Fair trade chocolate

Fair trade chocolate bars are made from cocoa beans which are bought for a fair price from farmers.

Cocoa farmers

Cocoa farmers are some of the poorest people in the world and many of them earn on average about £50 a year. They depend on selling their beans to pay for the essential things in life including wellington boots to protect their feet from the scorpions that live among the cocoa trees.However many farmers don’t make enough money from selling their beans and can’t afford food, medicine, clean water or school for their children.

Working together

In 1993, a small group of cocoa framers in Ghana, West Africa realised that by working together they could get more money from the people who bought their cocoa. They pooled their resources and set up their own business called Kuapa Kokoo which means “good cocoa farmer” in their local language of Twi.

Divine

In 1998, Kuapa Kokoo joined forces with a group of UK organisations who care about getting cocoa farmers a better deal. They formed The Day Chocolate Company and started making their own bar - Divine. For the first time, Kuapa Kokoo began to make money from selling chocolate as well as from growing cocoa beans. The farmers own a third of the company’s shares which means they also have a say in how the chocolate is produced and sold.

Dubble

In January 2000, Comic Relief teamed up with Kuapa Kokoo and The Day Chocolate Company to create a chocolate bar for young people called Dubble. The wrapper was designed by an 11-year-old girl called Gracie from Exeter who beat 16,203 other competition entrants.

chocolate flower

Hand Made Chocolates and Flowers

By Timothy Spencer

If flowers symbolize passion and love, then chocolates are the very voice of this love. Whether it’s love for the sweet, luscious confection itself or love for another person, chocolates are a great gift for someone you care about or someone you’d like to get to know.

The best kind of chocolate to give along with a bouquet of flowers is the assorted type – the ones that come in a pretty box and contain a delightful assortment of truffles, bonbons, and pralines. Forrest Gump was right when he said that you never know what you’re going to get from a box of chocolates. Trying to guess whether this bonbon is stuffed with coconut ganache, caramel, or swirling mint is part of the excitement and pleasure that comes with opening a box of chocolates.

If you plan to combine chocolates with flowers, you’d better make sure that your chocolates live up to the exotic appeal of your flowers. A big no-no is combining your floral gift with a box of commercial chocolates that you can buy of the shelf in a grocery store. Yes, milk chocolates are great for everyday but as a gift, nothing can match your flowers as well as a set of hand-made chocolates.

Among all the assorted chocolates you can buy, Belgian chocolates are undoubtedly the best you can get. After all, they set the standard by which all other chocolates are measured against. Even the Swiss, who are known for their own excellent blend of cocoa and milk, imported their recipe from Belgian chocolatiers. Belgian chocolates are unlike any other because they are made of the finest ingredients and are manufactured using time-tested Old World techniques. Unlike other chocolatiers who use machines to make the mass-production of their products cheaper and more efficient, most Belgian chocolatiers make their chocolate by hand using their old-fashioned equipment. In fact, small chocolate shops and factories are often a popular tourist attraction in Belgium, and include activities like chocolate-tasting.

One of the techniques employed by Belgian chocolatiers is the use of a special kind of chocolate called a couverteur as the cold shell for pralines. The couverteur allows the pralines to be filled with a wide variety of creams and flavored nougats like hazelnut, coffee, fruit, mint, or more chocolate. A specialized heating process also allows the couverteur and its filling to retain their aroma and flavor. Many chocolate companies like Godiva and Leonidas are famous all over the world for their gourmet pralines.

Although hand made chocolates might be more expensive than the usual chocolate bar you can grab at the supermarket, anyone who has ever tied it will definitely say that a mass-produced chocolate bar has nothing in common with a genuine hand made praline. Hand made chocolates are gastronomic delights that live up to their high reputation. Give the special person in your life nothing but the best in European gourmet chocolate along with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

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de cacao chocolate

The Sensuality of Cacao/chocolate

By Anabrese

Chocolate or cacao, also known as the ‘food of the gods’ was widely used by the Aztec and Mayan civilisations both as a remedy and a form of currency.

Early colonial records indicate how cacao was used as a medicine and acted as a carrier in the administration of other remedies in the 1500’s. The medicinal value of cacao was in its ability to treat weak patients with a variety of dis-ease. It was particularly known to improve digestion and stimulate kidney and bowel function. Other medical complaints that responded well to cacao include anaemia, mental exhaustion, fever, low libido, respiratory disease, poor appetite, fatigue and low breast milk production. In addition to the cacao bean, the oil/butter was used in the treatment of skin problems including eczema, psoriasis and burns. Today, cacao oil is considered a beauty aid in its use as a skin moisturizer, lubricating agent and when combined with the cacao bean, is used to make the chocolate confectionery we’re familiar with. All chocolate is produced from the cacao bean/seeds. Nicknamed ‘black gold’ by the Spanish, it’s no mystery that chocolate continues to captivate our taste buds with its rich bittersweet dance on our palette.

With over 300 identifiable chemical compounds, cacao is one of the most complex and pleasurably satisfying foods on the planet. In its raw form, cacao contains anandamide (a euphoric substance), arginine (a natural aphrodisiac), neurotransmitters that stimulate and balance brain activity, tryptophan (an anti-depressant), antioxidants and other beneficial compounds known to have rejuvenating and anti-ageing elements. Cacao is high in the mineral magnesium, essential for helping the heart to pump blood efficiently, building strong bones, and lowering blood pressure. In fact, the strong desire for chocolate during the female menstrual cycle may be related to cravings for magnesium, a mineral with calming qualities. Cacao is also a rich source of sulfur, the beauty mineral responsible for healthy skin, nails and hair.

In our culture today, chocolate has become the main staple of gift-giving for occasions such as birthdays, Christmas, St Valentines Day, Easter, etc. Many of us are likely to consume a little chocolate everyday for its mood boosting effects in an attempt to escape from the stress of working life. Chocolate satiates our appetite for pleasure like no other substance. Is it any wonder that 50% of women prefer chocolate to sex? The portability and availability of chocolate makes it the perfect private pleasure to enjoy anytime, anywhere.

With the revival of films like ‘Charlie and The Chocolate Factory’ and ‘Le Chocolat’, the population got to indulge in their chocolate fantasies inspired by the big screen. It’s safe to say that Johnny Depp and Chocolate create a unique and compatible partnership most women would be happy to personally explore! Yes, chocolate and sex go hand in hand and when packaged in shiny red and gold, make a highly attractive and stimulating friend no one wants to be without.

A symbol of sensuality, any male suitor is wise to offer a gift of chocolate to any prospective female; a delightful box of dark edibles all wrapped in decorative gold foil will put a smile on any chocolate-loving females face. Cacao has always been associated with fertility and love by indigenous cultures.

The versatility of chocolate has allowed us to expand our repertoire of how we can engage ourselves with its intense flavours and textures. From mouth-watering rich cream gateaux to the velvety texture in truffles, there is nothing we can’t do with chocolate; it just keeps inspiring us to do better and come up with more incredulous and sophisticated presentations. In fact, one can devote one’s whole life to becoming a chocolate ‘creative’ of distinction.

Chocolate will always be an affordable luxury that almost anyone can indulge regardless of class or stature. We can all taste what the Aztecs and Mayans tasted and we will always be grateful for their cultivation of the revered and sacred cacao bean. Long may we continue our passionate, blissful affair with this divine gift from the cacao tree.