Quote of the Week - 11.03.13

Love is just like rice - plant it elsewhere and it grows.
~ Malagasy Proverb

Love is like Fair Trade chocolate - share it and it grows.
~ Coco-Zen

Thank you and goodbye, sort of...

Dear Friends, Fans and Loyal Customers,

After these many years of making chocolates and helping to spread the word on Fair Trade, I've decided that it's time to say goodbye as I move onto other personal endeavors.

Closing up shop...

Coco-Zen will be closing over the next couple of months. Beginning November 1, Coco-Zen will no longer be producing "edible" treats. Only our "wearable" Chocolate Body Treats and a few Green Living items will be available for purchase. These will be available for the remainder of the year or until supplies run out.

Sort of...

Several people have already inquired about chocolates for holiday gifting. Since this is a special time of the year, I will be taking some "personal" orders. If you are interested in ordering chocolates for the holiday season, you can email me for information - info@coco-zen.com.

New website on Facebook...

Our current website will also be closing, as we migrate everything over to our Facebook Page. There you can visit our Shop to make purchases. We will also continue to post articles and information on Fair Trade and all things "green" that we come across.

Lastly, but most importantly...

I want to personally say thank you to everyone. I truly appreciate all the friends and family who have supported me in this wonderful adventure in chocolate. And...I especially want to thank all the wonderful customers that have visited our little shop on the web. Many of you have become friends, sharing knowledge and wonderful experiences in chocolate, Fair Trade and all manners of green living.

It's been 6 1/2 years since I was inspired to start Coco-Zen (that little face I'm holding in the picture spawned my adventure into Fair Trade and green living), and an amazing time it has been. So, it's with bittersweetness in my heart that I finally say thank you and goodbye...sort of.

Cheers to all!

Joyce Kushner

Coco-Zen Founder and Chief Chocolate Maker

Quote of the Week - 10.27.13

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
~ Mahatma Ghandi

Happiness is when planet, people and chocolate are in harmony.
~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 10.14.13

Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.

~ Thomas Edison

Good chocolate is what happens when cocoa meets with Fair Trade.

~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 09.09.13

Success is more permanent when you achieve it without destroying your principles.

~ Walter Cronkite

Chocolate is more delicious when you achieve it through Fair Trade.

~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 09.01.13

When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.
~ Buddha

When you realize how perfect Fair Trade chocolate is, you will tilt your head back and enjoy the chocolate.
~ Coco-Zen

Stuff We Found Today - 06.27.13

Pod of 40 bottlenose dolphins ride 8ft-high waves along South African coast 

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

• SkinVision App Turns Your Smartphone Into a Skin Cancer Scanner - (Inhabitat) Perfect for all of us who obsess over every mole that shows up.
• 6 of the World's Coolest Green Playgrounds - (Inhabitots)
• Make Organic Sculpting Clay in 4 Simple Steps Using 4 Ingredients! - (Inhabitots) Grab the kiddies and let the sculpting fun begin!
• The Quinny Jett LongboardStroller is a Stroller/Skateboard Hybrid! - (Inhabitots) OMG...would have loved one of these when our kid was younger!!

Food Stuff

• Mars and Nestlé charged with chocolate price fixing in Canada - (ConfectioneryNews.com) Look what the big guys are up to... Nestle was also a part of this but is expected to plead guilty.
• Whole Foods Shows Customers the Bleak Future of Produce Without Bees - (Inhabitat) Pretty shocking, but gets to the point.
• Coke's New Ice Bottle Keeps Drinks Cool and Melts Away With No Waste - (Inhabitat) Awesome idea...now only if it was filled with something healthier.
• EU Approves the Use of Laser "Tattoos" on Fruit as Replacement for Sticky Labels - (Inhabitat)
• The Lepsis is a Terrarium for Growing Edible Bugs at Home - (Inhabitat) Don't think too many westerners are ready for this

Home Stuff

• Make A Mini Felt Planter To Green Your Walls - (Inhabitat) Cute and easy!

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• Kind Crusader: Maya, 13-Year-Old Eco Designer - (The KInd Life) Love kids who do good for people & planet... and she's gorgeous to boot!
• Vodafone’s “Power Shorts” Use Body Heat to Charge Your Cellphone - (Ecouterre) Is that body heat or "booty" heat? hahahaha

Tech & Science Stuff

• 16 Year-Old Develops Cleaner, More Efficient Method of Creating Biofuel - (Inhabitots) Put this one under cool, smart kids...love it!

Nature & Environment Stuff

• Photographer Bryant Austin Swims Eye-to-Eye with a Whale - (Fora.tv) The awesome sperm whale...
• Epic lightning bolt strikes America's tallest skyscraper - (Mother Nature Network)
• Big Texas T-storm caught in time-lapse video - (Mother Nature Network) "...eerie growth of a supercell thunderstorm in North Texas." This is cool to watch
• 15 reasons to visit Yosemite - (Mother Nature Network) "We let the photos do the talking in this tour of the iconic national park." Love Yosemite!!
• Surf's up! Pod of 40 bottlenose dolphins ride 8ft-high waves along South African coast  - (MailOnline)
• 8 Unbelievable octopus videos - (TreeHugger) Click to see 8 super cool octopus videos (fun time waster!)

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

• 6 Suspended Tree Tents For a Lighter-Than-Air Camping Experience - (Inhabitat) These would be great for a backyard getaway too!
• XploreAir Paravelo: World's First Flying Bicycle Lifts Off the Ground - (Inhabitat) Yup...this is for real.

Other Random Cool Stuff

• 6 fascinating people who own almost nothing - (Mother Nature Network) "These people have rejected the stuff-cluttered life for something more meaningful." Hmmm, think you can do it??
• New Yorkers to compost 10 percent of residential waste - (Mother Nature Network) "Mayor Michael Bloomberg puts plans in action so residents of New York City can have food scraps composted." All cities should have composting as part of their waste collection system.

Quote of the Week - 06.16.13

Laughter is an instant vacation.
~ Milton Berle

A piece of Fair Trade chocolate is an instant vacation.
~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 06.02.13

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

~ Confucius

It does not matter how slowly you eat your chocolate as long as it’s Fair Trade.

~ Coco-Zen

Stuff We Found Today - 05.20.13

Do The Green Thing: "Don't Bottle It" by Stuart Watson

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

• What is Teflon: The Infertility Connection - (Mommy Greenest) Knew teflon was bad, but didn't know it was linked to infertility!
• Unacceptable Levels Trailer - (YouTube) Movie coming out summer 2013 about all the chemicals we're exposed to everyday and have seeped into our bodies.
• EWG's 2013 Guide to Sunscreens - (Environmental Working Group) Get ready for the hot days ahead.

Food Stuff

• $325,000 Lab-Grown Burger to be Served Up in London Next Month - (Inhabitat) Hmmm...right or wrong? Would you eat it?
• UN Report Says We Should Be Eating More Bugs - (Inhabitat) Unfortuantely, don't think us westerners will be able to get over the barf factor.
• Dark chocolate enhances mood... - (ConfectioneryNews.com) "Study particpants consuming a cocoa flavanol-rich dark chocolate drink reported being calmer and more content." Hmmm...think any chocoholic could have told us that!
• 27 Ways To Make Your Groceries Last As Long As Possible - (BuzzFeed) Really good tips here!!
• Superbugs Invade American Supermarkets - (Environmental Working Group) "Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are now common in the meat aisles of American supermarkets. These so-called superbugs can trigger foodborne illness and infections that are hard to treat."
• Tell the FDA to Reject More Aspartame in Milk! - (Food Democracy Now) "...the giant dairy lobby is trying to force the federal government to redefine 'milk' to include artificial sweeteners such as aspartame in children’s school lunches without proper labels."

Home Stuff

• Nurseryworks Stylish District Crib Transforms Into an Adult-Sized Desk or Daybed - (Inhabitots) Wish all cribs did this!!

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• More Western Brands, Retailers Commit to Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety - (Ecouterre) Gap and Walmart are NOT among them!

Tech & Science Stuff

• Amtrak Unveils New High-Efficiency Electric Trans for Northeast Corridor - (Inhabitat)

Nature & Environment Stuff

• Study: Gulf oil spill is sickening fish vital to seafood industry - (Los angeles Times)
• 7 places for top-notch stargazing - (Mother Nature Network)
• Cicadas continue East Coast march - (Mother Nature Network) Scientists expect this brood's population to be up to 30 billion this year.
• A Black Mound of Canadian Oil Waste Is Rising Over Detroit - (NYTimes.com) "Detroit’s ever-growing black mountain is the unloved, unwanted and long overlooked byproduct of Canada’s oil sands boom."

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

• Best hiking in the U.S. and how to prepare for it - (Mother Nature Network)

Quote of the Week - 05.20.13

Every new day is another chance to change your life.

~Unknown

Every new day is another chance to have some Fair Trade chocolate.

~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 05.12.13

He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

~ Confucius

He who eats chocolate but does not buy Fair Trade is lost. He who buys Fair Trade chocolate but does not eat it is insane.

~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 04.28.13

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.
~ John Lennon

Time you enjoy eating Fair Trade chocolate, was definitely not wasted.
~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 04.22.13

If you are too busy to laugh, you are too busy.

~ Unknown

If you are too busy to enjoy some Fair Trade chocolate, you are too busy.

~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 04.15.13

The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.

~ John Burroughs

The smallest piece of Fair Trade chocolate is better than the greatest that is not.

~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 04.01.13

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
~ Buddha

Better than a thousand pieces of chocolate, is one piece that is Fair Trade.
~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 03.24.13

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of Fair Trade chocolate.
~ Coco-Zen

Quote of the Week - 03.17.13

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.
~ Irish Proverb

A good laugh and some Fair Trade chocolate are the best cures in our book.
~ Coco-Zen

Spring chocolate critters are here...and save 20% on Easter pre-orders!

Butterflies, bunnies and chicks...adorable little critters will warm your heart and help thaw the winter chill. Made from organic & Fair Trade Certified chocolate, these treats are both good for planet & good for people!

Pre-order your Easter treats by Sun 3/17 and save 20% off your entire order. Use promo code PREEAS2013.

*Orders will ship week of Mar 25th.

Quote of the Week - 03.10.13

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.

~ Buddha

A piece of Fair Trade chocolate that has been eaten and enjoyed is more delicious than a piece sitting in a box.

~ Coco-Zen