My family and I don’t tend to eat much chocolate for the simple reason that caffeine is so incredibly addictive and who needs more strain on already stressed out adrenals in this crazy day and age?
When we go out to a movie as a family, however, I usually make an exception and pick up a bit of quality chocolate for us to nibble and enjoy during the show.
Have any of you noticed that good quality chocolate is getting increasingly hard to find these days?
My husband and I first started to notice that American chocolate was going to the dogs about 20 years ago. Upscale American chocolates like Russell Stover, Godiva and others started to add artificial ingredients and cheapened the quality of the chocolate with milk powder, vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter and even artificial flavors!
To avoid these cheap imitation chocolates, we started to buy chocolate only at a small British shop where we could procure European chocolates like Cadbury’s (only made in the UK – the USA Cadbury’s was bad quality), Lindt and others.
Now it seems the European chocolates have followed suit and gone downhill in quality as well. At our recent family movie outing just last week, my husband could not find a single brand of European chocolate at our local Fresh Market that was free of additives, artificial flavors or rancid vegetable oils.
It seems our only choice for decent chocolate now is at the health food store. Organic brands have so far held the line on cheapening their product. Starbucks used to have quality chocolate as well but I haven’t checked the ingredients list there in a while as I don’t drink coffee and so don’t shop there very often if ever.
I’ve found that even if a brand is ok one day, it might not be the next so frequent checking and rechecking of ingredient labels is necessary to ensure that quality is still intact.
What chocolate brands are you using these days? If you have discovered a brand that is free of garbage ingredients and doesn’t include soya lecithin, please post about it in the comments section.
Since I only eat chocolate now and then, I insist that my chocolate experience be a quality one!
sprouted and raw and honey sweetened : http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Fortina-Sprouted-Chocolate-Bar-1/dp/B004GSI9NW
we gave up on chocolate, we just use carob now
fearlesschocolate.com We get it at Whole Foods
I agree- Lindt used to be fab and now, even just plain chocolate has artificial flavor??? And it tastes like crap now at that, a lot of good that flavor is doin.
Righteously Raw 90% cacao…organic, several great flavors, great ingredients
We LOVE Sarris Candies in Canonsburg, PA….MMMMM mmmmmm =)
http://www.askinosie.com/
http://www.tazachocolate.com/
I haven’t had the opportunity to try the askinosie but I have had the taza Mexicano discs and me likey.
Me likey? Is this the kind of talk bred from using Facebook and social web sites?
Intelligent, I must say.
(I know you’ll ditch this comment, but it should be out there for people to see. Do they know how really stupid they sound??)
Is this the sort of communication that’s bred from being too often anonymous behind a screen?
Kindhearted, I must say.
(I know you will disregard this comment as you consider yourself intellectually superior–and likely, morally superior–to others, but it should be out there for people to see. Do you know how hateful you sound? Do we need more of that in this world? Personally, I’d rather hear slang than unkindness any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.)
I agree, Sarah, both about unkindness being unnecessary and that anonymity breeds it. Perhaps this will help “D.”: We dislike most in others what we dislike most in ourselves.”
Yeah, and it’s too bad the recommendation for Taza chocolate got lost in the drama here. REALLY good stuff and made in Massachusetts from stone-ground organic cacao beans, organic sugar, and whatever spice they add (if any) – NOTHING else. Be aware that the stone-grinding leaves the chocolate slightly gritty and not super smooth like most bars. I happen to love that texture but it is different from what most people are used to. http://www.tazachocolate.com/
(Sarah, you can get it locally at Nature’s Food Patch in Clearwater.)
I was extremely disappointed when Lindt went the way of the lecithin….it tasted like those cheapo gold coin things. I even wrote the company….and I NEVER do that.
Askinosie’s 70% dark chocolate nibble bar with little cocoa bean bits is my all time favorite…but the price makes it a very occasional treat. I get the snack size at the health food store.
http://www.askinosie.com/p-37-70-san-jose-del-tambo-nibble-bar.aspx
For more everyday nibbling, I like the Theo 70% dark chocolate. Plain, Mint and Orange. The orange oil enhanced version is my preferred flavor….it’s just right, not too weak, not too strong. It’s available through my food coop, so is more reasonably priced.
Oh yes! The Theo with dried cherries and almonds is excellent! One of my favorites, though I usually go with the plain 85% from Alter Eco (creamier than conventional milk chocolate and not at all bitter) since crunchy chocolate entices me to actually eat the whole thing.
Vivani. Awesome!
Vosges.
I get my chocolate from Equal Exchange. They don’t use garbage ingredients-everything is top-notch!-they’re Fair Trade, and they are a worker-owned cooperative to boot! They also make fantastic coffee and teas!
http://www.equalexchange.coop
Equal Exchange, I purchase from Tropical Traditions, the mint is our favorite! 🙂
We use Equal Exchange 80% and sometimes the Icelandic chocolate Sirius 70%- both are very, very good and not too sweet, and not too bitter. The Sirius is a bit creamier than the EE.