Why Antidote and how to tell the difference?

Top 10 reasons why Antidote loves you back:

 1) Distinctive flavors. Real ingredients. Our flavors will make you travel into a different dimension – we call it an experiential escape.

2) High on cacao - less sugar. Guilt free. Energize and boost. Sugar is sugar, only high cacao content loves you back. A flavor boost that gives you superpowers.

3) Inspiring & Creative Presentation. Gift ready to brighten someones’ day.

4) Made from "Bean to Bar". With single origin cacao and direct trade.

5) Loaded with finest flavor Arriba Nacional cacao. Delicious without bitterness.

6) Slow roasted for more nutrients. Boost your mood.

7) Sustainably made in Ecuador. Supporting the economy of the country of cacao.

8) Sugar-free 100% cacao options. Enjoy chocolate. Avoid sugar.

9) Created & designed (with personalized messaging on each bar) by female entrepreneur, Red Thalhammer. A treat to inspire and magnify moments.

10) All dark chocolate bars are vegan, gluten free, paleo and keto friendly

Read more about how Antidote can be your mood booster and anti-stress agent in Cacao Health 

How to tell the difference in chocolate brands, and which are truly as good as tasty?

What's the difference on your body between high quality chocolate like Antidote and some more mass market bars, green-washed chocolate or pricey sugar treats? 

1) You should feel a healthy boost after a few pieces but please don't confuse it with a sugar high. If it feels sweet it's likely you are not getting many health benefits from it. But if that is what you like, have them in small doses.

2) You should feel good and nourished, even after devouring half or a whole bar.

3) The ingredient list should be short, and the first ingredient should be "cacao beans" and each ingredient should be easy to pronounce.

4) Sugar Alternatives can trick you! There is no shortcut and products advertised as better-for-you sweeteners may not be that great. We use a variety of shades from whole cane sugar up to panela. Those are safe and delicious in small amounts. Empty sweeteners and artificial sweeteners as Stevia, Erythritol, Monk Fruit rather confuse the body as there is no nutrition and calories in them? They trigger blood sugar levels telling the brain something sweet it coming but then it doesn’t. They wreak havoc on our gut microbiome as well. 

5) A high percentage bar like 70% or 85% doesn't always guarantee a better for you product. More cacao means more nutrients, but many popular brands are full of cacao butter (which count also as cacao percentage) or other fats that doesn't give you the energy boost – just empty calories! If it is too creamy and you don't taste the distinctive cacao aromas, likely it is not that nourishing and remains a pricy sugar/fat treat. 

6) Cheap chocolate and lead. It means cheap beans and processes. Other brands can be full of lead from lower quality beans' post harvest process as outdoor fermentation and drying of beans, during which soil and dust that contain lead come in contact with the cacao bean shell. How can you circumvent that? Buy chocolate with fine flavor beans - those are priced and handled with care, are clean and pure beans within a controlled post harvest process.

 7) Traceability of cacao. Finding the cacao origin of the packaging is a good indicator that fine flavor beans are used. As well as words like; direct trade and single origin. For Antidote we use exclusively beans from various regions in Ecuador. Somewhere on the box or label you should be able to find out more about the cacao source.

Our process

We use rich Arriba Nacional beans from the south and west of Ecuador. The cacao we use is what we believe to be the best of Ecuador. We work mostly with farm cooperatives but also with individual farms - all who share our commitment to excellence and biologic farming practices.

Our slow-roasting process maximizes the potency of anti-oxidants and flavonoids to create a nutrient-rich Antidote. For our Raw 100% bars we have a proprietary process in place – from tree to fermentation to bar in a controlled environment – to maximize the potency of anti-oxidants, flavonoids and holistic nutrients.

We use real chunks of fruits and spices – from coffee to mango and juniper berries – that are exquisitely blended into innovative flavor combinations. We never use essential oils as we believe real ingredients will add a more gratifying flavor in giving that sublime edge. Our founder, Red, chooses ingredients with precision and works closely with our Ecuadorian partners to perfect every stage of our ingredients, preparation and production process.        

 

Sustainability vs. organic certification

We are committed to sourcing our cacao beans from farms that use organic practices. Working with certified organic farms would limit us in getting the best quality cacao. We work in close collaboration with our cacao partners for unique processes we use to achieve desired flavor profiles for each of our cacao percentages.

Read more on the blog: Our Commitment to Sustainability, Organic Practices, Quality & Flavor 

For our raw 100% bar we have a specific protocol in place with our farmers that requires a different process starting at the farm in order to make the most minimally processed chocolate we can for our raw bars.

Read more on our blog: Raw Cacao Process

Producing our chocolate in the country of cacao allows us access not only to the beans itself but to other lush ingredients right from the source – from coffee to mango and ginger. It also fosters direct relationships with suppliers and farmers whom we collaborate with to fine-tune every step of the process.

 

"Direct Trade" is beyond "Fair Trade"

Prioritizing quality and flavor over certification allows us to foster direct relationships with our Ecuadorian partners and pay them wages that are far above market rate. We are practicing direct trade with all cacao beans and some other ingredients cutting out any middleman. We are happy to collaborate with small and bigger companies and providers, and in turn, increase support for their local community as a whole through our bean to bar manufacturing in Ecuador.