Valentine Gifts That Have Heart
Chocolate
You likely have seen fair-trade coffee in bags with pretty designs and an interesting story about the place where it was grown.
Now get ready for fair-trade chocolate.
“In the next year, we’re going to see an increase in the demand for fair-trade chocolate,” predicted Nicole Chettero of Trans Fair USA, which certifies fair-trade products. “Fair-trade chocolate grew almost 85 percent in 2005 alone.” And its reputation is approaching the “high-quality, gourmet” buzz of fair-trade coffee, she said.
Fair-trade chocolate means “not only did it come from a small, democratically elected collective of cacao producers, but they were paid above-market prices, and no child labor was used,” Chettero said. While fair trade does not equal organic, she said it does connote “sustainable farming, strict environmental standards and none of the worst pesticides.”
Theo Chocolate, a Seattle maker of premium chocolates, is the only “bean-to-bar” fair-trade chocolatier in the U.S., meaning that they roast the beans here in addition to creating confections, Chettero said.
“We have a smoking hot Valentine’s Day Aphrodisiac collection,” said Pamela Hinckley, Theo’s West Coast sales manager. The six-piece box of organic ganache, $13.99 plus shipping and handling, can be ordered from Theo at 206-632-5100. (The chocolate only has a three-week shelf life, so it won’t be shipped until Feb. 1.) The box is wrapped in pink, red and brown paper.
Another high-minded chocolate enterprise is Divine Chocolate. The Ghanaian farmers who grow the beans own 33 percent o f the company, according to Erin Gorman, CEO of its just-launched U.S. division.
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