Organic Meltdown Bars

Some time ago (prior to a dose of what may have been swine flu which rendered my palate inactive for over a month) the people at Organic Meltdown sent over a brace of their bars for my attention.

If you’re looking for chocolate with good green/Fairtrade credentials then these bars have them in spades. All of the ingredients are BOTH Fairtrade AND organic, and to cap it all off, every bar has a code inside the wrapper which, when registered on the website, results in a tree being saved. Highly commendable for ethics and effort, so I was hoping that the actual product(s) would measure up on taste.

The first bar was a 58% Dark chocolate bar with raspberry and rooibos tea.

As soon as I popped a piece in my mouth I knew there were raspberries involved. The light, fruity tang is tempered by the rooibos and assisted by a little orange oil. It has a distinct yet subtle citrus zing which weaves its way in and out of a rich yet light chocolate. The cocoa flavours are light and the chocolate is smooth in the mouth, with a clean finish which leaves a hint of summer on the tongue. I enjoyed the smoothness of the chocolate as well as the flavour. Raspberry and chocolate are not an uncommon pairing but they aren’t always done well, and this bar delivers good fruit as well as the all-important chocolate.

Bar number two was a more straightforward 71% cocoa bar. The rich, almost earthy aroma hints at the flavours to come. Like its predecessor this bar is smooth on the palate, and it has a very upfront, slightly acidic start note which mellows as the piece melts on the tongue. Once again, it leaves the mouth clean and ready for more.

I found myself liking both of these bars for slightly different reasons. The Raspberry bar was very much a taste of summer – light and fruity with delicate flavours. Very much a lazy afternoon chocolate.

The dark bar presented good flavours and mouthfeel coupled with a similarly smooth finish. It’s a perfect ‘everyday’ dark chocolate, made all the more attractive by it’s fair trade, organic, treesaving credentials.

The main point about these products is of course that they offer the conscientious shopper products that give the producers a fair cut of the proceeds, support organic farming and promote conservation. Fortunately they also taste pretty good as well. It would seem that Waitrose stock them in the UK (along with a handful of health food shops) but for more detailed stockist information consult the web site.

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