Green Daily

Why is Theo Chocolate guilt free you might ask? Does it lack calories? Well, no, but it does have a lot of positive things that go with those calories.

Theo is the only organic, fair trade certified, bean-to-bar chocolatier in the US (at least to our knowledge). What does bean-to-bar mean? It means that Theo Chocolate instead of buying chocolate actually buys the fair trade, organic cocoa beans and brings them through the entire chocolate making process and then turns that chocolate into a variety of bars and confections.

I had a chance to try a variety of Theo Chocolates not long ago. Because of the time of year, my bars arrived early in the morning, packed on ice. Just in time for breakfast!

My absolute favorite was the Coconut Curry milk chocolate bar from the 3400 Phinney line. It was rich and chocolaty but with an underlying spiciness that was really different that your average chocolate bar. The Bread and Chocolate bar, featuring buttered, toasted bread crumbs is also a really nice twist.

Theo Origin bars are pure chocolate, carefully crafted to keep the subtle flavors of the cocoa beans from various regions intact. The 91% cocoa Venezuelan chocolate bar was the most seriously intense dark chocolate I have ever had. It was slightly bitter and due to the high cocoa content not the silky smooth texture most of us are accustomed to in our chocolate. As someone who loves dark chocolate though, it was definitely an experience I was glad to experience.

Theo doesn't only make chocolate bars. They also make Theo Confections, tiny, little bite-sized masterpieces. Flavors like burnt sugar, fig and fennel, mint and PB&J are beyond you typical box of assorted chocolates. The flavors are well thought out and far from average and very tasty as well.

Any time you need some quality chocolates that have planet friendly policies, check out Theo Chocolates. You can buy them online or in some stores. I have seen the 3400 Phinney bars in my local Borders bookstore.