“Chocolate is sacred. There is an art to the alchemy of chocolate, an art we explore with mystery and integrity.” (Source: Dagoba chocolate bar wrapper)

News flash!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Dark Chocolate, when consumed in moderate amounts, is beneficial to humans.

All right!

Ok, let’s go over these bennies.

First off, the ORAC rating.

What does ORAC stand for?

Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity.

The ability and rate of absorption of a given food item or nutrient to

absorb free radicals with its level of antioxidants.

For dark chocolate, the ORAC is 13,000.

For milk chocolate, the ORAC rating is 6700.

So, that tells you dark chocolate has a lot more

antioxidants than milk chocolate.

What are the other positive attributes that validate our

increase in consumption of the rich dark chocolate we love and crave?

• It tastes good. Chew dark chocolate slowly. Let the flavors dismantle slowly on your tongue. Experience the diverse array of delicate palette colors with each bite you ingest.
• It stimulates endorphin production which gives a genuine feeling of pleasure.
• It contains serotonin which acts as an anti-depressant.
• It contains theobromine, caffeine, and other substances which are stimulating.
• It lowers blood pressure.
• It lowers cholesterol—the ‘bad’ levels.
• It has the highest count of flavonoids which help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide. Flavonoids act as antioxidants. Red wine, apples, and green tea also contain flavonoids, but not nearly as much as dark chocolate.
• It is low fat. One third of dark chocolate is palmitic acid which is a ‘bad fat’. The other 2/3 are oleicacids and steraric acids, both of which are ok and easier to metabolize.

You want to keep in mind that it is important to not drink milk with your dark chocolate,

because it will interfere with the proper absorption of antioxidants.

Enjoy the health benefits and the exquisite taste of dark chocolate.

It is a romantic food, dark, sensual, sweet.

70% or more cocoa present in your dark chocolate

is the recommended medicinal dose to know you are benefitting healthwise.

Eat small amounts.

Chew slowly.

Notice the beautiful bouquet of flavors.

Dark chocolate is rich and bountiful in its qualities…

Like life.

Divine.

Our favorite around here is Divine Chocolate.

It is fair trade chocolate from fine quality cocoa beans

from Kuapa Kokoo, a cooperative of small farms in

Ghana. The Divine wrapper reads,

“The cocoa is grown in the shade of the tropical

rainforest, and slowly fermented and dried in the sun

by the farmers, who take great pride in the chocolate

company they co-own. Choosing delicious Divine

gives you guaranteed pleasure, and the farmers a guaranteed

fair deal, as well as the chance to invest in a better future–

that’s good business.”

That’s fair trade. Yes, it is good business.

Good fair trade dark chocolate.

Life is so rich.