Two bars, both delicious, what’s not to love?
Is there anything more fun than trying food from around the world? I don’t think so, especially when it’s different kinds of sweet treats. If only chocolate was as healthy for you as kale allegedly is.
Last summer, my friend Ama surprised me with some chocolate bars from Ghana, which I was very excited to try and share with all of you. Read on to hear about how these tasty treats are not your average chocolate bar you’d find at your convenience store.
Last summer, my friend Ama surprised me with some chocolate bars from Ghana, which I was very excited to try and share with all of you. Read on to hear about how these tasty treats are not your average chocolate bar you’d find at your convenience store.
Ama’s dad immigrated to Canada and then the United States for his undergrad and graduate degrees, and is now a professor at a university. Ama and her family have been lucky to get to visit Ghana and visit with their family there many times over the years, and gave me a really great history lesson about both brands of chocolate.
Chocolate and gold are the two main exports from Ghana, so they take their candy seriously. Brands like Cadbury’s use Ghanaian chocolate, and in Japan, there’s even a brand of chocolate just called “Ghana”. Guess where they get their chocolate from? Ama’s grandpa actually worked as an accountant with the government subsidized cocoa farms. He travelled around Ghana and visit farms, which meant Ama’s dad’s family had to move around a lot when he was little. As annoying as that might have been, Ama’s pretty sure the job paid well because as she put it: “He had a car! In the 1950s! In a developing nation British colony! One of my dad's first memories is being startled by the windshield wipers and everyone laughing at him.”
Ghana is also extremely important for understanding the history of the American Civil Rights movement, which made Melody an obvious hostess for this post. Ama found an awesome article that discusses the history more in depth here, but to summarize, Ghana celebrated their independence from Great Britain on March 6, 1957. This was the first of many former British African colonies declaring their independence in the mid 20th century. Then Vice President Richard Nixon went to the festivities, as did Martin Luther King Jr., and for many Black Americans, seeing the Veep claim to be a supporter of African freedom while race in America remained such a heated issue was infuriating, and led to further debate about race in America. Although the article is correct in asserting that Black Americans struggled and won their own freedoms, Civil Rights leaders like MLK, Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, and Malcolm X all were fans of Ghanaian independence, as well as the nation itself. Going back a little further, W.E.B. DuBois applied for and received Ghanaian citizenship!
The first bar we had was called Kingsbrite:
Chocolate and gold are the two main exports from Ghana, so they take their candy seriously. Brands like Cadbury’s use Ghanaian chocolate, and in Japan, there’s even a brand of chocolate just called “Ghana”. Guess where they get their chocolate from? Ama’s grandpa actually worked as an accountant with the government subsidized cocoa farms. He travelled around Ghana and visit farms, which meant Ama’s dad’s family had to move around a lot when he was little. As annoying as that might have been, Ama’s pretty sure the job paid well because as she put it: “He had a car! In the 1950s! In a developing nation British colony! One of my dad's first memories is being startled by the windshield wipers and everyone laughing at him.”
Ghana is also extremely important for understanding the history of the American Civil Rights movement, which made Melody an obvious hostess for this post. Ama found an awesome article that discusses the history more in depth here, but to summarize, Ghana celebrated their independence from Great Britain on March 6, 1957. This was the first of many former British African colonies declaring their independence in the mid 20th century. Then Vice President Richard Nixon went to the festivities, as did Martin Luther King Jr., and for many Black Americans, seeing the Veep claim to be a supporter of African freedom while race in America remained such a heated issue was infuriating, and led to further debate about race in America. Although the article is correct in asserting that Black Americans struggled and won their own freedoms, Civil Rights leaders like MLK, Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, and Malcolm X all were fans of Ghanaian independence, as well as the nation itself. Going back a little further, W.E.B. DuBois applied for and received Ghanaian citizenship!
The first bar we had was called Kingsbrite:
It’s a common candy bar in Ghana, but a lot harder to get in the United States, which is a real shame. Ama’s mom is a big fan of it, which makes it a favorite treat to bring home to the US after a visit.
The wrapper features a kente cloth. Kente is a traditional cloth and weaving practice that – while common throughout West Africa – is mainly centered in Ghana. The weaving process is very complicated, and requires use of both your hands and feet! Kente cloth was adopted as a symbol and a style by Black Americans in the 1960’s and 70’s who were interested in the Black diaspora and/or members of Black power movements. Today, kente cloth is often worn at American graduation ceremonies by members of African American fraternities, sororities, and honor societies.
The star design on the squares of chocolate is also very iconically Ghanaian. A star features prominently on the Ghanaian star, the national soccer team is known as the “Black Stars”, and there’s even a popular beer called “Star Lager Beer.”
The wrapper features a kente cloth. Kente is a traditional cloth and weaving practice that – while common throughout West Africa – is mainly centered in Ghana. The weaving process is very complicated, and requires use of both your hands and feet! Kente cloth was adopted as a symbol and a style by Black Americans in the 1960’s and 70’s who were interested in the Black diaspora and/or members of Black power movements. Today, kente cloth is often worn at American graduation ceremonies by members of African American fraternities, sororities, and honor societies.
The star design on the squares of chocolate is also very iconically Ghanaian. A star features prominently on the Ghanaian star, the national soccer team is known as the “Black Stars”, and there’s even a popular beer called “Star Lager Beer.”
Unlike most American milk chocolates which can be very, very sweet, Kingsbrite chocolate has a much stronger cocoa flavor. It’s still sweet, but less overpoweringly so, giving you more of a chance to enjoy the chocolate. It’s also a very firm bar and melts nice and slowly in your mouth, which means you can take a bite and really take the time to enjoy it instead of gobbling it down quickly.
The other chocolate bar we tried was a Divine milk chocolate Seriously Smooth bar:
The other chocolate bar we tried was a Divine milk chocolate Seriously Smooth bar:
Just like the Kingsbrite bar, the wrapper is decorated with meaningful images from Ghanaian culture, not just to look pretty. The symbols are Adinkra symbols, which are often used to decorate hand made crafts and each have a particular meaning.
Unlike Kingsbrite chocolate, the wrapper gives a lot of company history, probably because Divine chocolate is pretty widely available internationally, and can be found in a lot of specialty grocery stores, or shops that like to support Fairtrade businesses. The wrappers also feature the story of one of the farmers who produces the chocolate:
Unlike Kingsbrite chocolate, the wrapper gives a lot of company history, probably because Divine chocolate is pretty widely available internationally, and can be found in a lot of specialty grocery stores, or shops that like to support Fairtrade businesses. The wrappers also feature the story of one of the farmers who produces the chocolate:
The Adinkra symbols are also featured on the squares of chocolate, along with the company logo:
Divine’s milk chocolate is a lot more similar to American brands like Hershey, in that it’s quite sweet and melts quickly in your mouth. However – and I say this as a fan of Hershey milk chocolate – it’s really obviously very high quality chocolate, and tastes amazing. I would definitely recommend keeping an eye out for Divine chocolate at any of your local shops.
Thanks so much to Ama for sharing these with me and for giving me so much information for this post! I hope all of you enjoyed learning about Ghana and these two tasty chocolate brands. If you ever have a chance to try them out for yourself, I would definitely recommend it!
I’ve got two more posts on the docket that feature favorites from around the world. Got any guesses on where they might be from?
Thanks so much to Ama for sharing these with me and for giving me so much information for this post! I hope all of you enjoyed learning about Ghana and these two tasty chocolate brands. If you ever have a chance to try them out for yourself, I would definitely recommend it!
I’ve got two more posts on the docket that feature favorites from around the world. Got any guesses on where they might be from?
Here’s a hint: one’s an old favorite, and the other’s a new friend!
I can not find the answer! but, thank you very much, you, your friend Ama, (and Melody :-) for this very interesting article. I did not know Ghanaian chocolate, and I will see soon in a delicatessen in Sherbrooke if I see in their shelves, because being very fond of chocolate (yes, yes, it is good for us! If it is not to our curves, it is at least our morale !!) I am now very curious to enjoy it. I hope to find the Kingsbrite because I like the real taste of chocolate, and I really like the idea of having a piece that does not melt in a few seconds in the mouth.
ReplyDelete