By Blythe Copeland | Mon Feb 9, 2009 15:04
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Buy Green: Dark Chocolate
These sweets from green-conscious candy makers are bursting with organic cocoa beans, raw sugar, and all-natural flavor infusions.
With Valentine's Day right around the corner, it's time to start thinking about what kind of sweets you'll be giving your sweet this year. Flowers? Lazy. Jewelry? Not bad. Chocolate? Yes, please. One single melt-in-your-mouth morsel of high-quality dark chocolate can be as expensive as a whole box of the cheap stuff, but more often than not, its worth it: The complexity, the richer flavor, and the nutritious antioxidants have chocolate-lovers tasting the darks as they would a wine, with references to "notes of vanilla" and "smooth finish."
Since dark chocolate has a higher concentration of pure cacao than milk or semi-sweet versions it's already purer. But the five companies below take this purity one step further: organic cocoa beans, raw sugar, all-natural flavor infusions, sustainable growing practices, and, in one case, solar-powered machinery make these bars eco-friendly and Valentine's Day-perfect.
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Eclipse Lavender/Blueberries From Dagoba Organic Chocolate
Why We Like It: The 59 percent cacao Eclipse Lavender/Blueberries from Dagoba Organic Chocolate is a delicious and innovative combination of lavender essence and wild blueberries. Dagoba also offers the super-dark Eclipse bar—which clocks in at 87 percent cacao—plus a mint and rosemary bar and a lemon-ginger bar.
Eco Factor: Along with organic ingredients and a chocolate quality the company refers to as "liquid gold," Dagoba has a corporate policy that emphasizes sustainable growing, harvesting, and packaging processes, ethically-sourced ingredients, and cacao producers who support their local communities. Wrappers, meanwhile, are printed with vegetable-based inks on recycled paper.
Who To Give It To: Your brother—the one with the adventurous tastebuds.
Where: Dagoba Chocolate
How Much: $3 for a 2-ounce bar
Image courtesy of Dagoba Organic Chocolate
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Ultimo Dark Organic Chocolate Bar From Vere
Why We Like It: Dark chocolate connoisseurs know that the higher the concentration of cacao, the richer the flavor. Vere's Ultimo Organic Chocolate bar clocks in at 75 percent cacao—which means, when compared to other bars, it's also higher in healthy antioxidants comparable to those found in broccoli and blueberries. Eco Factor: Vere's cocoa beans are grown without pesticides in the rainforests of Ecuador, and the bars are made with minimal amounts of preservatives and sugar—organic and raw cane only.
Who To Give It To: Any Valentine's Day purist—it's a classic.
Where: Various retailers across the country or directly from Vere online.
How Much: $5 for a 3-ounce bar
Image courtesy of Vere Chocolates
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Cocoa Organic Extra Bittersweet Chocolate Bar From Grenada Chocolate Company
Why We Like It: There are three types of cocoa beans, but one—Forastero—accounts for roughly 10 percent of the world's chocolate. The Grenada Chocolate Company taps the other two—Trinitario and Criollo—which have deeper, more complex flavors, worthy of international recognition. The company earned the Academy of Chocolate Silver Award for 2008.
Eco Factor: The process starts with organic beans—and continues at the company?s own plant, just one mile from the cocoa farms. Instead of outsourcing, Grenada Chocolate performs the entire chocolate-making process in-house—on machines that tap solar power.
Who To Give It To: Your globetrotting sister.
Where: Various retailers internationally or online at Chocosphere.
How Much: $5.25 for a 3-ounce bar
Image courtesy of Granada Chocolates
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Equal Exchange Organic Very Dark Chocolate
Why We Like It: The wrappers used for the 71 percent-cacao Equal Exchange Organic Very Dark Chocolate follow the farmers who grew the beans with stories and photos. Made with cocoa, raw cane sugar, and vanilla beans—all organic, of course—this bar is rich and deeply satisfying. It also comes in versions with almonds, hazelnuts, espresso beans, and mint for extra punch.
Eco Factor: Equal Exchange buys its cocoa beans from small farmer co-ops in the Dominican Republic and Peru, and its sugar from similar organizations in Paraguay and Costa Rica, so you know every bite is fair trade produced.
Who To Give It To: The neighbor that tirelessly campaigns for fair working conditions.
Where: The Equal Exchange online store.
How Much: $4.25 for a 3-ounce bar
Image courtesy of Equal Exchange
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Robust Dark Roasted Almonds Bar From Terra Nostra
Why We Like It: Sometimes you feel like a nut—and that's where Terra Nostra's Robust Dark Roasted Almonds Bar comes in, with 60 percent cacao and the smoky crunch of roasted almonds.
Eco Factor: Made of organic chocolate and organic almonds, it contains no preservatives or fake coloring—and the company practices fair trade. The best part is it's also dairy-free and certified vegan, so your lactose-free friends can still indulge. And don't let these traits deter you, this bar is miles above those sub-par milk-free bars out there.
Who To Give It To: Your Almond Joy-obsessed (but lactose-intolerant) coworker.
Where: Retailers across the U.S. and Canada, or online at World Pantry.
How Much: $4 for a 3.5-ounce bar
Image courtesy of Terra Nostra
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