various endangered animal species on the labels. They sell non-organic chocolate as well as a selection of organic, ethically traded, shade-grown, single-origin dark and milk chocolate bars. They donate 10 percent of their net profits "to help support species, habitat, and humanity."Grenada Chocolate Company
Unlike many chocolate companies, the Grenada Chocolate Company Ltd. goes from A to Z, growing the organic cocoa beans all the way to producing the chocolate bars. This organic cocoa farmers' cooperative, which now has more than 150 acres of organic cocoa farms, is one of the only small-scale chocolate-makers producing fine chocolate where the cocoa grows. They say their chocolate has "a truly deep and rich flavor", and they use solar energy to power their machines.Newman's Own Organics chocolate bars
The organic cacao for Newman's Own Organics (yes, the famous blue-eyed actor, Paul, and his daughter Nell) comes from small farmers on the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica. Some of these farms border and buffer the La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, home to endangered mammal and bird species. The chocolate bars come in 2.8-ounce bars and l.2-ounce bars.Seeds of Change Chocolate Bars
This company began in 1989 with the mission to keep organic, open-pollinated seeds available to gardeners and farmers. This in turn helps preserve the many heirloom seed varieties losing ground to modern industrial agriculture. They've since expanded into organic food including a line of chocolate made with organically grown cocoa from the Dominican Republic, as well as organic fruits, nuts, and spices from around the world.Terra Nostra Organic Chocolate
Terra Nostra's organic chocolate bars have been awarded the International Taste and Quality Institute's Superior Taste Award. The company states that their gourmet organic chocolate posseses "a robust and intense earthy cacao taste." Choose from organic truffles, dark chocolate, chocolate bars, and hot chocolate. Gift packages are also available.
Choose Fair Trade Certified chocolate
Alter Eco
Using cocoa from Bolivia and Ghana, Alter Eco produces an array of chocolate bars, some unadorned for chocoholics, like the Dark Blackout Chocolate bar with 85 percent cocoa, and others with tasty add-ins like the Milk Moka chocolate bar which blends Swiss milk chocolate with gourmet South American coffee beans. All their chocolate is also Certified Organic.Divine Chocolate
The Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in Ghana grows the cocoa beans that are made into Divine Chocolate products and the farmers also own a share of the company. They carry a variety of bars including smaller snack-size bars, chocolate coins, and little egg-shaped treats.Equal Exchange
The cocoa in Equal Exchange's organic chocolate products come from three farmer cooperatives in the Dominican Republic and Peru. Offerings include an organic chocolate espresso bean bar, an organic dark chocolate bar with pure cocoa nibs (bits of roasted cocoa beans that give it crunchiness), and an organic milk chocolate bar with ground hazelnuts. They also sell organic baking cocoa and hot cocoa.Green & Black's
This UK-based company got its start in 1991 and they have a wide range of organic, fair trade chocolate bars as well as hot cocoa and baking cocoa. The Maya Gold bar was their first product to earn the UK fair trade certification in 1994. It's a blend of rich, dark chocolate, a twist of orange, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of vanilla. Search Green & Black's site for retail locations.Ithaca Fine Chocolates
The first US chocolate company to offer Fair Trade Certified chocolates, Ithaca's Art Bars use cocoa from the El Ceibo Cocoa Co-op in Bolivia that's also organic. The range of five flavors goes from milk chocolate to extra dark chocolate. Each Art Bar contains a collectible card with one of 24 artworks from adult and child artists.Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates
This California-based company offers a wide line of chocolates from various chocolate bars to flavored cocoa mixes, truffles, Valentine's Day chocolates, and coffee beans dipped in 65 percent bittersweet chocolate. Their products bear the seal of Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).
Choose Rainforest Alliance Certified chocolate
Vintage Plantations chocolate
The array of Vintage Plantations chocolate bars made with the Arriba cocoa bean, native to Ecuador, comes with cocoa content ranging from 38 to 100 percent (for the serious chocoholic). They also offer baking chocolate, assorted truffles, and powdery smooth chocolate that dissolves in cold or hot milk, soy milk, or water.
Comments
Share Your Comments