Candy Review: Sweet Earth Chocolates

Thursday, November 29, 2007 - by Jamie

I was recently sent a box full of treats from Sweet Earth Chocolates, a California-based chocolate company that prides itself on selling organic, fair-trade treats. A portion of Sweet Earth’s profits go to support Project Hope and Fairness, a non-profit organization that supports cocoa farmers in Africa by promoting sustainability, agricultural education, and fair-trade practices.

The package that Sweet Earth sent included this info, as well as beautifully wrapped chocolate bars, clusters, and peanut butter cups.

Chocolate Bars

The two chocolate bars I sampled were the Peppermint Crunch bar and the Organic Bittersweet Chocolate bar.

The Peppermint Crunch bar is quite good – there are strong peppermint undertones, thanks to the addition of real peppermint oil, which gives the candy a robust flavor and scent. Unless you’re a dark chocolate lover, this may not be the bar for you, as the chocolate itself is 65% bittersweet and has a very strong taste.

I loved it (chocolate and mint is almost as great a combo as chocolate and peanut butter), and I also think it would be a stellar baking ingredient for holiday brownies and such.

The Bittersweet bar is very good as well, though I liked the Peppermint Crunch better, purely as a candy. For baking, topping, and dipping, however, the Bittersweet bar wins. Its pure cocoa flavor and versatility make it a great ingredient to have on hand for scrumptious chocolate treats.

Clusters

The clusters come in a variety of interesting flavors, including Cranberry-Ginger and Chili-Orange Walnut, which aren’t really my favorite types of treats, but were appreciated by my co-taster, who said he was “surprised by the strength of the chili flavoring” and who thought there was “a perfect amount of orange zest to even out the spiciness of the candy.”

I sampled a Turtle cluster, which was jam-packed with cashews and caramel, but was a little too dry for my liking.

Peanut Butter Cups

All was forgiven, however, when I came upon the Sweet Earth peanut butter cups. They are beyond delicious. They are, dare I say it, the best peanut butter cups I’ve ever had, and I’m a peanut butter cup junkie.

The organic non-vegan peanut butter cup is rich and milky, with a lovely peanut butter filling that has just the right balance of grit and smoothness.

The vegan cup is delicious as well – the omission of milk gives the chocolate a nice dark flavor that only accentuates the sweet, creamy peanut butter filling. Both cups have a sweet vanilla aftertaste, which only adds to the overall dreaminess of the candy.

If Santa Claus is listening, a box of Sweet Earth peanut butter cups would be appreciated. For real. So so so good.

Spectacular peanut butter cups aside, what impresses me the most about Sweet Earth Chocolates is the amount of love that is clearly put into each product. Sweet Earth truly believes in the power of chocolate, and lives up to its philosophies through its charity work, high-quality products, and lovely presentation.

This is a candy company that really cares, about chocolate and the world.

And that, I think, is pretty sweet.

• Sweet Earth Chocolates
• Project Hope and Fairness

organic, fair-trade, bittersweet, peanut butter cups, vegan, peanut butter, chocolate