Theonistas Unite!

Theo Chocolate in Seattle Metropolitan May 08

Check out this article about CEO Joe Whinney! (And check out that Blue Steel!)

A Video Clip from Go Green Expo NY with Theonista Debra Music

Here is a video clip from CW11 News in New York. It is a spot on Go Green Expo, which was this past weekend. Deb tells us the show was just packed, with five people deep waiting to get a taste of Theo Chocolate. It's nice to be popular!

A Decadent FREE Event at Theo May 8

Join us Thursday May 8 from 6-8pm at Theo Chocolate for a night of relaxation and joy! We will be sampling a decadent selection of organic chocolates and rejuvenating Choice organic teas, serenaded by a string quartet. Enjoy a complementary Ayurvedic mini hand massage with Sweet Beauty chocolate lotion or purchase a Two-Person Ayurvedic Warm Oil Massage or Chocolate Body Scrub Treatment for a deeper indulgence. Follow your bliss with a chocolate meditation at 7pm. The party continues across the street at Life in Balance.

Theo Chocolate, Life in Balance, Choice Tea & Sweet Beauty Present:
A Taste of Bliss
Thursday, May 8 6-8pm
Chocolate Meditation 7pm
Free Event, No reservations required

A heartfelt post about child labor in Ivory Coast from fellow Fair Trader Beth of Bambootique

Read her post here. Invisible Voices on the subject here. There is a serious side to what Fair Traders do and why they do it. If you are not moved by the plight of third world farmers and don't see the Fair Trade Premium as worth the cost, consider these moving stories of children in Ivory Coast.

Ivory Coast and its Exports
(quoted from Food Museum Blog)

• Ivory Coast is located on the southern coast of West Africa.
• Its exports include: cocoa, gold, rubber, palm oil, coffee, and tropical woods.
• The cocoa trade drives one-third of Ivory Coast’s economy.
• Ivory Coast provides 43 percent of the world’s cocoa beans. Ivory Coast is the top grower of world’s cocoa beans: 1,290,000 during the 1999-2000 growing season.
• There are approximately 600,000 cocoa farms in Ivory Coast.
• Ivory Coast is the world’s fourth-largest Robusta coffee grower (after Vietnam, Indonesia, and Uganda). Coffee and cocoa crops are often grown together, so the taller cocoa trees can shade the coffee bushes. On some farms, the same workers harvest both crops.

Sources: Knight Ridder; Port Import Export Reporting

On the brighter side

Here is a partial list of Fair Trade Certified Cooperatives courtesy of TransfairUSA, including Kavokiva in Ivory Coast and Kuapa Kokoo in neighboring Ghana.

 

New Circus Contraption Show RusnMay 16- June 22

Oh Boy! The circus is back in town!

"Circus Contraption, Seattle's premiere one-ring traveling circus, crowns its 10th year with its first full-length production sing "The Grand American Dime Museum."  The humbly-titled "Show to End All Shows" presents a traditional American circus as it romps joyfully toward oblivion.  Featured are Pink Poodle-Girls, a ball-balancing Seal Boy, a Real Mermaid and, as always, an original, live musical score by the incredible Circus Contraption Band." Tickets are $25 through Brown Paper Tickets. The show will be performed here at the Factory on the Canal St side of the building. Erin and Lara  will be tempting us with podcasts until the big show begins.

Tune in:

Podcast1
Podcast 2

Theonistas Craft Chocolate Sculpture with a Little Help from Antoine Rondenet

Antoine Rondenet, pastry chef and instructor at the Seattle Art Institute came to the Theo Confectionery Kitchen last Friday to teach our Theonistas the fine art of chocolate sculpture.

 

Theonista Creativity Sparks Fear in Hearts of Partygoers.

From the Desk of Kiki Kane, Chief Blogging Theonista

So there I was at the party. People are getting hungry and a critical ingredient has gone missing! The Carbs! Oh noes! Noone thought to pick up bread or crackers for our fine cheese and meat selection. What's a hungry Theonista to do? One answer, of course, is always to drink more. But creativity prevailed! We paired thin slices of rich Italian salami with nuggets of naked nib brittle. The result? two thirds of people surveyed declared the combo "ingenious!" the other third? Horrified. Try it yourself! You be the judge.

The flavor pairing evokes notes of teriyaki sauce, char sui(chinese BBQ pork known for its... pinkness) and all things porky and right with the world. The next step, clearly, is to pen a recipe for a nib brittle glaze for ham and ribs.
                                                    -Kiki

Bambootique Trunkshow in Tualatin - Free Chocolate!

Beth and Tammy of Bambootique are hosting a Spring Trunk Sale Saturday May 3rd from 10am-4pm - which is wonderful in and of itself, but what's more, they are offering a free Theo chocolate bar to every new customer! Yummeh. Shopping a Sale + Fair Trade + Free Chocolate = PERFECT SATURDAY! Please contact Beth to be added to the mailing list and receive directions to the sale.

Big big Love for Theo from Morgan in SF

Check out the big love! Thanks so much Morgan!

Eat Local Now! Dinner and Celebration

Tuesday, April 29th

Join Sustainable Ballard, BALLE Seattle, and Ballard High School (Go Beavers!) Earth Service Corps for the Fifth Annual Eat Local Now! Dinner. Speakers include local farmers affected by flooding, and a Silent Auction will benefit a local farmer emergency relief fund. Tickets and more info available here.

Theo Chocolate and selfcentered join forces for chocolate meditation

Max Simon, visionary behind the selfcentered meditation tour - with such diverse events and programs as the PDM - public display of meditation and "Musitations" CD brings the world a fabulous new concept - The Chocolate Meditation! We had Max here at the factory a while back and he took us through the chocolate meditation and now he is offering ongoing chocolate focused meditations both in LA and in his travels. We look forward to another chocolate meditation sometime in June - I will keep you posted. You can check out the selfcentered blog here. And here are some selfcentered videos to put a smile on your face:

The PDM

It's Not What You Think

Greenfest, Green Power, and FREE THEO CHOCOLATE!

Be sure and stop by our booth at Seattle Greenfest this weekend! Greenfest has much to offer, including a swap-o-rama clothing swap booth and free electronics recycling courtesy of 3R technology (laptops, PDAs, cellphones, CDs, & household batteries - no CRTs)

What's greener than that you might ask? Stop by the Seattle City Light or Puget Sound Energy booth and get free Theo Chocolate for signing up with their green energy programs. By buying renewable energy credits, you are offsetting the costs associated with adding more green energy sources to the local grid, offsetting your carbon footprint, and making an environmental(reducing carbon  dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and particulate matter) and social impact. Who knew as little as $3 a month could make such a big difference? What am I, Sally Struthers? No, but seriously, it's nice to see how big a change we can make by ganging up together to be a force for green. Tacoma Power is also giving Theo for signing up for RECs but will not be attending Greenfest. Below are links to sign up on their respective websites

Theo Chocolate makes Time Magazine's Design 100