Chocolate: A Love Affair

By Lisa Turner

Every great love affair has its common elements. It’s intense yet sweet, exciting yet comforting, passionate and yearning. Sometimes, it’s bittersweet; sometimes, exotic and mysterious. Other times, it’s so filled with desire, it borders on obsession. And so it is with chocolate; our favorite sweet has all the makings of a passionate affair.

Why do we love chocolate? Maybe it's the smooth, velvety way it slides across the tongue and arouses the senses. Maybe it's because cocoa is married to sugar and fat, our other true loves. Or maybe, like love, it does something to the brain: eating cocoa actually boosts th brain’s production of serotonin, the 'feel-good' neurotransmitter, and chocolate contains phenylethylamine, the same brain chemical that occurs in higher concentrations when you're in love.

Ultimately, though, like any good affair, a relationship with chocolate should leave you feeling fulfilled, not guilty. Cheap chocolate (think Mars bars) is sometimes grown and harvested in ways that exploit farm workers, damage the environment and endanger children. That’s just not happy or sexy. The question then becomes “Are organic or fair trade chocolates as satisfying as gourmet bars?” The answer for us, happily, is yes. Because of growing awareness of deplorable working conditions and damaging environmental practices, organic and Fair Trade chocolates have been elevated the lofty strata of gourmet confections; some of these categories and luscious selections follow. Read on--this is one love affair that has a happy ending.

Dark chocolate bars. If you’re in the chocolate relationship for the health benefits, the darker the better. Dark chocolate has the highest cocoa content, and cocoa is the magic stuff; it’s rich in polyphenols, the same potent antioxidants found in green tea, wine and blueberries. (Milk chocolate is typically sweeter and less intense than dark chocolate, but much lower in polyphenols.) Chose bars with 65 percent or higher cocoa content; you’ll lose some of the sweetness, but it’s fun to eat candy that’s as good for you as cauliflower. Superior selections: Theo Ghana Dark Chocolate Bar 84%; Theo Ivory Coast Dark Chocolate Bar 75%; Equal Exchange Very Dark 71%; Green & Black’s Organic Dark 70%

Flavored chocolate. Sometimes, no matter how intense or devoted your relationship, a little variety is fun. Generally, I’m not a fan of flavored chocolates, or those with nuts, gooey fillings or extraneous ingredients that otherwise adulterate the smoothness and divert attention from the flavor of the cocoa bean. I like my chocolate unsullied. But I found some exceptions to this rule, especially those bars that kept their flavors subtle and their crunchy additions finely ground. Superior selections: 3400 Phinney Street Chocolate Factory Organic Coconut Curry; Nirvana Organic Dark Chocolate with Pomegranate; Equal Exchange Mint Chocolate; Organic Seed & Bean Company Rose 72%.

Cocoa powder. For those nights when you’d really just rather be alone, a cup of extraordinary hot chocolate may be all the company you’ll need. In those cases, any hot chocolate recipe will be made better by using fine, dark cocoa powder. None of these selections are Dutched—a process commonly used to remove acidity; unfortunately, it also removes many flavonoids from the cocoa powder. Others contain a bit of spice, just like any good affair. Superior selections: Equal Exchange Organic Hot Cocoa, Green & BlacK’s Organic Maya Gold Hot Chocolate with orange peel, nutmeg and black pepper.

Gift boxes. These chocolates are intended for gift giving—an essential part of a love affair. Or buy them for a special dessert a deux. Two that made me swoon: Theo’s 12-piece collection, a stunning assortment of beautifully crafted chocolates with such selections as lemon cream in dark chocolate garnished with white and dark chocolate stripes, and Madagascar vanilla cream in dark chocolate, decorated with a vanilla bean; and Askinose dark chocolate bars--one 75% Soconusco Dark Chocolate Bar and one 70% Del Tambo Dark Chocolate Bar--packaged in a sustainably harvested Russian Birchwood box. The wrapping on the bar—kraft paper emblazoned with blotchy type reminiscent of an old manual typewriter and tied with a twist of jute from cocoa bean shipping bags—makes a single bar a mysterious and exotic gift in itself. Other superior selections: Green & Black’s Maya Gold Squares; Nirvana Organic Chocolates 1-pound assortment; Oxfam Grand Marnier Truffles.

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Playing Fair with Chocolate: The deal on Fair Trade

Okay, here’s the deal: almost half of the world’s cocoa comes from Ivory Coast cocoa farms, where rock-bottom cocoa prices and slave wages force severely impoverished farmers to employ children as a means of survival. The U.S. Department of State estimates that more than 100,000 children in the cocoa industry work under “the worst forms of child labor,” and that some 10,000 are victims of human trafficking or enslavement. On these farms, children (who should be going to school and playing games) work grueling hours using dangerous tools; those who labor as slaves suffer beatings and other cruel treatment.

The deal is, it’s not necessary. You can boycott chocolate that’s manufactured using child labor and slave trade, and stick to a huge variety of high quality, artisan chocolates bearing the Fair Trade Certified logo. The logo is administered by TransFair USA, an independent certified of Fair Trade products—those that follow such fair and equitable practices as fair market prices for products, fair labor conditions including minimum health and safety conditions and environmental sustainability. A growing number of smaller, artisan chocolate makers are sticking to Fair Trade cocoa, so you don’t have to choose between ethics and amazing chocolate. Now that’s a good deal.