spencer cocoa | cityhippyfarmgirl

It seems we are heading into the chocolatey part of the year. The time of year when if you peruse supermarket aisles you might see a sea of mass produced, overly packaged chocolate all at really accessable prices.

Now how do these chocolates manage to stay at these comfortable prices? Well, there is a good chance it will be made of compound chocolate- which means it could well have palm oil in it. Food miles are a given. And the work in order to harvest the cocoa? Well it wouldn’t be surprising if it was done under child labour conditions.

So how do we not buy into that whole rather dirty circle? Well, simply put, don’t. Vote with your dollar. Buy fair trade and consider what you’re buying before you do so. What you are really buying into?

Fair trade chocolate. Still just as important as last year.

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Spencer Cocoa– Single plantation chocolate, grown in Vanuatu and made in Mudgee. (pictured above, this chocolate is divine!)

World Vision Fair Trade Chocolate Guide (Australian based- but many of these brands are available internationally, so would still be relevant.)

Tribes and Nations– stockists of Fair trade easter eggs.

Chocolatier– does Fair trade options for Easter.

When meals are made up of bits and pieces like chocolate, pickles, thyme, plums and wine, you know life is treating you ok.

Last year I challenged myself to an Eat Local challenge throughout the year. While this year, I won’t be continuing with the same challenge, I will still be eating as much locally produced food as I can possibly get my hands on.

Summer holiday time is a great time for local and seasonal goodies. Wonderful things given as gifts, deliciousness made available because of the season, and sometimes just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

These are a few of the things that have been gracing our bench tops lately.

Gifted Spencer Cocoa, (cocoa beans grown in Vanuatu and made in Mudgee, NSW)

Pickles bought at Moruya Markets, with cucumbers grown a couple of hundred metres down the road.

Thyme from my window sill.

Plums from an organic laden orchard I was lucky enough to visit.

A wonderful bottle of Elysium wine. Bought direct from the makers, this company uses Australian natives for their wine making.

So good, all of them.

I didn’t enter a super market for any of those goodies, and damn, that felt good. It makes me so incredibly happy to be eating a fair chunk of our food like this.

Have a look around you, see what locally produced food you can find, let me know and let’s spread the word even further. I’m always on the look out for more small and local producers, and they in turn are always on the look out for more consumer support for their products.

Happiness really just might be, in supporting and eating local.

cityhippyfarmgirl

simple connected living, city style

Tag Archives: spencer cocoa

Fairtrade Chocolate….still just as important as last year

Happiness in eating local