Green & Black's

Website: http://greenandblacks.com/

When people think of chocolate, they normally don't immediately think England. Well, Green & Black's is changing that. They make one of my favorite bars Maya Gold which is a combination of Belize cocoa, orange, and spices. From their website:

The Maya Gold Project officially started on 1st September 2003 with the aim of turning the Toledo Cocoa Growers Association (TCGA) into a viable, self-sustaining organisation. This area is the poorest part of Belize and Green & Black's are keen to help the local community improve their quality of life.

I always enjoy and respect chocolate companies that are both making a good product and trying to turn chocolate from an industry where Europe can profit from Africa and South America to a sustainable and profitable industry for some poorer countries. You can generally find Green & Black's at Whole Foods and higher end shops. I recommend trying anything that looks good, I haven't yet run into a bad product of theirs.

• Taste: 9 - I can eat their product until I feel ill, and then I'll eat just a little bit more. All of their chocolate are made of fair trade beans from Belize. All are single origin and they do a great job of balancing the chocolate with added flavors.
  
• Originality: 7 - The chocolate itself is often straightforward but I think this company earns points for going fair trade and organic. That being said, they are also pushing hard to bring back drinking chocolates (which they do quite well).
  
• Packaging : 5 - Nothing too stylish or impressive, but they look high quality enough to buy, very middle of the road...
  
• Overall: 8 - I like these guys and I often eat their products. I like what they are doing for the chocolate industry and hope to see more of it!