#chocolatefreedomproject

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Hooray that with plastic straw bans, we are rethinking consumption! Ready to ban child slave labor in chocolate? Onward and upward! 💙 #skipthestraw #foreverychild #chocolatefreedomproject (at Oak Street Beach)

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Reveal! Vibrant @violetskychocolate's new Lavender & Mint bar is the 4th bar in my April Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes, and it is a blast of spring zing! 💚 Made with cacao from the ADIOESMAC cooperative in Cahabón, Guatemala - the local cacao varietal yields beans that are larger than average, which is quite interesting - plus cane sugar (cacao and sugar: all you need!), this rich and fruity 75% chocolate with gentle astringency is infused with lavender and topped with candied mint leaves by chocolate maker and innovator Hans of Violet Sky, for cool and refreshing spring dreams! 🌿 As are all of the bars in my boxes, it's #sustainable #slaveryfree #soyfree #smallbatch and #scrumptious ! 💜 And, for every subscription box sold, I donate a meal to a child at the #creerafrica rescue center in Côte d'Ivoire, which helps formerly trafficked children including those forced to work on farms that supply Big Chocolate. That's my #chocolatefreedomproject, and this is an exciting chocolate bar! 🌌

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Reveal! The 2nd bar in my April Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes is @dandelionchocolate's deliciously and gently fruity-chocolatey 2-ingredient (cacao and sugar, all you need!) @kokoakamili Tanzania bar! 🌞 I've added this selection at the smart request of a customer and friend who joined me at @gdalesandre's Dandelion book signing at @cocoaandcochi, and who became as enamored of this bar as I am! 💛 The bars in my box are always #sustainable #slaveryfree #soyfree #smallbatch and #scrumptious, and every box purchased means a meal for a formerly trafficked child at the #creerafrica rescue center in Côte d'Ivoire. 😀 Thank you - onward and upward! #chocolatefreedomproject #upliftthroughchocolate

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Reveal: @rangerchocolate made the 1st bar in my April Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes! 💙 Made in Portland, Oregon, with cacao from the Piura Valley of Peru, this bar is outrageously smooth, with no oils or additives of course, and it is amazingly flavorful with jammy notes from the cacao. This is a beloved 2-ingredient bar - cacao and sugar, all you need! - and I fell in love with it at the Northwest Chocolate Festival, @nwchocolate! 🌞 Like all the bars in my boxes, it is #sustainable #slaveryfree #soyfree #smallbatch and #scrumptious, and every box means a meal for a child at the #creerafrica rescue center in Côte d'Ivoire for trafficked kids, including kids trafficked onto farms that supply Big Chocolate brands. 🌍 Thank you, and here's to the #chocolatefreedomproject and #upliftthroughchocolate!

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Out the door: I put together a variation on my most recent Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes for a customer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while out this way at "Chocolate Uplift East!" 🌼 The chocolate in every Chocolate Uplift box is always #sustainable #slaveryfree #soyfree #smallbatch and #scrumptious, and every box means a donation of a meal to a child at the #creerafrica Côte d'Ivoire rescue center for trafficked kids, including those trafficked onto farms that use what the UN calls the worst forms of child slave labor. That's why drugstore chocolate bars are so cheap: child slave labor is part of Big Chocolate's recipe. Thank you for choosing craft chocolate over industrial chocolate, and choosing people over profits! #chocolatefreedomproject #humanrights 💚 #BostonCambridgeApril2018 (at Cambridge, Massachusetts)

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#chocolatefreedomproject update: I'm thrilled to have sent funds to #creerafrica, to buy rice for formerly trafficked kids who were rescued after escaping from cacao farms that use child slave labor in supplying big chocolate brands, or from other highly exploitative and abusive situations. 1 Chocolate Uplift subscription box sold = 1 meal, so this is a heartfelt thank-you to my dear subscribers! 💚 When I set up this donation plan, I asked CREER founder Chloe what the children at her Côte d'Ivoire rescue center needed, such as books, shoes, or toys, and she replied: *Rice!! We need to feed the kids!* Voilà! 🌍 That's how this part of my #chocolatefreedomproject works, as represented here by rice cake, cacao, and Uplift Through Chocolate stickers! For more info, see the Ethical Chocolate page on my website. And, let me know if you'd like to join me on a vision trip to visit the children! ✈ Thank you!!

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Out the door: more December Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes! 💚 For every box sold, I donate a meal to a formerly trafficked child at the #creerafrica rescue center in Côte d'Ivoire, who escaped from the bulk cacao farms that supply industrial chocolate brands. 💙 That's part of my #chocolatefreedomproject, and here's to #upliftthroughchocolate! 💛 Thank you!

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Speaking of fabulous patterns: @dicktaylorchocolate! This brilliantly beautiful bar is the exquisite new caramelized almond and cinnamon bar, one of my top holiday picks, which you'll find in this month's Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription box! ❄ The chocolate itself is made from just cacao and sugar - all you need! - to which the team has added almonds that have been caramelized with sugar and cinnamon, all organic from cacao to inclusions! No dairy, no oils, no unpronounceables, no child slave labor. 💙 And, for every box sold, I donate a meal to a formerly trafficked child at the #creerafrica rescue center in Cote d'Ivoire. That's my #chocolatefreedomproject, and that's #upliftthroughchocolate!

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Coffee and chocolate paradise on Chicago's North Shore: new @reprisecoffeeroasters roasts direct trade Nicaragua coffee onsite, and carries chocolate made from direct trade Nicaragua cacao and beyond! Plus: cacao nibs, snacking cacao, more, in their delightful cafe in lovely Winnetka, Illinois (site of the Home Alone house and scenes from other John Hughes movies), 30 minutes from Chicago! ❤ @askanyachocolate @chocolatenaive @goodkingcacao @xocolatlchocolate ♡♡♡♡ As the chocolate and cacao distributor, it was such fun bringing some of the chocolate on the train - with great help! - and tasting and talking specialty coffee, craft chocolate, and social justice with awesome Reprise owner Adam and crew and friends! 👋👋 And it's always fun taking off my scarf and putting chocolate on it; that's often how #chocolateandatextile happens! :) I feel a blog post or insta-swipe series coming on, to show you a bit behind the scenes at this wonderful roastery, cafe, and retail location with heart! ☕ #thirdwavecoffee #craftchocolate #chocolatefreedomproject (at Reprise Coffee Roasters)

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Perfect day for heavenly hot chocolate, plus #chocotenango's bold, balanced, and delicious Zanzibar dark milk chocolate bar with nutmeg, sea salt, and chili, which is now available at #cocoaandco in Chicago! 🍂 Of course this bar - like all the bars I'm honored to represent - meets my 5 Ss: sustainable, slavery-free, soy-free, small-batch, and scrumptious! #chocolatefreedomproject #chillyinchicago (at Cocoa + Co.)

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Guess what's in my box: the cacao in this chocolate bar journeys from the DR to DC, starting and finishing organic, and pure! 🌎 The bar is in my September Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes, and like all the bars I select for you, it's #sustainable #slaveryfree #soyfree #smallbatch and #scrumptious! 💙 #chocolatefreedomproject #chocolatesubscriptionbox

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Guess what's in my box: from a South American cacao farm to a bread oven in England, the cacao in this limited edition chocolate bar takes a unique journey indeed! 🌐 The bar is in my September Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes, and follows one of the themes already laid out for this month and earlier.... 🌎 Plus, like all the bars in my boxes, it's #sustainable #slaveryfree #soyfree #smallbatch and #scrumptious! 💙 #chocolatefreedomproject #chocolatesubscriptionbox

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Reveal: awesome #xocolatlchocolate's *Go Nuts!* bar, with roasted almonds and a sprinkle of salt, on Peru cacao, in the brand's signature flawlessly molded and wrapped chocolate bar incarnation, is the 2nd bar in my September Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes! 💜 Based in Atlanta, this fabulous brand brings a touch of whimsy to serious cacao-sourcing and chocolate-making; I saw the precision in person when I visited Elaine and Matt's excellently efficient production and retail space this past spring, and chatted with their hard-working and fun team too! ( #AtlantaApril2017 ) 😉 Speaking of Peru cacao: perfect time to remind you that each of my subscription boxes comes with a friendship bracelet woven in Peru, to honor the South American heritage of cacao and as a gesture of friendship from me to you! 🙋‍♀️ #chocolatesubscriptionbox #chocolatefreedomproject #upliftthroughchocolate

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Guess what's in my box: crunch and brightness enhance this updated classic chocolate bar, made where some like it hot! Don't go nuts trying to guess, just go with the wind! 💜 Did you like those somewhat salty, nutty clues? ; ) Either way, all the bars in my Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes are #sustainable #slaveryfree #soyfree #smallbatch and #scrumptious! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ #chocolatefreedomproject #chocolatesubscriptionbox

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Reveal: heavenly #harpermacaw's delicious and accessible yet elegant *57% Brazilian Rainforest Blend - Milk Chocolate* is the 1st bar in my September Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes! 💝 The cacao in this bar is a blend from the Atlantic and Amazon regions of Brazil, and every Harper Macaw bar sold means rainforest conservation. For example, Brazil's Atlantic Forest is 90% gone. Colin and Sarah and the Harper Macaw team invest in the expansion of Reserva Serra Bonita, an innovative rainforest conservation initiative. 🌱 Similarly, every Chocolate Uplift box sold means a meal for a child at the #creerafrica rescue center in Côte d'Ivoire, which rescues formerly trafficked kids who were forced to work on the bulk cacao farms that supply industrial chocolate brands, and helps the kids return to their families, find a foster family, or stay at the center and learn a trade - the kids can get healthy and become kids again. 🐦 Here's to conservation and uplift through sustainable, slavery-free, soy-free, small-batch, scrumptious chocolate! 💓 #chocolatefreedomproject #chocolatesubscriptionbox

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Reveal: #harpermacaw's bright and balanced 70% Brazilian Rainforest Blend is the 4th bar in my August Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription box! 🌞 Named for the beautiful bird of Brazil, the macaw, each bar from this brand is made from Brazilian cacao and supports the protection of 30 square feet of rainforest. 🌟 And each bar in my box means a meal for a formerly trafficked child at the #creerafrica rescue center in Cote d'Ivoire, which helps kids who escaped from the bulk cacao farms that supply industrial chocolate brands. 💛 Here's to the #chocolatefreedomproject and #upliftthroughchocolate!