Packed House for Fair Trade Chocolate Tasting

Coffee to the People Cafe was crammed with people wanting to learn about Fair Trade Chocolate and sample the many variations available. An estimated 60 people came specifically for the event, and many other casual cafe goers were attracted by the sights and smells of brownies, cookies, fondue, chocolate bars, and chocolate-covered coffee beans.



A special surprise was announced during the tasting. To demonstrate the rapid growth of the Fair Trade market, Edouard Rollet of Alter-Eco unveiled four new chocolate bars that his company is planning to launch in June of this year. Some people claimed that the new Alter-Eco bars were the best chocolate at the tasting.



The result of best chocolate of the tasting (based on votes from people at the tasting) was Sweet Earth Chocolate Pepermint Crunch, which was semi-dark chocolate with a strong flavor of peppermint and a crunchy texture brovided by brown rice.





The Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition planned this event to increase consumer awareness of the Fair Trade products available at supermarkets. We are not an official organization, we have no funding, and we are not very large. We are simply a group of volunteers who spend a few hours a week planning events like this one. If you like the idea of getting involved in the Fair Trade movement in a very unofficial way, with no commitments or requirements, write to us and we will tell you when our next meeting is.