I was delighted to be asked to work with Allison Roberts, founder of Clonakilty Chocolate, on a new product launch and rebranding project. In February, Allison launched her Cocoa Husk Tea under the new brand Exploding Tree. I absolutely love everything that Allison is about – her enthusiasm and energy is to be seen to be believed.

Her rebranding from Clonakilty Chocolate to Exploding Tree took a little selling to me – only because I loved the original brand, but when Allison shared her vision for where she wanted to take her business it all fell into place and made total sense. Read all about the journey of her new product and then head to her website and purchase some – seeing as Storm Emma is preventing us from heading out at all at the moment! The tea is brilliant – I love it!

Exploding Tree, purveyors of thought full food, launches Cocoa Husk Tea

An energising lift from the Food of the Gods…

Clonakilty Chocolate, the ethical food company specialising in handmade Fairtrade chocolate confection is branching out as Exploding Tree – returning to its roots and exploring new frontiers garnering inspiration from connections made between soil, society and spirit.

Allison Roberts, founder of Exploding Tree, is a passionate supporter of sustainable local business – wherever in the world they may be. Her medium is chocolate and her mission is to celebrate cocoa as a life-giving wholefood. Naturally nutritious and abundant with essential vitamins, minerals and heart healthy cocoa butter, chocolate is the original superfood.

The first product to be launched by Exploding Tree is Cocoa Husk Tea – a Fairtrade loose-leaf tea that is bursting with flavours of buttery roasted chocolate, coconut and soothing spice, brimming with goodness.

 

The cocoa beans sourced by Exploding Tree are grown by Fairtrade farming co-operative Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana, West Africa, then shipped to the small but perfectly formed bean-to-bar Clonakilty Chocolate factory in West Cork, Ireland.

 

Hand-processing cocoa beans without the use of chemicals means every part of the bean can be used – including the husk. When infused in freshly boiled water, the cocoa husks make a refreshing cup of comforting and delicious tea!

The Cacao Tree’s Latin name Theobroma literally means “Food of the Gods” and has sustained great empires for millennia. The husk contains the same balance of nutrients as the beans, so drinking Exploding Tree Cocoa Husk Tea is an easy and delicious way to treat your body to essential antioxidants, vitamins and nutrients.

Allison Roberts has been in the business of making chocolate since she was just 12 years old living in Toronto, Canada. It was supposed to be a short visit to west Cork ten years ago, but instead ended up settling into the award winning town of Clonakilty and building a bean-to-bar chocolate factory.

Allison said, “We have been drinking Cocoa Husk Tea for years, I especially love it first thing in the morning or after a big meal. This tea has its roots in ancient Mayan civilisation, used in ritual and enjoyed for its uplifting properties… the husk contains so much of the whole bean’s goodness – the same way the skin of any fruit or vegetable contains so much of its goodness.

“I am passionate about reclaiming chocolate’s potential as a healthy, nutrient-rich food source and so Cocoa Husk Tea fts this bill. We have been developing it with the Limerick Institute of Technology and were delighted to find through their panel surveys that people were loving the taste as much as we do. When we received our lab results showing high nutrient and antioxidant content, our instinct that it was doing us good was confirmed! It tastes great – roasted chocolate, honey and warming spices really come through. It is buttery and comforting, like a warm cuddle.”

Why is our tea so good?

• Caffeine-free Cocoa Beans are rich in a mineral call Theobromine. It acts to give you sustained energy over a long time, and unlike caffeine is not followed by a crash. Fuel up once and go all day!

• Rich in Essential Nutrients and Antioxidants? ORAC is the standard used to measure anti-oxidant value. Our Cocoa Husk Tea has six-times more Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity than Green Tea. It is also a source of Vitamin E (important for cell regeneration), and high in zinc, iron, manganese (good for healthy bone maintenance), copper (good for keeping red blood cells, nervous and immune systems healthy) and chromium (good for keeping bodily functions in balance).

• The husk contains heart-healthy Cocoa Butter, good for circulation and digestion.

• Ethical and traceable supply chains are a mainstay at Exploding Tree, Cocoa Husk Tea is 100% Fairtrade certified.
• All our packaging is 100% biodegradable.
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• Spent tea leaves make a nutrient rich compost for your garden!

To purchase your pouch of Cocoa Husk Tea , visit https://explodingtree.com/our-new-cocoa-husk-tea/

About Clonakilty Chocolate & Exploding Tree

Allison Roberts started selling her first hand made chocolate creations in her local Toronto farmers market aged just 13. Having travelled the world meeting artists, growers and change-makers, Allison settled into the picturesque West Cork town of Clonakilty in 2008. From here, she founded Clonakilty Chocolate and through her interest in the ethics of sourcing ingredients for her chocolates, joined the Fairtrade group in the town.

A visit to Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana influenced a paradigm shift in the direction of Clonakilty Chocolate in going bean-to-bar and using Fairtrade cocoa beans and ethically sourcing all the ingredients for her chocolate products and exploring alternative sweeteners. A successful crowd-funding campaign enabled the transition to a true bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the heart of Clonakilty that is still, to this day, one of only four bean-to-bar producers in Ireland.

Now with her rediscovery of Exploding Tree, Allison’s mission is focused on spreading positive messages about the goodness of chocolate as the original superfood and all the while maintaining her commitment to Fairtrade, sustainability and supporting small independent businesses just like hers.

Exploding Tree Ethos

Small businesses thrive when they collaborate together and we are no different. Here are some of the other small businesses that we collaborate with…

• Blacks of Kinsale to provide cocoa husk for brewing their End of the World Imperial Chocolate Stout;
• Robyn’s Handmade Soaps make goats milk and cocoa husk soaps;
• Cocoa Husk Designs use our “flat” cocoa beans and hessian to make chocolate meditation cushions;
• A variety of local projects have utilised our left over hessian cocoa bean sacks in anything from Samhain Festival costumes to potato sack races!