In an effort to inform our customers, we have written a review of the recent Consumer Reports article on chocolate. It is our conclusion that any writing on the issue of heavy metals in chocolate must be backed by actual standards set specifically for chocolate; the CR article is not.

We think writers and editors have a responsibility to inform and not misuse their role with intentional misinformation. It is our assertion that Consumer Reports had the ability to write a balanced and informative article but made several choices to not do so. In our review, we point out how CR made an extra effort to intentionally misinform the reader. 

Our review also provides clear information about the pervasive nature of minerals and elements in most foods we eat. While CR seems to create a narrative that has intent to exaggerate and alarm, we want to make it clear that we are in a long and continual process of improving quality and maintaining high standards.

Chocolove chocolate complies with the most stringent standards set in the US: the CA Prop 65 standards. Simply put, Chocolove chocolate is safe to enjoy daily.

The link to the abridged version of our review of the CR article is here.

If you would like to read further on this issue, we have also created a 5-page detailed analysis of the Consumer Reports article as well as an explanation of minerals and elements in food and chocolate.

In 2011, Chocolove embarked upon a process of doing our part by buying fully traceable cocoa: traceable in every step in the supply chain back to the farmer. It would take two years of persistent work to get it set up, and to get a seal on the back of our package. It was hard to do. A key to the success of fully traceable supply to the farmer was Rainforest Alliance and Utz, who had gone before me and were well established in-country.

Chocolove specifies certified, fully traceable cocoa. Over 90% of the cocoa beans that we purchase and package are traceable to the farmer coop where they were grown. What this means is the cocoa in a Chocolove bar is the cocoa that is from certified farms. You might expect this to be a simple fact for all chocolate, but not so for some other companies. Certification on our wrapper means that the cocoa in the bar was made by people following the laws of the International Labor Organization and the rules of the Rainforest Alliance. While you might think the Rainforest Alliance only cares about the rainforest, they are in fact focused on people first, as stewards of the land and forest.

In the words of the Rainforest Alliance, “The advancement of basic human rights is intrinsic to sustainable land management and forest conservation… The earliest sustainability certification standards we helped develop included provisions to guard against child labor and forced labor—and to protect the land rights of indigenous people”.

Fascinating to consider that buying a Chocolove bar helps to protect the earth’s complex and vital ecosystem. Today it is easier than it was in 2011 to imagine all the people, and yet the work is still hard to do. I hope today you’ll join us and work to help the world live as one.

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On the surface, a chocolate company is one that makes and sells chocolate products. While any amount and type of packaging can be wrapped around chocolate, any sort of graphics can be applied, and any form of marketing angles can be plied, with chocolate, it’s what’s inside that counts. And what is inside is due to who is inside the  company’s chocolate factory. The ideal core of a chocolate brand and their chocolate factory is a Master Chocolatier.

There are chocolatiers and then there are master chocolatiers. A master chocolatier can make the difference between good chocolate and great, world-class chocolate.

Introducing Patrick Peeters, the master chocolatier for the Chocolove chocolate factory. Peeters is as humble as he is great at his art. Let’s say hello to Patrick and hear his story.

Born in Belgium, Patrick speaks Flemish, French, and English. Early on he worked in local bakeries, but found his calling at the Confectionary, Bread and Pastry Apprentice School in Leuven, Belgium, where he also received a diploma with high honors.

He soon became the executive pastry chef at a well-known, world-class hotel chain, winning regular awards and acclaim. Peeters worked in a technical capacity at several of the largest food and chocolate companies in the world, to round out his technical excellence. He also started from scratch and ran his own chocolate shop and bakery.

Over the years to keep his creativity flowing, he assisted and worked with other master chocolatiers, including Jean-Pierre Wybauw. Peeters is a member of an elite cadre, The Barry Callebaut Chocolate Ambassadors Club.

Taking into account his 5 years of early work and formal training, combined with his life-long career of 45 years, Peeters has a total of 50 years of dedication to the art of chocolate. Another way of looking at what makes a master chocolatier: 125,000 hours of work making people happier.

So why does a master chocolatier call Chocolove home? Peeters says he loves “the freedom to innovate and create without restriction, the use of the best ingredients available, the great atmosphere, and updated facility.”

At Chocolove, Peeters oversees the nuance of aroma and flavor in every item the company makes: from chocolate bars, such as Almonds and Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate, to his seasonal gourmet collections. Peeters adds that he thrives by being “surrounded by a team that has the can-do mentality” and his “ability to work every day with an ingredient that I respect and love.”

Chocolove together with Patrick Peeters: making great, world-class chocolate.

Twenty-six years ago, I learned I would be a dad. I tried to look 25 years into the future. I needed more than a job; I needed to engage in a life’s work that I would enjoy, not tire of, and provide for my family. I wanted work that would shape me in a positive way.

I have the ability to taste chocolate like a sommelier tastes wine. I see flavor like a composer sees music. Unlike wine, coffee, or other acquired tastes, everyone in my focus groups could not only discern premium chocolate, they preferred premium chocolate. I decided to make the best tasting and best quality chocolate for the US consumer.

In August of 1995, I introduced the world to Chocolove. We began with 4 flavors of premium chocolate and all with declared cocoa content on the front of the wrapper. The wrapper design was inspired by a letter from abroad with a love poem printed inside.

Looking back, you might recall that premium chocolate in 1995 was an import from Europe with a high price tag. It was hard to find and often had some loss of quality due to the miles traveled and months on the shelf.

We made premium chocolate in Boulder, Colorado, with a keen focus on taste and a strong respect for the American consumer. We made the freshest, best-tasting chocolate money could buy, and we priced it right.

In 1997, two years into the endeavor, making no money and working 72 hours a week, I asked myself why was I working so hard. One night I recalled the classic counting sheep trick to go to sleep. I opted instead to count the number of people who were eating Chocolove at that moment and made happier because of Chocolove. Then I factored for the number of people who were happier that day because I went to work. This epiphany served me well; a focus on serving the customer and I continued to count happier people.

With this focus on serving and taking care of people came clarity of brand and the growth of the company. The perspective of helping people be happier through Chocolove was extended to all employees and all people in the supply chain, including cocoa farmers in Africa and around the world. Over the years, we have been forerunners and innovators on many matters. Chocolove has played a role in sharing chocolate with someone you love, rewarding oneself and others, and giving thanks. Now, 25 years in, I have retained the role of taster and of keeper-of-the-brand, and every now and then I still count the number of people made happier every day.

Yes we are open.

It seems obligatory to say as much.

For years we have been working smarter every day to make a facility, supply chain, and workforce that meets and then exceeds FDA and USDA regulations and on top of that ascribe to an even higher standard of safety to earn the laudable SQF certification.

We were simultaneously asked by Whole Foods to certify our supply chain for food products and it was part and parcel to our trade to certify our supply chain for cocoa. And we did what we were asked.

The cost and time involved was and is overwhelming at times, and at other times a relief. Yes, for years we did the smart and hard work and methodically and consistently forged ahead to build an organization that met world class standards. We knew in advance such diligent work was smart.

In the year 2020, we realized in an obvious way that all our hard work at making a safe facility, safe supply chain, and safe workforce was indeed time and money well spent. There was no question in my mind over the last few years we needed to do it and there is no question today that we did it. Our safe quality food organization is indeed safe for all concerned today.

Yes we are open, cruising at capacity, and filling every order in stride. Thanks for being there for us every day and we are here for you today and everyday as well.

Tim

Chocolove has always made high-cocoa content chocolates. We were the first brand in the US to label cocoa content on the front of the bar, which we started back in 1995. We are also a leader in strong chocolates, making 65%, 70%, 77% and 88% cocoa contents.

These higher cocoa contents of Chocolove products might be a great part of any well-thought-out approach to eating and even a true Ketogenic diet. A person on a true Keto diet compares fat to carbs as a percentage of the overall food, with a goal of perhaps a 4 to 1 ratio of fat to carbs. This approach measures total intake of everything eaten, not each food by itself.

In the Chocolove chocolate bars we look at here, there are no added carbs other than added sugar. Any chocolate can be part of the Keto diet, but the question becomes, how much chocolate can be eaten in relation to other foods consumed during that meal or day?

For ease of calculation, the inverse of the cocoa content can be used as the sugar content. Thus an Extreme Dark bar with 88% cocoa content has roughly 12% added sugar. The fat portion is less obvious to calculate so here are a pair of simple tables to use. These numbers are based on a 90g bar.

Whether you prefer to consider the ratio of fat to sugar or fat to carbs in your decision making, our Extreme Dark with 88% cocoa content delivers on that ratio in classic chocolate taste.

How chocolate supports a diet is one thing, but the essence of chocolate is enjoying and feeling better. A person has the best of both worlds if they can get great taste and support for their feeling of well-being and at the same time get to eat Chocolove chocolate.