The year was 1967. The man was Craig Sams. And the idea was an organic market called Whole Earth Foods. More than a decade before Whole Foods appeared on the scene in the US, Craig was already bringing healthy, wholesome food to the people of London. A few decades later, as a pioneer in the industry, Craig was sent a sample of organic cocoa beans from which he made his first 70% dark chocolate bar. When Craig’s wife Jo tasted the chocolate, she felt so strongly that this was something other chocolate fanatics would love that she invested all the proceeds of selling her home into producing the first batch of Green & Black’s. And so a brand was born.
Rather than naming their chocolate after themselves, Craig and Jo decided on a name that represents their commitment to sustainable (Green) and high quality (Black) chocolate making. Only three years after the brand was founded, their dedication to these values lead them to create Britain’s first ever organic and fair trade chocolate bar, the Maya Gold, in 1994.
Since then, Green & Black’s has continued to be a leader in the realm of sustainably. Cocoa Life is a third party verified cocoa sustainability program that has committed to providing Green & Black’s with 100% ethically-sourced cocoa. Cocoa Life has also promised to invest $400 million in the farming communities they source from in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, India, the Dominican Republic and Brazil.
So when our friends over at Green & Black’s told us about the launch of their new line of premium chocolate, we knew we were onto something. The only thing we love as much as wine is chocolate, but we have never quite figured out how best to bring this pairing to life in thebacklabel.
Wine Awesomeness and Green & Black’s are both committed to sharing not just awesome innovations in wine and chocolate, but discoveries that tell a larger story about where they are from, what they stand for and how amazing they can be.
Through this collaboration, we at thebacklabel have actually come to realize that one of the main reasons wine and chocolate pair so well together is because they are both products that require a certain level of care and craftsmanship to yield a truly delicious result. Neither can be automated or mass produced, and each bottle of wine or bar of chocolate is just the conclusion of a journey that was lead by many different artisans and experts of the trade.
So for all of this month, we’ll be bringing you chocolate recipes and wine pairings like you’ve never seen before. We’re incredibly excited to finally see this duo done justice – and we think you will be too.
