Top Bars from CHFA 2022

By Jamie Bussin

How do I know that chocolate is good for you? Why else would there have been so many different brands available to sample at the recent Canadian Health Food Association show in September? I won’t cite the studies that tout chocolate for brain or heart health (although you might want to tune into Episode #55 of The Tonic Talk Show for an extensive discussion about exactly that). Instead Iet me curate some of the best bars on the market.

Local eco-conscious, fair trade, chocolate heroes Chocosol have new cacao blanco bars under the Jaguar Crunch brand. My favourite is the Jaguar Crunch Stone Ground Dark Chocolate which tastes light and caramelly. chocosoltraders.com

The showstopper from Wild Mountain Chocolate out of BC is their 60% cocoa Mint – simple but delicious. Certified USDA Organic and Canada Organic. Bean2bar.ca

Also out of BC is Zazubean. They always have fun names for their products. The Slinky Hazelnut and Almond Crunch is only 43% cacao, but is full of flavour. Vegan, gluten-free, keto and 0% sugar added. Zazubean.com

For those in the know, Hummingbird out of Almonte, Ontario makes internationally recognized award winning chocolate. Try the Hispaniola; a single origin 70% cacao bar out of the Dominican Republic…which was the AOC Golden Bean Winner 2016  hummingbirdchocolate.com

The most unique bar I tried was HU’s Cashew Butter + Pure Vanilla Bean Dark Chocolate. This organic, vegan, kosher and paleo 70% Cacao bar is a sophisticated riff on a peanut butter cup @hukitchen

My favourite bar isn’t new, but is sublime. Galerie au Chocolat’s Sea Salt dark chocolate is salt forward; just how I like it. The 72% cocoa confection is made with “Fine Belgian chocolate” and is vegan, gluten-free and non GMO. galerieauchocolat.ca