The Pleasure of Chocolate
This month: why we love chocolate and a special offer for those among us who can't live without it. Plus some tips for a 'green' holiday season and savings of 30% or more on 50 new items in our sale section.

Why let desperate, reckless craving take the rap for your midnight rendezvous with an entire bar of luscious, pure bittersweet chocolate? Scientists–at least the ones raised on Mars Bars–have recently discovered why scrumptious chocolate trips levers in our brain centers that are pretty much off limits to most other legal, non-prescription substances. As a long-time chocolate lover I've done a bit of research, and now I know why I love it so much. It turns out that chocolate contain ingredients that activate neurotransmitters and special receptors in our brains which send messages of peace, love and hope throughout our entire nervous system. What are we to do? Enjoy–what else?

Now that I know why I like chocolate so much, I go out of my way to ensure that the chocolate I'm eating is organic. Why? Like any other food, purity in the growing and manufacture leads directly to purity of taste and maximum benefits. The best-tasting chocolate comes from organic cocoa beans that are not adulterated with the alkaline used in most chocolate.

One female devotee of chocolate, speaking for millions, wrote in her online consumer review of organic hot cocoa: "There are things I could give up... there are things I couldn't. I'm afraid chocolate is in the latter category."

To many of us, the bean's seductive hold is so potent that for more than a   century a heated debate has raged among researchers about whether chocolate is, in fact, chemically addictive. Taste, aroma, and velvet mouth-feel all melting into an exquisite sensual experience will do it every time.

We strongly suspect that's why Columbus kept schlepping back to America, four times in all, once he discovered the joy of these dark brown beans that look like almonds and grow profusely in Central and South America. Some people will go a long way for the right cup of cocoa. Soon they didn't have to. When, thanks to Columbus, chocolate reached Europe, Chocolatiers soon began to experiment with spices such as vanilla and cinnamon.

So much for history and chemistry. What matters most to me is that at three in the afternoon when my email box is full, the phone is ringing off the hook, and there are endless hours to go before I sleep, the only important decision at that moment is whether I reach for a single-origin, organic 60% chocolate bar or an organic raspberry-infused chocolate truffle.

--Bonnie Trust Dahan, Founding Partner

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Special Offer
Receive a free 12-piece box of VivaTerra organic chocolate bon bons - a $29 value - with your order of $150 or more. To redeem this offer add item 2900.0001 to your cart (use our search box to locate the item) and provide offer code 5418000A in the promotion code box during checkout. Limit one per customer.  

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Tips for a "Green" Holiday Season
With the holidays near, here are some ways to make them both festive and earth-friendly.

Replace conventional tree lights with energy efficient LED lights. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that if everyone did this we would save enough energy to heat 200,000 homes for a year. LED's also release little heat, making them safer as well.  

Recycle scraps of fabric, ribbon, buttons and other materials into unique holiday decorations - a fun activity for children.

Make a list, check it twice and do all of your gift shopping in one trip - or shop online. Also, say no to a different shopping bag for every purchase you make and keep everything together in the first bag you receive.

If you are giving a gift that requires batteries make sure they are rechargeable.

Don't throw all those extra food scraps in the garbage, give a gift to your garden and compost them instead.

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Over 50 New Sale Items
We've updated our sale section with more than 50 new items. Save 30% or more on dinnerware for holiday entertaining, our exclusive Ecova skincare products and items for your home and garden.