photo courtesy of Vivani

We featured Vivani in our Chocolate Manufacturers – Guide for Chocoholics.

About Vivani Premium Organic Dark Chocolates

Chocolate. Tempting, seductive, irresistible, melt-in-the mouth-watering, creamy dark and delicious. Who wouldn’t go weak at the knees? Consumption of organic chocolate has also been rising. And if that’s a sin, it’s well worth paying for! Cocoa, the most important ingredient in chocolate, has been known to mankind since the fourth century BC. The Mayas and the Aztecs regarded the cocoa tree as holy. The drink of the Gods “Chocoatel” was made from its fruits. It was refined and improved through the centuries until it became what we know today as chocolate. Sugar was unknown in the early days, and flavorings like cinnamon and chili pepper were used instead.

Harvesting is still done by hand. The fruits of the cocoa tree are cut down and gathered by the farmers who cut them open with a sharp knife to get at the cocoa beans at the core. For many states in West Africa, Latin America and Asia, cocoa is one of the most important export commodities.

Fresh cocoa beans are white and covered in a sort of pulp. Their typical brown color is the result of special treatment. The beans are placed in layers between banana leaves where they ferment for between five and 10 days before being dried to preserve them for export. This process takes the edge off the bitterness and helps to develop the characteristic taste.

The owners of large plantations mostly make their profits from the use of excessive pesticides, to the detriment of the environment and the welfare of small farmers. Producing cocoa beans by organic methods is now helping many of the small farmers to stay in business. Vivani is also contributing to this development by ensuring that fair prices are paid for the raw materials they use. This not only helps small farmers to improve their living conditions, but also protects their health and environment.

photo courtesy of Vivani

All the ingredients in their organic chocolate are regularly tried and tested for their organic origins by independent controllers. Some of the production is still done by hand. In order to make chocolate, the cocoa beans are roasted approximately 20 minutes to improve their flavor. After the roasting has been completed, other ingredients like raw can sugar or milk are added. It goes without saying that all these ingredients come from organically controlled producers. The unprocessed chocolate, which is still very lumpy, is passed back and forth between rollers until the ingredients are a mere quarter of a millimeter in size. Organic products contain more cocoa than conventional chocolate. The reason for this is that Vivani dispenses with the emulsifier, lecithin, because this is often made from genetically modified soy beans. To compensate for this, more cocoa butter is used. This not only ensures that the ingredients mix well, but that they also melt better on the tongue.

Vivani is truly the Art of Chocolate.

Location:

To see the whole Chocolate Collection and get more info on their products and chocolate in general, please visit Vivani online.

Sweet Deceit Collection Sugar Free

A 15-pc. assortment of our Sugar-Free selections, including solids, truffles and nuts. Sweet Deceit is a blend of fine cacao beans, roasted with the same care and attention as our Choclatique cacao beans. We subtly sweeten Sweet Deceit chocolate with Maltitol. We encourage you to compare these Authentically American flavors with our Choclatique originals. You won’t believe they’re really sugar-free!

Price: $30.00

100 Percent Organic Chocolate Seeds

100% Organic Chocolate Seeds are cocoa beans covered in dark chocolate. Cocoa beans come from the seed pod of the chocolate tree. Yes, its the whole seed, and not a chocolate covered nib! You can really taste the origin of chocolate. 4oz bag by the Nahualli Trading Co.  The company started in Raleigh, NC and celebrated its second year in 2009. Raleigh, NC is located in the triangle a crossroad for fine organic heritage farming; plus, talented chefs who know their craft and can practice it for a knowledgeable community.

Price: $8.00

Truffles To Give 2 Tier Dark Chocolate And Mint

Share the experience of Coco-Zen with a special gift tin. Their large signature truffles are over 1oz each and come uniquely packaged in a 2-tier stainless steel tiffin (a traditional Indian “lunch box”), featuring Dark Chocolate Nirvana and Chocolate Mint Bliss. Give Coco-Zen to anyone, and nurture your chocolate karma. Remember…what goes around, comes around! All Fair Trade Certified™ chocolate.

Price: $35.00

Sea Salt Caramel Collection

Dark chocolate caramels topped with an eclectic selection of sea salts from around the world.

The harmony produced when chocolate, caramel, and salt get together.

9 piece collection by Lula’s Chocolates, the new artisan chocolate company on the Monterey Peninsula in California.

Price: $13.00

Champagne Chocolates

These chocolates, made with an award winning California sparkling wine and fine dark chocolate, are consider by many to be the finest “Champagne Truffles” made. Each chocolate is individually hand-made to order. 12 pieces by Chocolate Visions. Chocolate Visions creates and produces extraordinary fine chocolates that are unique both in flavor and appearance. Each piece is either hand-dipped or hand-molded to order.

Price: $20.00

For more chocolate variety and to find out more information about the above mention chocolates, check out Chocolate.com.