FEELING BLUE? CHOMP ON GREEN CHOCOLATE FOR INSTANT HAPPY-FICATION!

When life’s challenges take a toll on our spirit, many of us instinctually reach out for something that offers us comfort and a moment of escape from reality. Snuggling with a beloved kitty or sinking into a billowy bubble bath? Nope. Watching back-to-back episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 in bed while gorging on instant mashed potatoes drowned in I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-Butter? Not quite. Knocking back a fifth of vodka while rockin’ out to the soaring, epic power ballads of the eighties? Perhaps…but for all intents and purposes, the most sure-fire prescription guaranteed to turn that frown upside down involves just one magical ingredient – chocolate.

Mmmmm, now you’re talking. Containing multiple psychoactive compounds including tryptophan (a sleep-inducing amino acid) and theobromine (a heart stimulating alkaloid), clinically, chocolate does wonders for the body, mind and soul. Scientists have determined that its opiate peptides work in tandem to trigger relaxation, a sense of well-being, pain sensitivity reduction and anti-depressant benefits.

It also tastes remarkably good, coating each taste bud with an intense burst of happy-happy-joy-joy. American consumers don’t just like their chocolate – they LOVE it – to the tune of 12 pounds of chocolate per person per year. If you are among the smitten and always eager to something new and curiously different, then let me tell you about Theo Chocolate.

Consuming chocolate with a conscience has become easier in recent years with such companies as Coco-Zen, Divine Chocolate, and Endangered Species rising to the top of the $94 million dollar market (according to 2007 statistics). Theo Chocolate might be considered one of the prevailing chocolatiers with their 100% USDA Organic Fair Trade Certified products in a diverse range of intriguing flavor combinations such as Fig, Fennel & Almond Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Nib Brittle varieties. Their bars put pedestrian Hershey’s and Nestle offerings to shame, not solely because of their extraordinary quality. Theo refuses to fuel slave labor in third world cocoa producing regions in an attempt to keep profit margins high and meet the increasing demands of our chocolate appetites.

Available in many natural food stores and gourmet retailers across the country, I happened to stumble on two different two ounce Theo bars at my local Cost Plus World Market for the not-exactly-recession-friendly price of $2.99 each…and yet, I was still drawn in like a moth to a flame. The appealingly exotic artwork on the front of the bar was as much of a factor in my purchase as the following statement emblazoned on its reverse: “Purchasing this product directly supports farming families through fair prices, direct trade, community development and environmental stewardship.”

Theo, as it turns out, is a very small yet aggressively eco-responsible U.S. based chocolate producer that follows a 14-step bean-to-bar process using sustainably grown ingredients that are sourced locally when possible. The founder, Joseph Whinney, really seems to take all aspects of his company’s carbon footprint to heart as well as that of the entire chocolate process and how it impacts all parties involved.

Theo is the only chocolate maker that roasts its own organic cocoa beans, powers its factory using green energy sources and even sells 25 pound bags of cracked cocoa shell gardening mulch in burlap sacks for $10 (BUT, dog lovers – watch out. This admittedly practical mulch is life-threatening to all pups who consume it.) Its status as a fair trade product means that Whinney compensates cocoa farmers two to four times more than conventional chocolate conglomerates like M&M/Mars, who pay out an average of one cent per bar that would retail for 60 cents in America. Noble chocolate? Bring it on!

Yeah, but how does it taste? Let’s begin with the “3400 Phinney” Theo Coconut Curry Chocolate Bar. With its mild, 40% milky-smooth chocolate backdrop, the Theo Coconut Curry Bar achieves a greater level of complexity than normal milk chocolate with the addition of crisp pieces of minced coconut as well as a subtle curry undertone. Every bite has a satisfying coconutty crunch, whether you chomp with reckless abandon or allow each square to melt on your tongue in its own sweet time. Personally, I never met a curry I didn’t love, but this flavor will also appeal to curry naysayers who believe in the ‘less is more’ philosophy because it is respectfully understated.

Upon checking the ingredients list, it is easy to recognize that Theo chocolatiers haven’t taken the cheap-n-easy route. They’ve incorporated eleven different health-boosting components in their curry blend, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s-fighting turmeric along with upper-respiratory-aiding cardamom and metabolism-boosting red pepper. Nosh on this bar with no pangs of guilt – it is well worth the experience.

Onto the“3400 Phinney” Theo Chai Tea Chocolate Bar. Despite its 40% milk chocolate content, this bar seems to possess the oomph reminiscent of dark chocolate and is surprisingly smooth, rich and fulfilling. As a die-hard dark chocoholic, I was surprised that this milk variety passed my exacting standards with flying colors. With easily detectable high notes of cinnamon and caramel, the chocolate compound sings with a pleasing, complementary spice blend that includes black tea, cardamom, cloves and ginger. You don’t have to be a tea lover (or a spice lover, for that matter) to appreciate the warm, slightly sweet nuances in this bar. Americans are traditionally accustomed to sugar-laden milk chocolate bars that deliver a jolt of energy and not much else. This variety, however, demonstrates that with the right balance of high quality components, milk chocolate can achieve new heights of deliciousness. While it should appeal to a vast range of palates, for sophisticated samplers seeking out the somewhat exotic, they will not be disappointed.

TAKE A TOUR OF THE THEO CHOCOLATE FACTORY HERE! 

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PLEASE SHARE YOUR ORGANIC, FAIR-TRADE CHOCOLATE EXPERIENCES IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.

1. ARE THERE ANY SMALL COMPANIES OF NOTE THAT YOU’D LIKE TO GIVE PROPS TO?

2. HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED ANY ‘TO-DIE-FOR’ FLAVOR COMBINATIONS THAT YOU’D LIKE TO TELL US ABOUT?

3. HOW CAN CHOCOLATE LOVERS INDULGE THEIR TASTES IN THESE BUDGET-CHALLENGING TIMES? DO YOU KNOW OF ANY AFFORDABLE RESOURCES OUT THERE?

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