http://www.askinosie.com/default.aspx
After a very discerning family member saw a television special on this American company, we decided to order some of their chocolate.
Hands down, it is the best I have ever sampled. A very interesting backstory to the founder...who used to practice law for a living...but now makes one of the best chocolates, IMVHO.
Just thought I would share.
Holly
From:
http://askinosie.com/t-faq.aspx
"I shop fair trade as much as possible. How do you pay your farmers and how do they share in the profits?
I love the Fair Trade idea. I believe that we have to be vigilant that Fair Trade does not become a marketing gimmick or reduced to a bumper sticker. We must ask the questions and dig deeper to find out how the company treats those that supply them raw materials AND how they treat their own employees. Fair Trade has been scrutinized because some question if the money ever finds its way to the farmer in the field and not coop bureaucrats. My chocolate is not "certified" Fair Trade mainly because the farmers I deal with cannot afford the certification and they are very very loosely organized. They are very poor. I go way way beyond Fair Trade and here is how I do it--
I deal DIRECT with the farmers 100%. I have a rule that I will not buy beans from farmers I have not met - in person. This is hard because I travel a lot and while it is fun it's not always easy. The travel is not the hard part; it is the complicated nature of importing that I do myself. I have a local company that handles shipping and customs clearing, but other than that it is all me. I am the only chocolate factory in the US (that I am aware of) that sources 100% of their beans direct. There may be one other person who does this, but I cannot verify this and he is a much smaller company. When I go to these origins I see the farms and determine myself the issues that a Fair Trade certifier would look at. The main thing is that I am building relationships with the farmers and their families. This is hard and takes time, but it is worth it.
I pay far above the Fair Trade market price (which is set above the world market price) for beans."
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