For several days I was plagued with a bought of insomnia. It was my clever captain that solved the mystery. My restless nights coincided with my latest caloric addiction, dark chocolate made by The Grenada Chocolate Company.My pre-arrival research revealed the existence of The Grenada Chocolate Company so upon reaching Grenada I was immediately on the hunt for this intriguing local confection. I soon secured my first 4 oz. bar of organic cocoa goodness and quickly fell into a bar a day habit. They make a 60% and a 71% cocoa chocolate bar – both delicious dark chocolate. My preference changes regularly, often depending on what I am pairing it with or what time of the day I’m savoring. For example, before noon or when eating mango I usually prefer the 60%, yet in the evenings or when drinking red wine (always after noon!) I gravitate to the 71%. But neither will ever disappoint!
While a believer in the health benefits of cocoa and someone who always keeps a stash of good chocolate on hand, I quickly preferred Grenada Chocolate because of its wonderful rich flavor and smoothness. It wasn’t until after the consumption of numerous bars and a trip their cocoa farm in northern Grenada that I learned the other reasons to favor The Grenada Chocolate Company’s chocolate. The company is an environmentally friendly co-operative that ensures all workers are paid fairly while producing organic chocolate from tree to bar in a unique small batch process using solar energy to power their factory.
All this goodness doesn’t come cheap but it’s worth every penny. I’m not the only one impressed. It won the Academy of Chocolate's 2008 Silver Award for the Best Organic Chocolate in the world and before that other aficionados deemed it "the best chocolate in the world".Due to my unfortunate sensitivity to caffeine I’ve had to put a daily 6pm curfew on my consumption. Sadder yet is that I miscalculated my inventory needs (I’m already unwrapping bars purchased for gifts!) and will be depleted before I’m able to secure another order. Soon I’ll be forced to make due with those other chocolates for a while.
If you get to Grenada, take the time to travel to the lush rainforest area of St Patrick’s parish to visit the Belmont Estate and take a tour to learn how chocolate is made from tree to package at The Grenada Chocolate Company. If you can’t make it to Grenada, treat yourself or someone you love to their chocolate.Additional photos taken at the Belmont Estate of The Grenada Chocolate Company can be viewed at Flickr.com.
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1 comment:
Ah the old "bar a day habit", I know it too well, that's one of the reasons I swithed from Milk Chocolate to Dark Chocolate. Great post on Grenada Dark Chocolate, I love the stuff, and not becuase I am from Grenada. it real is that good and I am seeing more and more references to it on the internet. You can even purchase it online if you are in the UK or US. The also won a silver award for Best Organic Dark Chocolate... have you had any lately?
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