Ethical Chocolate

We source our cocoa from small, single-estate farmers and guarantee fair compensation for their expertise. Buying directly in this way allows us to develop enduring and mutually beneficial partnerships with farmers who are dedicated to maintaining our standards of quality throughout their work.  

The strong bonds forged with farmers not only enhance the quality of the cocoa by outlining precise fermentation methods and requiring solar drying instead of fire drying, but also ensure that we are familiar with them, their families and their workers. 

We know our farmers personally and feel invested in their welfare and that of their family. Farmers like Lucy on Makira Island, who runs a female-only farm and thanks to working with Firetree, has been able to fund university places in Australia for her children.  

Sustainability comes from knowing our farmers and investing in their expertise. 

Farming with Nature: our cocoa is grown on small, single-estate farms many of which are remote and difficult to reach. The nutrient-rich volcanic soils give our farmers a head start in producing some of the world’s finest cocoa. Through our visits to the farms, we can see the way in which our farmers work closely with nature, allowing the cacao trees to flourish amongst palms and hardwoods, protecting biodiversity and soil wellness to reduce the reliance on harmful chemicals . 

Sustainable Living: we buy directly from our farmers to ensure that they are fairly rewarded for their work and expertise. Trading in this way also means that we have developed long-lasting relationships with our farmers who we know by name and many of whom we have met in person. 

Traceability: as bean-to-bar producers, and unlike many other chocolate brands, we roast our own cocoa beans and produce our own couverture. This means we know exactly which crop of beans is in every product. Being able to trace our chocolate back from the bar to the bean provides reassurance, transparency and accountability at every stage of the process. 

Our ethos when it comes to making chocolate is that it should be good for everyone - for you the consumer, for us making the chocolate and for the farmers who grow our cocoa. And none of this would be possible if we didn’t also care for the environment and the soil that provides us with this precious resource. 

For Firetree, working sustainably and ethically with our cocoa farmers is what makes our chocolate so special. When grown to the highest standards, cocoa beans produce a mosaic of different taste notes - from fruity or citrusy notes to mellow caramels or from deep treacle ones to more nutty, earthy tones. 

To ensure that these inherent flavours are developed and released, we work closely with our farmers to ferment and solar dry the beans to our requirements. This relationship is underpinned by trading directly and paying a fair and sustainable price for our cocoa.

We believe that this approach to making from bean to bar is evident in the end results - an exceptional, rich and layered taste experience.

Some producers may use the term bean-to-bar simply to mean small batch chocolate and may still buy their couverture from another supplier. At Firetree, we make our own couverture by whole-roasting the cocoa beans low and slow to release their natural flavours. After winnowing the beans, we then add only a few carefully selected and sustainably sourced ingredients in a slow conch.

For us, not only does bean-to-bar mean that as few people as possible have handled the cocoa beans - they come directly from the farmer - but it’s key to the rich and layered taste notes of the chocolate.

Yes, Firetree's sustainably and ethically produced dark chocolate is suitable for vegans and our milk chocolate is suitable for vegetarians. There are only a handful of natural ingredients in our chocolate and they are sourced sustainably. 

Almost all of our products are also certified Kosher and Halal. More details can be found on the page for each product.

Whether you're seeking vegan chocolate or sustainably-produced indulgence, Firetree is the perfect choice. 

Ethical chocolate comes at a price because of its dedication to ensuring a sustainable living for farmers and their workers. Cocoa can be grown more cheaply when intensive farming methods are employed - something that Firetree avoids. Our cocoa is grown in harmony with nature, allowing the cacao trees to thrive and minimising the use of harmful chemicals.

Our farmers grow their crops in the nutrient-rich volcanic soils of often very remote islands and we require all our beans to be solar-dried, not fire-dried - a process that is better for the quality of the beans and better for the environment but which takes days longer, adding to the cost.

Our commitment to sustainability and quality means you can be sure Firetree Chocolate is both outstanding in its taste experience and good for everyone involved in its making.

Firetree chocolate is not Fairtrade certified although sustainability is at the heart of the way we source our cocoa. We make regular trips to visit our farmers, inspect the farms and to further affirm and develop our relationships. 

We check employment records, contracts and paybooks and talk to as many employees as possible to hear about their personal experience and verify what we have seen. We source directly from our farmers rather than use a middleman which not only helps to ensure that the farmer gets more for their hard work but also means that we can work together to ensure good farming practices, fermenting the beans to our specification and solar-drying the beans rather than fire-drying, a method that’s harmful to the environment and detrimental to the quality of the beans. 

Not only do we source directly from the farmer, but we also pay a premium above the market rate to give our farmers the opportunity to provide for their families and commit to sustainable agricultural methods. The farms that grow our cocoa use the principles of multi-cropping to help promote biodiversity and encourage symbiotic planting relationships and pest control. Together with the rich, volcanic soil that the cocoa thrives in, it means that they require little, if any, fertilisers and pesticides.

The countries where Firetree Chocolate buys its cocoa have strict educational attendance requirements for all children up to the national minimum age (15 or 16 depending on the country). However, even though schooling is strictly enforced, we still undertake our own checks with local authorities before starting to work with a new farmer and regularly check-in 

The first steps to establishing a new relationship are to establish who owns the farm, who is employed on the farm and to undertake an audit of the pay books to ensure that all workers are paid and that their pay is at or above the mandated or recommended national pay level.

In the case of complex family establishments, we clarify who owns and participates in the business to ensure that all, both men and women, are aware of the agreed contract price for the cocoa, and where and when the money will be paid, to ensure everyone in the business has clarity and transparency.

During the audit we identify any person on the farm who appears to be young/underage and cross check their age against their paybook. To date, we have never found any underage people working on farms which supply us and continuing our regular checks reinforces our position on child employment with our farmers/suppliers.

Before any supply contract is agreed, we require the farmer to follow the National Law of their country and not seek to, or have, anyone under the national working age on their farm.

Firetree’s ethical chocolate is a great choice for those cherished moments and special celebrations.

When you choose to give our chocolate as a gift to someone special, you are not just giving them a delicious treat, but also supporting sustainable and ethical practices. Firetree’s bean-to-bar chocolate is carefully crafted with consideration in mind and offers a rich flavour profile that appeals to those who care about where their food comes from and how it is produced.