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Alchemica

Good ethical Cacao products?

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For my initial experiments, I'm using a organic Connect Foods cacao powder. It's not the best tasting cacao, it is however the most naturally nutritionally optimised and dense, sustainably grown and unprocessed cacao I've found in easy reach. They also have sound ethics, each bag supports local Peruvian farming communities. It's a little more expensive but I want a healthy relationship with the plants and those nourishing it.

Hit me up with better options!

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Had a small dose of the 11% polyphenols Criollo cacao to see what it tastes like. It's really nice. Definitely saving this for my therapy chocolate. Will make good chocolate. It's less mineral rich than my raw Peruvian Connect Foods Cacao which is what I like to do my daily dose with, kind of feel connected to nature on the raw earthier flavours but this primo stuff has better taste and is still ethical, fair trade, organic and even supports Wildlife Defenders through profits.
 

The Criollo tree is native to Central and South America as well as the Caribbean islands and Sri Lanka. Only 5% of the world’s production is Criollo.

Criollos are particularly difficult to grow, as they are extremely vulnerable to a variety of environmental threats. The beans have a white to pale pink colour and their taste is described as delicate yet complex, low in classic chocolate flavor, but rich in secondary notes of long duration. Considered to be the “prince of cocoas,” Criollo is prized as an ingredient in the very finest of chocolates.


Also had a feel of the raw organic cacao butter. 60% saturated fats in this one. Nice mouthfeel and butteriness! Everything you want to round out a good cacao powder...

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Have you checked out Loving Earth?

 

They seem pretty ethically sound and have very nice criollo cacao products in small quantities or bulk. Not sure how the pricing compares to the ones you've looked at, but I've got some of their cacao powder in my kitchen if you want me to send you a sample of it to try.

 

I actually don't like most of their chocolates (I think it's the coconut sugar they use for sweetener - gives it a weird sour taste), but all of the raw cacao products they carry are pretty damn good. The cacao nibs are so full of delicious cocoa butter that they're almost like eating little chips of dark chocolate.

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I did see that at the Central Markets. Maybe next time I'm there I'll grab a bag for a batch. Thanks for that tip!

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+ 1 @Anodyne, Loving Earth makes some good stuff, and they have Australian indigenous products they sell with proceeds going back to the communities. Can't go past their cacao though :wink:

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On 7/16/2017 at 4:20 PM, MoonUnitBotanica said:

Cadbury?

Cadbury Coco, like most of the known brands, uses the "Dutching" process.

Which means it has been soaked in Potassium chemicals. And this is still allowed to be called organic.

 

Green And Blacks is supposed to be raw cocao, but not so sure, now that G&B is owned by Cadbury, who are owned by Kraft, who are in turn owned by MONDELEZ who also own Nestles and hundreds of other brands.

 

Living Earth say their Cocao is RAW. Which means it is not treated with chemicals. And LE is the one we buy.

 

Also their virgin coconut oil is great. A bit expensive, but if you buy in bulk t is competitive.

 

There is also a problem with ALL cacoa/cocoa ( same thing ) being high in heavy metals, which the whole industry is ignoring.

 

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2 hours ago, Natural Old Hippies said:

ALL cacoa/cocoa ( same thing

afaik "cocoa" is the roasted-and-usually-alkalised product, while "cacao" is the raw (or supposedly-raw) version. They do taste different and have slightly-different properties - I think the alkalised cocoa is more fat-soluble, so makes smoother-tasting drinking chocolate & so on. The raw cacao is more nutritious but also has a sharper more bitter taste that not everyone likes - I actually think it tastes great, but if you were used to the more processed kind it might be an acquired taste.

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On 16/07/2017 at 4:20 PM, MoonUnitBotanica said:

Cadbury?

 

It is quite good i reckon.  They have three ranges now, cadbury milk chocolate, dark milk, and coco which is actually dark 70-86% and obviously the healthiest (least unhealthy?) of the three.

Edited by ThunderIdeal

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