Review and Giveaway: Pascha Gluten Free Dairy Free Soy Free Chocolate

At the Chicago GFAF Expo, I had a chance to meet the people behind Pascha Chocolate – and I was initially intrigued by the accent, I have to admit. British accents and chocolate? Talk about heaven! Talk to me more about your product, please! It was started by a parent of kids with food allergies – so it automatically started off on the right foot. This chocolate is free from everything – peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, soy, and gluten. Just in case you didn’t know – it’s all over the fancy wrapper! It’s also non-GMO, which is huge these days. There are no emulsifiers used in this chocolate – no soy lecithin, guys!

I took some bars home without sampling any of the chocolate. Upon arriving home, I had several bars – the lighter of the dark chocolate, and asked the company to send me more bars that represented their darkest variety. I gave up milky chocolate a while ago, and prefer to eat dark chocolate if I’m eating in the bar form. They sent me out some of the 85% so I could get an idea of how it compares to my FAVORITE current chocolate bar – Endangered Species Chocolate.

So here are some reasons why Pascha chocolate is awesome overall:

• Nut free
• Dairy free
• Soy free
• Egg free
• Gluten free (duh)
• No GMO’s (verified)
• Organic
• Bean-to-bar sourcing
• Fair trade
• Kosher

Now, let’s talk about the comparison that I mentioned before. I love Enjoy Life chocolate – we use it in baking and for late-night munchies, but this is REAL dark and sexy chocolate (yes, dark chocolate is sexy). Endangered Species Chocolate is my go-to chocolate. They have four bars that are organic. The bar I usually get – the black panther one – is 88% cocoa, but it is natural (not organic). It’s also verified non-GMO and certified GF. It’s also part of the Rainforest Alliance project. Its ingredients are bittersweet chocolate (chocolate liquor, cane sugar, soy lecithin, and vanilla). Well, there’s that soy. It’s also produced on equipment that processes MILK, PEANUTS, and TREE NUTS **for those with not just celiac disease – this is an important point to make. Pascha is in an allergen-free environment!**

Now, I actually prefer the taste of the Endangered Species – but only slightly. If you told me that I was never allowed to have that again, I’d say “oh, okay, well, find me another dark chocolate I can eat.” Unfortunately, Endangered Species chocolate is available everywhere – it’s at my Sprouts and my Whole Foods, and I’m sure I can even find it in mass stores as a high-end chocolate. So, if it was the SAME PRICE, SAME LOCATION – I would choose the dark chocolate Pascha because it is organic and also sans soy.

You can currently buy them online on their store (it accepts PayPal). However, it only ships to the US. You can buy them 5 for $25.00. I don’t have any locations that are near me that sells them, but you can always check on their website to see.

Here are the different chocolate varieties that they offer:

• 55% cacao: organic sugar, organic cocoa mass, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla
• 70% cacao: organic cocoa mass, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic natural cocoa powder, organic vanilla
• 85% cacao: organic cocoa mass, organic natural cocoa powder, organic sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla
• 55% with goldenberries: organic sugar, organic cocoa mass, organic cocoa butter, organic dried goldenberry, organic vanilla
• 55% cacao with cocoa nibs: organic sugar, cocoa mass, organic cocoa butter, organic cocoa nibs, organic vanilla

I sampled three varieties – the 55%, the 70%, and the 85%.

I think the 55% and 70% is too sweet for me, but like I said, I prefer the darker chocolate varieties – more bitter (like me). I’d give it a 3.5 – it’s not like I don’t like it – in fact, I applaud them for being so allergy-friendly, but I’d probably have Enjoy Life chips at that point.

[ratings wheat =”3.5″]

I would rate the 85% a 4 out of 5 wheat stalks. I do prefer Endangered Species, but Pascha is free from soy and is organic.

[ratings wheat=”4″]

Recommendation – buy these if you get a chance. In fact, I’m thinking about switching to Pascha over my current chocolate – as it’s got soy (OH NO SOY!). Hooray for finding allergen-friendly chocolate with safe facilities.

You can earn another entry into our Celiac Disease Awareness Month Celebration by liking Pascha Chocolate on Facebook using the Rafflecopter entry form below!
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