Divine 38% Milk Chocolate Toffee and Sea Salt

Fairtrade Fortnight is just around the corner so it only seems appropriate to taste a big bar of Divine chocolate in advance. 

Fairtrade Fortnight is an opportunity to celebrate all things Fairtrade running from 24th February until 9th March. This includes anything from chocolate to beer and ale which was a surprise. An even bigger surprise was that Gold is on the list!
To see the full retail list just click here.

Fairtrade is all about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.....(this was taken from the Fairtrade Foundation FAQs page)

The Fairtrade mark is an independent consumer label that indicates to the purchaser that a product meets the international Fairtrade Standards. It demonstrates that the product has been certified to offer a better deal to farmers and workers involved. 

Fairtrade facts: 1 in 3 bananas sold in the UK is Fairtrade. In 2012 sales of Fairtrade products reached a staggering £1.57bn. 

Over the years I have become a big fan of Divine even though I didn't really enjoy their chocolate initially. The bright new packaging and flavours has certainly gone down well with me. I was staggered to read recently that on sales of £7.5M they only delivered a profit of £26,000, that's not a promising margin. Apparently, the good times are back so hopefully, Jamie Hartzell, their new CEO will have a positive impact on their business. 

£2.00/100g Divine 38%

As we're all aware sugar is top of the healthy eating agenda since the World Health Organisation (WHO) pointed out that a spoonful of sugar will not necessarily help the medicine go down!  

I'm never been one to run my finger down every ingredient list but you'll probably not be surprised to hear that this bar of chocolate contains 51.2g of sugar. Wow!  

According to the WHO added sugars should not form more than 6%-10% of total dietary intake.

Like a seasoned smoker I will shrug with indifference and continue to break off another chunk of milk chocolate. 

This bar has a double health whammy as it also contains sea salt. The sweet chocolate quickly melts to reveal chunks of toffee and grains of salt that are ever so slightly corrosive and overpowering to the overall caramel taste, especially if you suck on your chocolate like I do.

I think the chocolatiers who created this bar were a little heavy handed with the salt shaker. I enjoyed a few squares but to be honest it wasn't one I'd be reaching for again especially when I think about all that sugar! Back to the dark stuff tomorrow......

Posted by Richard