Chocolate…. is always the answer!
To use one of my friend Jen’s tasting cards, yes chocolate is the answer. What was the question again? In this instance, we could ask what is the best chocolate to buy this easter, especially intending to buy fair trade, slavery free, single origin, bean to bar, independent produced chocolates.
See below for our recommendations!
Tom Cenci – Rocky Road
Tom Cenci is a great chef and super nice guy. As well as consulting on many projects (many with a charitable angle too), he made a bunch of rocky road for Mother’s Day using up discarded truffles from Montezuma and donating a percentage of the sales to Children of the Edge. He kindly sent me a box and I absolutely loved it!
The success was such that he’s creating another rocky road for Easter, and how good does it sound? Peanut butter and pretzel, pistachios, marshmallows and mini eggs. I have just placed my order and cannot wait to get it – £8.50 per box from his website shop.
Lucocoa – Mini eggs
Lucocoa is a female owned London based chocolatier, in fact the first in the city to produce bean to bar chocolate. It is sold in a few coffee shops and stockings around the capital; the brand is gorgeous. Their Easter produce is coming up soon, so make sure to check out their website.
Gentlemen Barista’s Easter bundle
One of my (and Amber’s!) favourite coffee shops, the SE1 based Gentlement Baristas are launching an exciting Easter bundle which includes their coffee beans as well as Rococo chocolates (one of London’s most established chocolate shops). Available to pre-order via Slerp
Pump Street – Easter chicken & eggs
Pump Street is an award-winning bakery in the village of Orford on Suffolk’s Heritage Coast. After mastering naturally-leavened bread, they ventured into making chocolate from beans they import directly from single estates and cooperatives around the world.
For Easter, they are selling really cute ‘chicken’ and ‘eggs’ (in tin foil), and a colomba which is already a sell out
From £5.95 on the Pump Street website
Tony Chocolonely – carton of eggs
Tony’s Chocolonely are on a mission: eradicate slavery from the cocoa industry. A hard task, and not something very well known, unfortunately. Right now there is modern slavery on cocoa farms in West Africa. This is a result of the unequally divided cocoa chain. Tony’s Chocolonely exists to change that. Illegal child labour and modern slavery are against the law – it needs to stop
Their choc bars are great, the graphic funky, and for Easter they are going to sell cartons of eggs (via Waitrose amongst others) as well as cute Easter bars.
Waitrose – Curly eggs
Amongst the supermarkets, Waitrose has the best chocolate, as it is ethically sourced / fair traded. Their chocolate eggs are also quirky, include a range designed by Heston Blumenthal and every year they do something new. I am gutted their avocado egg has been phased out this year, but the curly decor eggs seem like a great best option and I have already placed an order for a couple.
Paul A Young – Easter chick lolly
Oh they look so cute! Actually, the whole seasonal range from British chocolatier Paul A Young is mouthwatering and very pretty, but the lolly are the cutest. Paul is the only chocolatier in London working in a truly artisan way. He and his team make all their creations completely by hand in the kitchens at each shop, in small batches and at every stage using fresh ingredients.
£4.50 from his online shop.
Konditor – Easter Picnic Hamper
Weather is slowly getting warmer, days are longer… so why not consider a picnic outoodr? Besides, we’ll be officially allowed to meet others (rule of 6) outdoor in April. And Easter Monday is traditionally a picnic in Italy. Win win. These hampers from Konditor have loads of goodies including chocolate eggs.
£95 on Konditor online shop
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