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Easter Bunny Chocolate: A Sweet Tradition from Ecuador

Easter Bunny Chocolate: A Sweet Tradition from Ecuador

Published by Chocolatier Jason Vishnefske on 3rd Sep 2022

Easter Bunny Chocolate and Ecuador

Hi, Happy Easter.


I hope you are enjoying a day of rest and enjoying the fact you have made many children and adults very happy today. Think of the goodness you have spread and contributed to the world. I can't imagine a better or more special gift then to offer happiness to others and help make memories that much better for all.

So I just wanted to give you an update on what chocolate makers are doing right now and how we pledge to do the right thing for you, especially in creating quality Easter bunny chocolate that you can enjoy during the holiday season.


As you may know cacao prices have soared and cocoa butter alone went up 20% in the last few months. In making chocolate couverture a manufacturer must add in cocoa butter or emulsifier to ensure the proper viscosity and potential shelf life of the finished chocolate. This is part of the reason why cocoa beans are graded: grading of cocoa bean size helps ensure proper cocoa butter content which in turn ensures proper viscosity once the cocoa beans are ground into chocolate. But due to the fact cacao is an agricultural crop, cocoa butter content varies from crop to crop. Therefore it becomes necessary to add in extra cocoa butter.

So we always use the same cocoa butter variety congruent with the cocoa beans origin that are in our chocolates. This makes a big difference in quality but of course is a more expensive option we have chosen. Also, we are not adding in PGPR or cocoa butter equivalents (things other companies add to save money and often don't list). Sometimes we do add a very little amount of soy lecithin (.01% is all) to help ensure shelf stability for your chocolates (it allows a temper to hold longer in the finished chocolate when in the candy case). When we do opt for lecithin in the recipe, we use the most expensive natural non GMO version. Most companies are using the soy lecithin E322 which is actually considered artificial because of the harsh hexanes or propane used to extract it.

We have opted for the most expensive ingredients and highest quality ingredients in making our chocolates, including our delightful Easter bunny chocolate. I feel confident that when tested next to any other chocolate, the quality difference is very apparent. As a result of how we make our chocolates, I believe they are safer and much healthier. So even though the trend is to use E322 in chocolate making and everyone seems to be doing it, we will not opt for this.

The really great news: One of my good friends who has extensive connections in business and politics in Ecuador has asked me to become an investor in his cacao growing and chocolate manufacturing business. With the blessings of my business partner and our financier, I have agreed to become a limited partner in an Ecuadorian cacao operation. So the wonderful news is we will have all kinds of new chocolates coming up and all are Fair Trade 100% pure Arriba Nacional. The cacao is grown using organic sustainable methods, certified Arriba Nacional and with no genetic hybrids or GMO cacao. I'm really looking forward to sharing this new chocolate opportunity with you and having your insights on what we come up with.

Have a wonderful Sunday.
Sincerely,
Jason

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