You can be a chocolate snob like me and still not rely on child slaves to get the stuff to your table. Many of the fair-trade, organic chocolate bars have failed miserably to impress me, but just as many have knocked my socks off with how good they are. Here are my recommendations:
For cooking cakes etc: Green & Blacks or GEPA dark chocolates, Plamil for cases where you want a dairy-free milk or white chocolate. Green and Blacks also makes kick-ass coco powder.
For super decadent stuff (truffles, hot chocolate): Valhrona, either tempered or not, depending on the application.
For straight up eating (decadent): Coppeneur, Charlemagne, Coco of Bruntsfield, Luento Santoro
For straight up eating (fun): Dagoba (if you can get it fresh-ish... I don't know why, but I've had extremely bad luck with getting stale/bloom-ish chocolate from this company, yet their lavender chocolate is so good, I still buy it.)
Generally, stuff marked organic (or fair trade) is slave free, as is single-origin chocolate that is not from the Cote d'Ivoire. Please do your sleuthwork if you are unsure of the origins of your chocolate. Here is a link to a list of some slave-free chocolates. If you're too lazy to do your own research, please please please stick to the brands that others have taken the time to research for you.
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4 comments:
You know, I had never really stopped to think about where my chocolate comes from...thanks for pointing this stuff out. I know I've seen Green & Black's around, so I think I'll have to hunt it down again and give it a try.
You're welcome. It was actually pointed out to me by someone on Vegan Freak Forums. I was also shocked.
Chocolate is so very clearly a luxury, and I can't even begin to see how anyone could justify knowingly buying slave chocolate just to save a little money, or because of the taste of the chocolate.
Much like I hate the thought of someone substituting animal ingredients into a recipe I've given them, the thought of someone using my truffle instructions etc. to support slavery sickens me.
Hi divadork,
I was so happy that Green and blacks were
* available in shops in Denmark and
* vegan
But they are no longer labelled vegan, except for the one with orange flavour.
Don't know if it's the same around you, but I can't help being a little disappointed with them.
sqrt
Hey roden!
Yeah, I was also disappointed at the sudden disappearance of the vegan label, but I emailed them, and they assured me that their chocolate hadn't changed at all. The dark chocolates are just as vegan as before.
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