Sweet Chocolate News from America and Around the World

A love story and list of new chocolate brands you should try

A beautiful box of chocolatesPhoto by Slashio Photography

Every time I go to my local food co-op or grocery store — I try a new dark chocolate candy bar. I use them for snacking and cooking — along with high-quality semi-sweet chocolate and cocoa powder.

Recently, I put out a call on social media for new and exciting brands and found some exciting and new brands. Here are my latest discoveries — from America to Germany and Madagascar. I’ll start with the high-end first:

Phillip Ashley Chocolates — I’m saving up to order my first box. I’m posting a picture and a link so you can decide for yourself. This is his Taste of Memphis Box

The Taste of MemphisPhillip Ashely Rix

Kanda — I’ve heard rave reviews about them from several people. You can order the bars directly from them.

Here are some other highlights from The Luxe Digest:

Chocolatier Robert — is Madagascar’s first commercial chocolatier and has been creating single origin chocolate on the island since 1940.
Midinu Chocolates — Chocolatier Selassie Atadika creates artisanal handcrafted chocolate truffles from Ghanaian cocoa. The confections are infused with African inspired flavors including spices, fruits, coffee, and tea. The assorted truffles feature star fruit, ginger and [other bold and fruity flavors]…The delicacies are named after women in the region which inspired their flavors. For instance, Thando, is infused with South African Rooibos while Almaz is infused with the berbere spice from Ethiopia.
Fair Afric -This single-origin chocolate was born out of the German founder’s desire to empower local farmers and aid development through chocolate. The company sources its beans in Ghana and producers chocolate bars there as well. This local product allows a larger percentage of the profits to stay in the country while providing social impact to those involved in the production process, including health insurance and education.

For a vegan option try:

Savannah Chocolate — This single-origin Zambian chocolate company creates premium bars that are vegan and lactose-free with beans sourced from Tanzania.

For my birthday, I’m going to have a chocolate tasting. Until then, please share your experiences with any new chocolate brands that you’ve discovered. In the meantime, here is how I fell in love with dark imported chocolates.

My chocolate love story

I love chocolate and everything about it — from its rich brown color to its creamy, indulgence and air of luxury and elegance. I’ve been a chocolate connoisseur for years — even before I knew chocolate’s food history. I just knew there had to be something out there other than the milk chocolate from my childhood.

Fast forward to my college days at the University of Pennsylvania. I think it was the Graduate Chair of the English Department, Dr. Richetti who introduced me to Godiva chocolate truffles. I think he brought some to the office when I worked there as a student. O-M-G when I first tasted them — my head almost exploded from all the deep, layered tastes that melted in my mouth. It was creamy and had floral notes — it wasn’t just, dark, and sweet — this was a whole other world of chocolate that I knew I could never turn away from. I learned then that “the best” chocolates were imported from Europe — Belgium — to be specific which is where Godiva is from. According to Investopedia, there are 4 European countries that are the top chocolate producers (although chocolate isn’t grown there).

That was it for me. I was hooked. I would save my modest pennies to take the bus downtown to Liberty Place once a month and get 2 Godiva chocolate truffles. They were carefully placed in a beautiful, gold box and I’d proudly sashay my way out the store holding that tiny, paper tote with the gold logo on the front. In that moment, I wasn’t a poor Penn student. I was the grown-up version of myself who would become a successful writer and literary voice, like Maya Angelou. I imagined that I’d never have to buy chocolates again, because the rich and famous were always bestowed with decadent gifts like imported chocolates and Burberry scarves that smelled like Chanel #5.

There was something about chocolate that always made me feel beautiful and dreamy. I now know there are chemicals in dark chocolate that boost our serotonin levels “a neurotransmitter that makes us feel happy and satisfied” according to an article from Berkley.

However, as a conscious foodie, I had to take a deeper dive into where I source my sweet treats. It takes a lot of hard work to transform raw cacao beans into the chocolate products the world knows and loves. Like most imported foods from Africa and South America — chocolate has a complicated past and present that left a bitter taste in my mouth. There are several issues with regard to fair trade, sustainable and eco-friendly farming practices. Ghana and other countries are fighting against high import taxes and pushing for equitable trade agreements with more control over the processing and pricing of their raw materials.

Ghana was the first country to push for a new trade agreement with Switzerland. I look forward to tasting new and exciting chocolates directly from the source as I learn more about how and where my food is sourced.

For more information on imported chocolates, please watch Bloomberg’s article and QuickTake video.