Terra Nostra ~ Are You Ready for an “Intense Dark” Chocolate Experience?

Terra Nostra Intense Dark Chocolate Bar

Okay, I have a confession to make. I love chocolate. In fact, in all truth, I am probably somewhat addicted to chocolate. No matter where I am in the world, I will find some form of chocolate, or, the chocolate will magically find me. When I was briefly living in my guru’s forest ashram in South India, I was two bumpy hours away from the nearest food market, and even there, the chocolate came to me. I was helping a small group of people learn to chant the Thousand Names of Lalita Devi,  and most of the “students” brought me voluntary “offerings” of flowers and chocolate bars, in gratitude for the Sanskrit chanting lessons. I guess my reputation precedes me. I mean, I LOVE chocolate, and I suppose it’s true that we attract whatever we love the most.

In an effort to purchase more organic products, I’ve been making a foray into organic chocolates, and wasn’t so crazy about a few that I tried. Well, all that changed as soon as I tried my first square of Terra Nostra Organic’s Intense Dark Chocolate bar. Let me just say, Wow, that is an incredibly good dark chocolate bar, and yes, “intense” is an apt description. My love of this chocolate bar stems from the fact that: (a) it is made from 100% organic chocolate that is produced and obtained through equitable trade practices; (b) it is made with 100% renewable energy; (c)  it has a 73% cacao content which provides outstanding antioxidant capacity; and (d) it is 100% yummariffic.

Organic and Green-E Certified ~ Better for You, Better for the Environment

Most people have some awareness that organic foods are healthier for us and the environment. When it comes to chocolate, this is certainly true. Many conventionally grown chocolate samples have tested positive for pesticide residues, including lindane, which is highly toxic and functions as an endocrine disrupter — not good. Chocolate is grown mostly in Africa and South America, where pesticide use is often unregulated. Workers are not properly trained or provided with safety gear. Thus, conventionally grown chocolate not only exposes us to pesticides, it is likely to expose impoverished third-world workers to dangerous chemicals. Not only that, pesticides often run off into local waterways, where they can cause problems for people and animals downstream. It is thought that many species are going extinct due to “gender issues” caused by pesticides that disrupt sex hormones.

Cacao plants are best suited to shady areas underneath tropical canopies in the rainforest, but due to growing demand, some farmers are cutting down rainforest in order to grow cacao plants in the sun and increase their yield. In spite of increased yields, such growing practices destroy natural rainforest and require greater use of pesticides, since the cacao plants are more exposed to insects. By buying organic chocolate, which tends to support the shade-farming practices, we can support many smaller farms that are committed to preserving rainforests and avoiding the poisoning of the environment.

While examining the Terra Nostra label, I saw an unusual logo, along with the statement “This bar is made with 100% renewable energy.” I went to the cited website, www.green-e.org, and learned that Terra Nostra is part of a growing movement to eliminate nonrenewable energy from the workstream. Using renewable energy like wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and small and low-impact hydro can reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing processes. This helps us avoid air pollution, global warming, and dependence on foreign oil. Another great reason to buy yummy chocolate!

The Value of Equitable Trade Practices

After I descended from my dark chocolate-induced “high,” I became curious about how Terra Nostra managed to produce such an incredible chocolate bar, so I visited their website. Featured prominently on their site is information about equitable trade practices, and I then became curious about what kind of issues are involved in chocolate production. Most people have heard of “blood diamonds” by now, but who has heard of “blood chocolate”? I don’t think the cacao situation is quite as bad as the forced-labor diamond minds in parts of Africa, but it’s not far behind. Imagine ten-year-old boys, forced to work 12-hour days for no pay, fed only corn paste, injured from wielding large machetes, and denied any chance for education or skilled training. It’s estimated that thousands of children have been trafficked for the purpose of engaging in slave labor on cacao farms. If you’re up to it, you can get a visual presentation from MSNBC’s recent slideshow on chocolate’s not-so-sweet side in Africa. All this is pretty horrifying, and actually quite diametrically opposed to the pleasure we normally associate with eating chocolate.

The reasons behind child and forced labor are numerous and complicated, but a lot has to do with tremendous poverty, government corruption, and volatile market prices. There’s a lot we can’t control, but one thing we can impact is the price given to farmers for their raw cacao. By purchasing chocolate that is fair trade- or equitable trade-certified, we can help ensure that small farmers will be paid a living wage for their work. The idea behind fair trade is that farmers must be paid a certain percentage higher than the going market price. This protects small farmers from market fluctuations.

Terra Nostra is a founding member of the Equitable Trade Association, which seeks to go even further than fair trade. Equitable Trade seeks to incorporate a broad and meaningful set of social, business, environmental and ethically responsible principles and standards into business and trade practices. In order to be certified as an equitable trader, a company must pay a certain percentage of sales as an association membership fee. 20% of this fee is retained by the trade association for administrative costs, but the remaining 80% is applied to important projects designed to help the farmers’ communities. Projects are designed to improve the health of the communities as well as the local ecosystems. Choosing fair or equitable trade chocolate helps nudge the industry towards more compassionate and ethical practices, which could potentially benefit thousands of impoverished third-world citizens.

73% Cacao = 100% Ecstasy

After years of suffering under the delusion that chocolate is unhealthy (a heresy in my book any day), scientists have finally seen the light and learned that cacao actually has incredibly powerful antioxidant capacity. It turns out that chocolate has even greater antioxidant power than blueberries. It’s important to remember, however, that it is dark chocolate that contains the greatest benefits, and experts recommend choosing chocolate that is at least 70% cacao content. The Intense Dark Chocolate Bar, with its 73% cacao content, certainly fulfills this requirement.

In addition to providing full antioxidant activity, the high cacao content of Intense Dark bars results in a wonderfully rich and intense flavor with great depth. It’s interesting that chocolate contains phenols, the same antioxidants found in red wine, because eating dark chocolate really reminds me of drinking a nice Merlot. Terra Nostra’s Intense Dark chocolate achieves a wonderful balance of sweetness with bitter, acidic berry notes with smooth texture, and cacao buttery goodness with a satisfying snap.

Cacao doesn’t just provide incredible flavor. It also provides 300 different chemical compounds, many of which seem to have psychoactive effects. Some compounds help to raise levels of dopamine and serotonin, which can relieve depression and anxiety and remind us of the feeling of falling in love. Other compounds can bind with the same receptors as THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Moderation is Key

As much as I love chocolate, I know that I have my limits. I learned that during an ill-fated school field trip to Hershey Park when I was nine. After running around in the sun and eating nothing, I mean nothing, but chocolate-themed items all day, I developed a whopping migraine headache. I was a very repentant little chocolate fiend. Even today, if I overindulge, I know that I may get a migraine — not fun. I can also feel chocolate’s stimulant, high-inducing effects on my body and mind, and that makes me a little wary. So the key seems to be moderation. A small amount of high-quality, organic dark chocolate every day provides a healthy dose of antioxidants without disrupting my internal milieu. So here’s my recommendation: if you really love chocolate, go ahead and try Terra Nostra’s Intense Dark bar — you won’t be disappointed!