Big (Broken) Promises?

After trying Hummingbird Chocolate for the first time a few weeks ago, I thought I should try new chocolate more often. So, while strolling the aisles of Bulk Barn, purchasing spices for new culinary adventures, I paused at the chocolate section and reviewed my options. 

Pre-pandemic, I remember Bulk Bark having a much more diverse selection of chocolate bars. Now, however, their stock is limited to a few brands, though they do have a number of products from one particular brand. 

No, I didn't name the brand just now. Yes, that is deliberate. What I originally thought would be a chocolate review has morphed into something else. 

When I originally picked out the bar, I noticed several certifications and assertions -- fair trade, organic, vegan, non-GMO, soy free, kosher, paleo friendly, and gluten free. (For the record, all chocolate is by nature gluten free unless you've added cookie inclusions or the like.) I didn't think much about these claims at first since they are fairly par for the course and a few of them are meaningless. For example, paying to certify your chocolate as organic is fine and dandy if you want to market it that way and charge a premium accordingly, but the overwhelming majority of chocolate (95%+) is organic simply by virtue of the fact that the majority of cacao is grown on small family farms where the farmers aren't paid enough to be able to afford chemical fertilizers or pesticides. 

Then today while I was sitting down to try the bar for a second time to confirm whether I was tasting cherry notes from the dark chocolate (which I was), I noticed that my "Canadian" chocolate bar was made in Switzerland. Naturally I had to Google the company and then I found all sorts of claims about their line of chocolate bars and how the vision for their company came to be. From spurious claims positioning their chocolate as a health food to the insistence that they identify the origins of their cacao on the front of every bar (I've searched high and low and can't find a country of origin on my bar or on the product profile on their website), it seems that this company is big on promises and perhaps not so big on delivery. 

And so this has turned into a cautionary tale. All that glitters isn't gold and all that is claimed about chocolate isn't true. One example will suffice: there's a tendency today to use coconut sugar as a "healthier" option than cane or beet sugar -- and this chocolate bar was no different -- but coconut sugar has the same number of calories as your regular, run-of-the-mill granulated sugar. Buyer beware.

The clothes don't make the man and the certifications don't make the chocolate. If you enjoy the flavour of it, then by all means, indulge! But don't assume a particular chocolate is better based on questionable marketing. 

As for this bar, beyond its questionable marketing, it was unremarkable and it wasn't a pleasure to eat, so I can't recommend it. 

Life is too short for mediocre chocolate.