Equal Exchange Mint Chocolate

I'm a serious chocoholic; some might even say I'm a chocolate snob. My favorites are rich, dark chocolates, but I'm pretty versatile when it comes to this favorite food. But after learning about child slavery on cocoa farms in Africa, I make a point of buying fair trade chocolate in order to avoid supporting this deplorable practice.

Today, on a whim, I bought a bar of Equal Exchange's Mint Chocolate with a Delicate Crunch at the Co-op. Equal Exchange is a worker-owned co-op based in Massachusetts. Their mission is "to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world." I like supporting a company like this.

But warm-hearted feelings aside, did the chocolate taste good?

Wow. This is what Peppermint Patties should taste like, well, if they actually contained real chocolate and had enough of it in them. This was some really good chocolate.

The chocolate is 67% cacao - not quite the 72% cacao I usually crave, but it is clearly a dark chocolate. It contains no milk in its ingredients, and it isn't overly sweet. The clean, fresh note of natural mint is strong without being overwhelming. The crunch is kind of like tiny pieces of candy cane - really, only barely crunchy - not like chocolate bars with big rice crisps.

I gave a piece of it to my son, who usually doesn't like dark chocolate. He asked for another. And another. I had to draw the line. After all, I needed save some to share with my husband.

I think we have a new family favorite...

-K.W., mom, educator, chocoholic, and Co-op member