Chai and Chocolate, Organic and Fair, and, well, Canadian too!

In my chocolate cupboard is a chocolate taster's box from Organic Fair Inc. with 12 different flavoured organic chocolate bars in it.  I have been waiting patiently (well, sort of 'patiently') for just the right group setting to pull it out and have a chocolate tasting, but the opportunity has yet to arise.  So this morning I opened the box and stared at all the flavours, thinking about which one I could extract without messing up a perfectly fun future group tasting party. 

All of the chocolate bars are made with 70% dark chocolate (you can see how I might have to wait for just the right group who likes 70% dark chocolate) and each chocolate bar has an interesting flavour combination.  In the bottom layer (yes, there are two layers of chocolate bars in this box!) I found a chocolate bar called "kashmir", a Masala Chai flavoured dark chocolate.  And since I seem to be on a roll lately with eating chocolate that tastes like tea, I thought I would give this one a try and see how it compared while the others are still fresh in my mind.

This chocolate and chai spice flavour combination was strong and bold, and it distinctly tasted like Chai tea (although there is no 'tea' in it, but it has that same flavour). It also had ground up herbs in it, which was a bit gritty, but I did not mind.  It was completely unlike The TeaRoom's milk chocolate Masala Chai-flavoured chocolate bar.  Organic Fair's chocolate bar was bitter and made you think of a bitter cup of tea with no milk or sugar, rather than a milky chocolate-chai latte as The TeaRoom's chocolate bar had tasted to me.

Overall, it was a good flavour for when you are craving bitter chocolate and Masala Chai tea.  But if you are in the mood for a sweet snack, this one is not it.

Organic Fair's chocolate is organic and 1% of their sales go to support and develop direct fair trade (learn more at: www.directfairtrade.org).  An additional 1% of sales support environmental organizations worldwide (www.onepercentfortheplanet.org). Their packaging is also environmentally friendly, so there are a lot of great reasons to check out this Canadian company! See below for their details and website info. If you know someone who really likes flavoured 70% organic dark chocolate, I highly recommend the Consummate Connoisseur's Chocolate Gift Box available on their web site.

If you like tea and chocolate together, check out these other chocolate bar reviews:

• Milk chocolate & Masala Chai by the TeaRoom: http://www.ultimatechocolateblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/sipping-sunday-without-sip-its-time-for.html
• Raaka's 67% Dark Vanilla Rooibos: http://www.ultimatechocolateblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/raaka-virgin-chocolate-flavours-of.html

Here are the details from Organic Fair's chocolate bar:

Kashmir 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate With Masala Chai Essence, 44g (1.5 oz)
Organic Fair Inc. (Cobble Hill, BC)
www.organicfair.com
Ingredients: cocoa liquor*, raw cane sugar*, cocoa butter*, ground vanilla beans*, cardamom essence*, clove essence*, cinnamon essence*, ginger essence*, black pepper essence*, fennel essence*.  Minimum 70% cacao.  May contain traces of nuts, peanuts, wheat & dairy.