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Chocolate: A Love AffairBy Lisa Turner
Every great love affair has its common elements. It’s intense yetsweet, exciting yet comforting, passionate and yearning. Sometimes,it’s bittersweet; sometimes, exotic and mysterious. Other times, it’s sofilled with desire, it borders on obsession. And so it is with chocolate;our favorite sweet has all the makings of a passionate affair.Why do we love chocolate? Maybe it's the smooth, velvety way itslides across the tongue and arouses the senses. Maybe it's becausecocoa is married to sugar and fat, our other true loves. Or maybe, likelove, it does something to the brain: eating cocoa actually boosts thbrain’s production of serotonin, the 'feel-good' neurotransmitter, andchocolate contains phenylethylamine, the same brain chemical thatoccurs in higher concentrations when you're in love.Ultimately, though, like any good affair, a relationship withchocolate should leave you feeling fulfilled, not guilty. Cheap chocolate(think Mars bars) is sometimes grown and harvested in ways thatexploit farm workers, damage the environment and endanger children. That’s just not happy or sexy. The question then becomes “Are organicor fair trade chocolates as satisfying as gourmet bars?” The answer forus, happily, is yes. Because of growing awareness of deplorableworking conditions and damaging environmental practices, organicand Fair Trade chocolates have been elevated the lofty strata of 
 
gourmet confections; some of these categories and luscious selectionsfollow. Read on--this is one love affair that has a happy ending.
Dark chocolate bars.
If you’re in the chocolate relationship forthe health benefits, the darker the better. Dark chocolate has thehighest cocoa content, and cocoa is the magic stuff; it’s rich inpolyphenols, the same potent antioxidants found in green tea, wineand blueberries. (Milk chocolate is typically sweeter and less intensethan dark chocolate, but much lower in polyphenols.) Chose bars with65 percent or higher cocoa content; you’ll lose some of the sweetness,but it’s fun to eat candy that’s as good for you as cauliflower.
Superior selections:
 TheoGhana Dark Chocolate Bar 84%; Theo Ivory Coast Dark Chocolate Bar 75%; Equal Exchange Very Dark 71%;Green & Black’s Organic Dark 70%
Flavored chocolate.
Sometimes, no matter how intense ordevoted your relationship, a little variety is fun. Generally, I’m not afan of flavored chocolates, or those with nuts, gooey fillings orextraneous ingredients that otherwise adulterate the smoothness anddivert attention from the flavor of the cocoa bean. I like my chocolateunsullied. But I found some exceptions to this rule, especially thosebars that kept their flavors subtle and their crunchy additions finelyground.
Superior selections:
3400 Phinney Street Chocolate FactoryOrganic Coconut Curry; Nirvana Organic Dark Chocolate withPomegranate; Equal Exchange Mint Chocolate; Organic Seed & Bean
 
Company Rose 72%.
Cocoa powder.
For those nights when you’d really just ratherbe alone, a cup of extraordinary hot chocolate may be all the companyyou’ll need. In those cases, any hot chocolate recipe will be madebetter by using fine, dark cocoa powder. None of these selections areDutched—a process commonly used to remove acidity; unfortunately,it also removes many flavonoids from the cocoa powder. Otherscontain a bit of spice, just like any good affair.
Superior selections:
Equal Exchange Organic Hot Cocoa, Green & BlacK’s Organic MayaGold Hot Chocolate with orange peel, nutmeg and black pepper.
Gift boxes.
 These chocolates are intended for gift giving—anessential part of a love affair. Or buy them for a special dessert a deux. Two that made me swoon: Theo’s 12-piece collection, a stunningassortment of beautifully crafted chocolates with such selections aslemon cream in dark chocolate garnished with white and darkchocolate stripes, and Madagascar vanilla cream in dark chocolate,decorated with a vanilla bean; and Askinose dark chocolate bars--one75% Soconusco Dark Chocolate Bar and one 70% Del Tambo DarkChocolate Bar--packaged in a sustainably harvested Russian Birchwoodbox. The wrapping on the bar—kraft paper emblazoned with blotchytype reminiscent of an old manual typewriter and tied with a twist of  jute from cocoa bean shipping bags—makes a single bar a mysteriousand exotic gift in itself.
Other superior selections:
Green & Black’s
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