Vanessa, Your Chocolate Girl, recently spent some time in Grenada getting the feel of a “farm to bar” chocolate company, the Grenada Chocolate Company. Started by a real inspiration, Mott Green, this is a place that is almost ridiculously idealistic, yet it works so very well.

All of the cacao beans are processed and turned into chocolate mere minutes away from where they’ve been harvested. The whole farm is certified organic and is solar-powered. Plus, the company is owned by the co-operative of farmers who nurture the theobroma cacao trees directly reap the benefits of their hard work. It’s worth mentioning too that this is cacao that passes the taste test with flying colors! Check out this page and see a short video clip of Vanessa harvesting cocoa beans. Don’t be frightened of the machete in the back there, it is being wielded by a trained professional.



Buy five bars and get one for free! Free people! It doesn't get much better than that.

Some ideas to whet your appetite...

For the lover of all things chewy and crunchy: 2 Lemon Berry Rose, 2 Cashew Goji Berry, 1 Pom Acai and for your freebie, Immune Boost!

Or maybe you want all smooth bars: 2 Simplicity, 2 Cool Peppermint, 1 Fleur de Sel, and for your freebie, SuperChoc!

Go forth and find your nirvana combo!

In response to a recent incident in which a distributor [Essential Living Food]’s purported “raw” chocolate product was found to be not raw at all, the raw food community has spoken! The reaction to this incident parallels that of the organic community decades ago when similar challenges arose. While one may feel outraged at this lack of truth in labeling, history has shown that a mobilized consumer force can result in legislation and procedures that are designed to increase integrity and transparency. Now, thanks to these organic predecessors, we have a blueprint for action.

Even if this was an isolated incident, we cannot ignore the need to work proactively for industry-wide quality, transparency, and Raw Integrity.

Producing raw products in general, keeping low temperatures is not only out of normal production routine, it is also more labor-intensive, time-consuming, and thus, more expensive. In this context, we can easily understand why specifications were not followed in the case of Essential Living Food's Ecuadorian supplier: there was no one on site directly overseeing the operation who was committed to Raw.

It would be so amazing to just trust that we can distinguish amongst the companies and products, but even with the best of intentions a company may unknowingly mislead their customers unless they have the motivation and resources to perform due diligence - performing such extra research and, most importantly - physically visiting farms and facilities.

This is what Raw Integrity is all about. Let's embrace our responsibility as consumers and world citizens to voice our concerns and demands! See much more about the Raw Integrity Project in Vanessa’s article here, and post YOUR comments!

Chocolates from Gnosis lack milk and cream
But with all of our new flavors, you'll be floating in a dream!
Sugarplum Gingerbread delights the palate
Almond Fig Spice reaches the top of your ballot
Mayan heat, here to warm head to feet
Truffles of Spruce and Fir;  
Frankincense and Myrrh
Fleur de Sel, yes it is hard to tell
    That you're missing any cream at all!

Heads up, everyone! Our Hot Chocolate Party/Chocolate Girl Vanessa's 25th birthday, has changed location! This event is coming right up, Saturday, December 12. The new location for this delicious celbratory gathering is at The Suffolk, 107 Suffolk Street.

Come by for music, dancing, unlimited Gnosis Chocolate, drinking chocolate with cayenne and chili, raw food, and an elixir bar. What more could you ask for?

Pre-register if you like, nychocolateparty.com. See you there, 9:30pm-1:30am!