I used to love eating chocolate. As an army brat, I fell in love with German and Swiss chocolates when my father was stationed overseas in my youth.

In 2001, my wife read an award winning Knight Ridder piece on child slavery in the cocoa plantations in the Congo and other cocoa producing areas of Africa. It turns out that these areas are propped up on child slavery and that chocolate created in the area makes up more than 40% of the world’s cocoa production.

As chocolate is traded in a commodity market, all commodity chocolate, all the beans get mixed together meaning that almost any chocolate you buy, unless is specifically is listed as fair trade (or more rarely “Slavery Free”), is tainted by child slavery.

The Chocolate Manufacturers Association, through lobbyists like Bob Dole fought “Slave Free” labeling on US chocolate and instead got the CMA approved Harkin-Engil Protocol legislation passed. Harkin-Engil was supposed to monitor the situation in Africa and certify that commodity chocolate sold in these regions was child slavery free by 2005. When 2005 came, the H-E protocol was an admitted failure and instead of receiving any consequences the chocolate industry was given another 5 years to, now, only certify that 50% wasn’t made by child slavery. Essentially, the H-E protocol is a stalling tactic to move the issue out of the public eye.

We gave up eating chocolate in 2001. We didn’t want our money to support an industry that acknowledges and tacitly (and sometimes openly) accepts child slavery as part of doing business. Not us, not for what is essentially a luxury good.

Unless chocolate is fair trade or a chocolateer can source their cocoa to specific farms that don’t engage in the practice of child slavery(many say they do but don’t offer proof because they say that certifications and monitoring cost too much money), the chocolate they create is probably tainted by the practice of child slavery.

Period.

It’s funny. All my friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances end up knowing this information. Usually it comes after repeated times of our politely turning down chocolate when offered in the form or cookies, cakes, ice-cream, or candies. Eventually they ask why we don’t eat chocolate and we say that it is just our choice. When they push, we ask them if they really want to know and advise them that they probably don’t want to know. Even with the warning, they all want to know. When we tell them, they are mad.

All but a handful (maybe 5 people) have said that they could never give up chocolate even if it was created by child slavery. They all say they also can’t commit to buying fair trade chocolate as it is harder to find and more expensive.

That is one of the saddest things for me.

until paul and james ship their delights to this side of the pond, you can always try your hand at whipping up a batch of my open source truffles.

this is going to cost someone an eurostar ticket, at least.

THANK YOU.

Perhaps that makes the chocolate even sweeter?

I’m going to go get some RIGHT NOW!!!

(Actually, I probably won’t make it past Camden as I do some Christmas shopping on this glorious London ‘morn.)

As for places to order, my vote is for Teuscher, out of Switzerland (http://www.teuscher.com/). The company, itself, doesn’t ship, but several of its US stores do, and the champagne truffles are pretty magnificent.

‘The industry is dominated by three chocolate makers, Barry Callebaut, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland Company. In the UK, 99.999% of chocolatiers, whether they be large companies such as Cadbury Schweppes or small independents, purchase their chocolate from them, to melt, mold and package to their own design.’ (wiki quote from the programme)

the impression i got was that the same goes for europe. not only that but nearly all of the stuff they make is of the same grade. 0_o

I don’t think that I ever could have conceived of Marmite truffles.

Right now they are adding about 1 thing a year to their menu and sell stuff at local stores and at the farmers’ markets too. Very dark and delicious organic direct-trade chocolate bars.

And they ship.

While it’s quite possible this guy maks proper chocolates, I can get good chocolates on my local highstreet for 10£ the pound. That includes truffles. Much better than neuhaus or (god forbid) godiva.

(Sidenote: till 2000 it was against belgian law to call anything chocolate unless it had less than 5% fat other than cocoa butter. This immediatley means that cadburys couldn’t sell their chocolate as chocolate until the EU stepped in, and every other country(including the bloody french) decided chocolate with pig fat was real chocolate)

The only reason they don’t sell real chocolate in supermarkets in most of the world is because people are used to crap made by companies who want to save a few bucks at the cost of a consumer who doesn’t know better anyway. It’s like selling beer as wine.

(I’m also available for rants on beer)

I live the rest of my life a little sadder, knowing that the vast majority of the chocolate I now sample in my life will forever pale before the delight of those sea-salted caramels…

I’ll certainly be returning to fill out a few Christmas presents. And some for myself of course…

You’re right that a lot of the world’s wholesale chocolate supply is dominated by a few mega-corps who don’t exactly produce the finest stuff. We’re one of the 0.001% (your statistic is incorrect and a bit too extreme, but I’ll play along with it for effect) who don’t buy any of that crap though, and there’s no fat other than cocoa butter in our chocolate.

You’re also absolutely right that London has become the most creative centre of the fine/artisan chocolate world. I’ve travelled a lot of the world tasting and testing and I love living here so much.

I hope to see some of you soon! I’ll brief the team in the morning that if anyone mentions that they read about us on Boing Boing they can have a free chocolate on me.

Bests,

James Cronin – Managing Director, Paul A Young Fine Chocolates

This shop is one of the best. But isn’t it a shame that most people have to travel this far to get a good chocolate?

Every village should have their own chocolatier. We all like chocolate. We all taste the difference. Yet loads of people have never eaten proper chocolate. It’s sad.

Nowadays every supermarket offers a decent selection of wine. Why not chocolate? More people like chocolate than wine.

Charbonnel et Walker is supposidly where the Queen gets her chocolate fix:

http://www.charbonnel.co.uk/

Norman Love Confections makes beautiful chocolate that seldom fails to wow the ladies:

http://www.normanloveconfections.com/

I never know what to get women for Christmas, but nobody has ever complained when I sent them Chocolate from these places.