apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

There's also fairtrade rice, bananas, vanilla, and mangos.

dont forget coffee..
I grew up in Jamaica and would pick the pods, crack them open, suck the flesh from the seeds and then throw them away.
I didnt realize what a treat it was then...or that the seeds were the beginnings of the chocolate I loved so much.

Now, living in NY, I often think about all the fruits/vegs/herbs that I would casually eat throughout my week (the ultimate in organic and local) that I now pay top dollar for.

I've tried almost all of them.

I really liked the Guittard Grand Cacao and their new Akoma Fair Trade Baking Chips (lavender bag).

I've been using the Equal Exchange cocoas to make chocolate pudding. (Too hot right now, but soon.)

I haven't been that keen on the Dagoba nibs, they always seem a bit fibery.

Green & Black's also has some nice cocoa & hot chocolate that's fair trade.

The Dagoba Xocolatl hot chocolate == !(&(!*^&!^*!^!mmmmfffffhhaaoh!

http://www.dagobachocolate.com/prodinfo.asp?number=2402.12

My husband got me cocoa mix from Intelligentsia. It's excellent cocoa and also a good source for direct trade coffee.

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/STORE/WARES/misc/cocoa

I got married on the Carribean side of Costa Rica and we were able to get some fresh pods, dried cocoa, and chocolate from the BriBri on the interior. Part of our wedding activities were doing community service work with an organization working with the group. I treasure the powder I still have, part of it was used on the cake we made, and the rest of it is in a safe place.

Divine Chocolate is just gorgeous. I'm especially fond of the hazelnut milk chocolate variety.

What's more, if you order Divine products from SERRV, which is associated with Lutheran World Relief, even more of the money you spend will go to developing fair trade programs. And because of the recent cooler weather, they've suspended the shipping surcharge early.

Divine Chocolate at SERRV

While you're at it, check out the rest of the site -- it's all fairly-traded, and there are some really neat things there. I've dealt with SERRV in organizing consignment sales before, and I can vouch for their trustworthiness.

For those who'd like to incorporate some Fair Trade into their Halloween and are wondering about how you might raise the issue with your neighors you can check out the Reverse Trick or Treating Campaign. It's a joint project of Global Exchange, Equal Exchange (that's us), Cocoa Camino, Co-op America, and others.

Also, lets not forget about chocolate's other main ingredient - sugar - which has its own issues.

Besides Equal Exchange, two other Fair Trade chocolate companies using Fair Trade sugar are Divine, and Cocoa Camino.