Review of Theo Chocolate

photo from the Theo chocolate website

I had the pleasure of touring the Theo chocolate factory for a field trip with my children recently. Although I didn't see any Oompa Loompas or chocolate rivers, the free chocolate samples more than made up for that disappointment.

What can I say about this chocolate? First of all, I'll say what is most important to all of us who have food allergies . . . they have chocolate that is gluten, dairy and soy free. They also have chocolate that is nut and peanut free. However, it is manufactured  on equipment with products containing milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts and other nuts. So if you are celiac or have a life threatening  allergy this is something I wanted to include for you to seriously consider. It is not certified gluten free, but most bars have no gluten ingredients added. Cross contamination from the equipment would be my concern if I was celiac.   I have had a terrible time finding chocolate bars that are dairy and soy free, so when I found this chocolate, I went wild.

The ones that are dairy free are dark chocolate. However, a gal sitting next to me at the chocolate tour said that even though she doesn't usually like dark chocolate, she loved theirs. 

You can buy this chocolate at most health food stores, Amazon, Luckyvitamin.com, and Whole Foods. At Amazon you can buy 12 bars at once which gives you an average bar price of $3.63, vs. the usual cost of $4 elsewhere.  Some flavors include orange dark chocolate, toasted coconut chocolate, dark and mint chocolate, cherry and almond chocolate, salted almond chocolate, spicy chili chocolate, chai tea chocolate, coconut curry chocolate, hazelnut crunch chocolate, fig-fennel-and-almond chocolate, and coffee dark chocolate. I must say my favorite is the coffee chocolate. 

The bars aren't cheap. However, I am so impressed with the company, that I don't mind making the splurge every once in awhile. They are the first Organic and Fair Trade for Life bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the United States. Basically they don't use pesticides, and they insure that all of the workers in the countries where they harvest cocoa beans, are not cheated, and are given a fair wage based on a committee that specializes in determining fair wages per country. I was really delighted to hear that the price isn't because they think they have swanky chocolate, but because they pride themselves in treating people with respect,  making sure no children are used to harvest the chocolate, and ensuring that each worker gets a fair wage. I didn't think I needed another excuse to eat chocolate. But I suppose I just found one. :0)