FAQ
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Cocoa and responsibility
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Origin of VIVANI cocoa
The cocoa for VIVANI comes exclusively from Central America. Unlike the cheap African consumer cocoa Forastero, VIVANI only uses high-quality Trinitario cocoa. Most of our organic cocoa comes from the Dominican Republic, with smaller quantities originating from Panama.
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Quality of VIVANI cocoa
Cocoa is a natural product. Since organic farming deliberately avoids the use of any pesticides or chemical fertilizers; and the trees are not cultivated in monocultures, they are highly susceptible to climate fluctuations and weather conditions. Therefore, changes in quality depending on a specific harvest cannot be avoided. It is through cocoa mixtures that VIVANI strives to keep these deviations as low as possible.
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VIVANI and fair trade
Our chocolates are not officially “Fairtrade“ certified, but we cannot stress enough that we do in fact produce under fair conditions. As an organic producer not only are ecological matters important to us, but matters involving mankind as well.
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VIVANI and child labour
Child labor in cocoa cultivation is a problem that many conventional chocolate producers deliberately turn a blind eye to. Since 2013, under the name “KIDS for KIDS“, we have launched various projects to prevent child labor. We feel it is important to inform chocolate lovers to this matter in hopes of one day bringing an end to this injustice.
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VIVANI’s ecological packaging
For the packaging of our chocolate bars and cooking chocolates we use packaging materials that can be recycled in an ecologically sensible way.
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Allergens and special diets
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Allergens and traces of allergens in VIVANI chocolates
Some VIVANI products contain allergens. These allergens include: lactose, nuts, almonds, gluten and others. Even if a product does not contain a certain allergen according to the recipe, it is possible that traces of this allergen can be found in the product. The reason for this is because these allergens are handled within the chocolate factory. You can find out which allergens and other possible traces a product may contain on the list of ingredients or in this allergen overview.
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Nutrition facts of all VIVANI products
People who need or want to pay attention to their diet for different reasons can see and compare the nutrition facts energy, carbohydrates, fat and protein in our complete overview. Especially for people with diabetes mellitus, the respective carbohydrate unit (CU) of the products is important, which are also included in the table.
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Vegan VIVANI products (according to recipe)
Many VIVANI products are vegan according to the recipe. However, it may be possible that traces of milk components are found in a product, as these ingredients are handled within the chocolate factory.
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Kosher VIVANI products
VIVANI carries kosher products that have been certified by a rabbi for years. The strict inspections are regularly repeated and evaluate not only the ingredients, but also the production processes. The kosher products can be recognized by the triangular seal with the enclosed letter “K”.
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Tips
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Storing chocolate properly
Chocolate must be stored dry (never in the refrigerator!), in a dark and cool environment (constantly between 16 – 18 °C). Otherwise, fat rime (white spots) and sugar crystallization (grey spots) may occur. Tip: Ideally chocolate should be stored in a closed tin can, which also helps protect against pantry moths.
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How to process chocolate correctly
Chocolate can only be perfectly melted in a bain-marie. First, heat a pot of water and place the finely chopped chocolate / cooking chocolate in a heat-resistant bowl. Then put the bowl in the pot and let the chocolate melt. Important: Moisture must not be allowed to get into the bowl, otherwise the chocolate will solidify instantly. The optimum melting temperature is 40 – 45 °C (baking thermometer). For optimal processing it is recommended to temper the chocolate. There are several methods to use.
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Some more questions
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Chocolate and palm fat
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Chocolate and lecithin
Lecithin is an emulsifier that allows for faster mixing of fat and water-soluble components. The use of lecithin allows for easier handling of the cocoa mass, the saving of cocoa butter, a shortened production time and ultimately lower costs. When producing our VIVANI chocolate masses, lecithin is not required for any products. The key alternatives for lecithin are high-quality ingredients, choice of recipe, and production time. The optimal mixing of chocolate ingredients is achieved through long conching times.
However, sunflower lecithin is unavoidable in some fillings. Production-related reasons and not cost savings are the decisive factor here.
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Chocolate and cadmium
When researching on the internet, one is constantly confronted with articles that establish a connection between chocolate and the heavy metal cadmium. Chocolate companies, whose cocoa comes from South American cultivation are typically the main target of criticism.In this case, the plants are exposed via their roots, which grow in volcanic soil. However, the same problem also exists with other crops, such as wheat.
Cadmium is commonly classified as harmful when digested in higher doses. Therefore, a guide value has been set which should not be exceeded in food products which of course VIVANI complies with.
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Chocolate and alkalization
When alkalizing cocoa (also known as the “Dutching Process”), the cocoa is treated with alkali salts (e.g. potash or sodium carbonates). This makes it easier to separate the cocoa butter for further processes but causes the taste and color of the cocoa to change. Above all else, the content of valuable polyphenols (secondary plant substances) are reduced because of this. The cocoa of our VIVANI chocolates is not alkalized and therefore considered untreated.
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Chocolate and alcohol
Some VIVANI chocolate products require the addition of alcohol for technological reasons, in order to control the microbiology of the filling:
- Truffels “Truffes” – The variants “Wild Raspberry” and “Espresso” contain 0,9% alcohol.
- Truffels “Truffes vegan” – The variants “Coconut” and “Espresso” contain 1,3% alcohol.
BUT – the natural alcohol content of ‘completely normal’ foodstuffs puts this into context. A ripe banana contains 0.6-1 % alcohol. Sauerkraut and kefir contain 0.5 % alcohol and apple juice contains 0.2 %.
We have consciously added a little alcohol to the chocolate bar “Fine Dark Marzipan Amaretto” (1,5% ref. to the whole bar). The Amaretto liqueur is intended to bring out the taste of the marzipan even better. This has the further advantage that we can dispense with any additional artificial aroma.