Zazubean Organic Fair Trade Chocolate - Vancouver, B.C.

“All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”— Charles M. Schulz, creator of “Peanuts”

Chocolate, chemically speaking, is the world’s perfect food. So imagine if someone were able to perfect that already sweet perfection. Imagine Zazubean and imagine being “Choc Fulla Life”. That’s the tagline for this Vancouver-based organic chocolatier that specializes in “functional” gourmet chocolate that’s not only organic and fair trade, but infused with a range of natural ingredients designed to increase sexual stamina, boost energy, calm anxiety, and, believe it or not, even take the edge off a woman’s monthly madness.

And remember, this is chocolate — it’s already delicious without the added bonus of working miracles on body and soul. And not only exquisite on the tongue, but loaded with numerous natural benefits for heart health and increasing free radicals and antioxidants in your body.Taking that a step (no, a giant leap) further meant adding supplements like peppermint oil to aid in digestion, astragalus root to bolster the immune system, maca root for stamina and libido, goji berry the nutrient-dense superfood, ulcer preventing organic chili pepper, and horny goat weed (guess what that does).“The word ‘functional’ is normally used when you’re enhancing a product,” explained Zazubean co-owner Tara Gilbert. “But we’re not creating Frankenfood here.”

Far from it. Created by a group of female friends who loved their chocolate (“We had these inexplicable cravings for it,” says Gilbert, “but wanted to feel good about eating it), Zazubean’s line recognizes that chocolate is considered an indulgence and makes it a healthy indulgence. Not only healthy for the individual, but for the whole planet.

“When you’re having (chocolate) it should be satisfying on all levels,” says Gilbert.

Cocoa beans are one of the most pesticide intensive crops in the world, so Zazubean went 100 per cent organic, and uses only fair trade beans that come straight from Ecuador and Panama.

Ethical and delicious artisan gourmet chocolate. Dark chocolate that heals and invigorates with upwards of 70 per cent cocoa in every bar. And dark means protecting against heart disease and high blood pressure because it’s choc full of antioxidants rich in flavonoids, which are potent plant compounds found in tea, red wine, and some fruits and vegetables that reduce bad "LDL" cholesterol.It also contains a good source of magnesium and trace elements of iron, calcium, potassium, and Vitamins A, B1, C, D, and E.

When Zazubean’s founders mused about which direction the company should go in, they were quick to recognize the death of high-end chocolate with a Made In Canada label.

“There was lots of chocolate out there,” explains Gilbert, “but less organic and even less fair trade.”

She says the chocolate industry was going through growing pains seen in the wine industry. Artisan-made chocolate, the only chocolate for the connoisseur, came only in ornate, regal-looking wrappers. There was a mystique that this confection was for the elite and wasn’t for the regular lover of chocolate.

“We felt that wasn’t us,” notes Gilbert. “We were people who loved good chocolate and healthy food, and wanted our chocolate to be fun and to be accessible to people.”

Being unforgettable and maybe even a little goofy helped. We can reveal that the company name may have been influenced by the Great Gazoo, that diminutive, bubble-headed alien from The Flintstones.

Gilbert says it was a play on words after the founders put the kybosh on a much more serious company name.

“I’m a recent scooter driver and I guess I look like Gazoo with my helmet on. Really. That’s it.”

Need more? Visit www.zazubean.com