Organic Fair Trade Chocolate Sources Wanted

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John M Rossini on December 21, 2011 at 11:19am

Hi Dale,  You might try Madagas. Good luck John R.

Permalink Reply by Clay Gordon on December 21, 2011 at 3:08pm

John - Do you mean Madecasse? From Madagascar?

Permalink Reply by Dale Anderson on December 21, 2011 at 9:16pm

John and Clay--Thanks, I am familiar with Madecasse. They only fairly recently began experimenting making wafers for couverture. Last I checked, it was fairly expensive (even for Fair Trade/Organic).

Permalink Reply by Simone Vandersteen on December 22, 2011 at 1:54pm

Blommers has an organic line, but I don't know who their farmers are. I'm in the process of looking for organic, fairly traded chocolate, too. And i'm curious about prices...Blommers quoted me $2.70 per pound of dark, but their minimum order is 2000 lbs. It has soy lecithin, which I'm not crazy about. I have ordered from Cocoa Camino (Canada) but they're price is $8.18 / lb...good chocolate, though. Ciranda doesn't have milk..as far as I can tell. Would love to know of more sources...as well as any info on the difference between organically grown cacao, and non organic...do they spray cacao? 

Permalink Reply by Dale Anderson on December 22, 2011 at 11:20pm

Simone,

The company that I have found that caries the broadest range of Fair Trade/Organic chocolate is Sweet Earth Chocolates in San Luis Obispo, California. Their prices are a good bit higher than the Blommers price. They have 54% and 65% dark, 32% milk and white chocolate for $8.95 a pound retail, $6.75 a pound wholesale (requires establishing an account), with a 10% discount on orders exceeding 100 pounds. Shipping is on top of these prices. The dark does not contain lecithin, the white and milk do. They purchase their chocolate from Puratos, who also requires a minimum order of 2,000 pounds (which is why I've not yet ordered directly). Ciranda carries the Cocoa Camino in 56% and 70% dark (currently $4.95 and $5.15 respectively for a recent order of seven hundred pounds). Their prices seem to fluctuate with the market a bit more, and might be lower were one to order the magic 2,000 pound quantity. You will have to get approval from TransFair to order Fair Trade certified stuff from Ciranda (they'd sell simple organic labeled stuff without this, and at a cheaper price). In my last discussion with Madecasse, it seems that they were thinking of asking around $8.00 per pound for their wafers. They had 55, 60, and 73%.

Here's the argument about the value of using organic chocolate as I understand it: Organically certified chocolate may in some cases mean it has not been sprayed with pesticides or fungicides, but more often means that it is not plantation grown, where the forest is clear cut, and the trees are mono-cropped with the associated use of petrochemical fertilizers. Because the trees are grown in close proximity, there is more likelihood that blights, fungal infections, pests, etc. can spread from tree to tree, and so the use of other chemical control agents becomes more likely. These petrochemicals (fertilizers and the rest) run off and pollute the watersheds in their vicinity. Most organically certified cacao is grown in smaller plantings spread out under the canopy of the rain forest, and requires no fertilizers beyond the natural composting of the forest vegetation.

I think that's enough for now. I hope some of that was useful. Let me know if you find other good sources or information in your explorations.

All the best,

Dale

Permalink Reply by Simone Vandersteen on December 23, 2011 at 7:00pm

Thanks, Dale...o.k so Camino gets their dark Peruvian chocolate from Ciranda...  they also have dark and milk couverture from Europe. I'd love to know who their supplier is for it...  It's sounding like Camino's European milk couverture is the only one without lecithin. hmmm....

and what's up with Blommer's...their prices are a third of everyone else's...I just wonder about their integrity...plus I'd rather go without the lecithin...but where to find lecithin free organic milk chocolate?

thanks for the specifics on the organically grown...plus the growing of sugar that is not organic is very toxic as well...the milk, too. Hopefully the organic Certifiers are doing a decent job of ensuring the standards...but it's all we've got for now, anyways... short of travelling to the farms and factories ourselves., which I hope to do one day...to establish personal relationships with the communities growing and processing the chocolate.

I'll let you know if I find any new leads...please do the same for me...

Best,

Simone

Permalink Reply by Ancel Mitchell on December 31, 2011 at 1:52pm

Organic cacao farms, in Costa Rica at least, tend to be agroforestry, meaning that while the cacao is technically monocropped, the trees providing the shade are habitually harvested. They may also be trees used for fodder. In the Caribbean area much of the cacao is produced in small farms - also called plantations - and then the crop is gathered by co-operatives for selling / processing. It's a slightly complicated answer. Rainforest Alliance farms are not necessarily organic - they can and do use conventional pesticides and fertilizers, but they do need to meet standards for 'sustainability', they have to treat their workers fairly and offer training / education / benefits.

And really to talk about 'organics' in developing countries is a bit hit or miss, as many small farms receive a blanket or group 'organic certification' when they join a co-op, without any certified certifier visiting the farm. Our farm, which follows permaculture principles and is certainly organic, received certification without anyone coming to check. We returned the certification when we left the co-op. So really if you want to ensure you are getting what you think you are getting follow the cacao as far as you can go. There must be single source importers working in the States?

Permalink Reply by Dale Anderson on December 31, 2011 at 2:41pm

Ancel,

Thanks for your insights.

I'd be happy to hear from any single source importers out there (or permaculture grown cacao producers).

All the best,

Dale

Permalink Reply by Simone Vandersteen on January 7, 2012 at 1:09pm

Me too! My dream is to travel to the source of the cacao used in my creations. Any single source importers out there wanting to share their source? And are there any other farmers other than Ancel who can provide organically grown and processed cacao?

Thanks!