# Sustainable Hand-Carved Sweets The Taza Chocolate Company Uses Eco-Friendly Growing Methods By Erin Fox | Published 2013-02-05 | Social Good Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/taza-chocolate References: [tazachocolate](http://www.tazachocolate.com/) & [facebook](https://www.facebook.com/TazaChocolate) Feeding your chocolate addiction has never felt better with the Taza Chocolate company. The chocolatiers produce their sweets from hand-carved stone mills in Oaxacan, Mexico. The mill was discovered by Alex Whitmore when he was on vacation. The company purchases [organic, sustainably-grown nuts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wild-west-chocolate) from local farmer's. After the nuts are hand roasted, they are coated luxuriously in 55% [stone ground chocolate](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/rawmio-premium-raw-chocolate-bars). The company is inspired by the passion for Mexican chocolate and the industry surrounding the production from bean to bar. Taza Chocolate has created a Direct Trade Certified Cacao program which creates face-to-face relationships with farmers. This relationship allows the company to purchase the highest quality cacao and pay the farmers a premium well above fair trade prices. **Contact Information** Taza Chocolate [website](http://www.tazachocolate.com/) Taza Chocolate [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/TazaChocolate) Taza Chocolate [Twitter](https://twitter.com/TazaChocolate) ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.8/10 - Popularity: 45% | Activity: 62% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, South America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Social Good](https://www.trendhunter.com/socialgood) > [Social Business](https://www.trendhunter.com/socialbusiness) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Hand-carved Stone Mills:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Exploring the use of hand-carved stone mills in other food processing industries. - **Sustainable Farming Practices:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Applying eco-friendly growing methods to other agricultural industries. - **Direct Trade Certification:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Creating face-to-face relationships with producers in other supply chains to ensure quality and fair prices. ### Where This Applies - **Food Processing:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Introducing traditional processing methods, like hand-carved stone mills, in the food industry to enhance flavor and texture. - **Agriculture:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Implementing sustainable farming practices in the agricultural industry to promote environmental sustainability. - **Supply Chain Management:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Adopting direct trade certification practices in various supply chains to ensure fair pricing and support local producers. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Indulgent Vegan Chocolates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tcho.md) - [Gourmet Chocolate Tasting Experiences](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/gourmet-chocolate.md) - [Ethical Chocolate Bars](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/up-up-ethical-chocolate-bars.md) - [Bittersweet Drinking Chocolate](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bittersweet-drinking-chocolate.md) - [Mezcal-Paired Artisanal Chocolates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fairtrade-chocolate.md) - [Date-Sweetened Plant-Based Chocolates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bon-appesweet.md) - [Heirloom Cocoa Bean Chocolates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/beyond-good-microbatch-collection.md) - [Fair Trade Chocolate Bites](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/littl-bits.md) - [Nostalgic Better-for-You Chocolates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cookies-and-cream-bar.md)