Skagit Valley Food Coop in Mt Vernon, Washington

And the lucky winners of the first shipment of Rox Chox bars and squares? Mount Vernon! We haven't been doing much recruiting yet since we're still getting into our new routine of making and delivering Rox Chox locally, but one of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op's staff had visited People's and that led to an order of three cases.  River has been noting that I, Rochelle, am quite the perfectionista, and it took us most of the day Monday to ready all of the printed material and labels and cooler and box and ice packs to my specific requirements, then i handtrucked it to the post office yesterday!

Our first box baby is in the mail, and Rox Chox are soon available in the state of Washington.

Let's get this business started!

Wow, it is a wild ride starting a business!  We had a week there where we were owed for tons of orders and weren't sure we'd be able to buy the ingredients before our next production day,  but thankfully the checks are arriving and so are more orders.  We just got an email for an order from Skagit valley co-op in the state of Washington.  Starting next week we'll be in four co-ops- RAD.  So far our best seller is the Alberta Co-op in northeast Portland with about five pounds per week. Step by step. With sales like these, when we get to five co-ops, River will be employed full time by Rox Chox.  When we get to ten coops, I will also be getting paid for my full time work.  Self-employment is in sight!

Today I described Rox Chox as simply, 'Very rich, very dark, sweet, and a little bit salty'.  Because there are the top-notch ingredients and business ethics behind it, but what really counts is what is in your mouth.  One of the most rewarding moments is when I am giving away Rox samples and I see the look of surprise and delight on a first-time Rox taster's face.  The taste of this chocolate... it is to LIVE for!

We have been considering moving our business with us to San Francisco in August when I start a graduate program there, but California's regulations are so strict and the kitchens so expensive that it's looking like Rox Chox will stay based in Portland for now.  We might be back in two years anyways- who knows?  River (and sometimes I) will be riding the train up to Portland once or twice a month to make big batches of beautiful chocolate spread onto sheet pans, boxed up, and biked or sent to you.

Why we don't use sugar.

This is a fantastic article briefing an awesome lecture on the evils of the toxin sugar:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html

Sunday Adventures in Chocolate-making

River and I spent all day in the kitchen today and made over twenty pounds of Rox Chox.  We figured out our new Revolation chocolate tempering machine, and the Chox came out better than ever.  Maybe I say this every time, but this batch, #104, is the most delicious chocolate ever!!!  So far we have the bar, the bulk, the PHENOMENON (you'll see it soon), and today we came up with the R Square. You'll taste and see.

In giving a brief overview of my life in conversation with a bestie today, I realized that I am actually living the life I have been dreaming of and so many of my dreams are real!  This August River and I will move to San Francisco and I will enter the New Media MFA program at SFAI.  My statement of intent when I applied for this program almost two years ago focused on my desire to use my privilege to empower others, combining art and activism in the act of 'Tikkun Olam', making this world a better place.  Positivity, pleasure, food justice issues, environmentalism, feminism, queer visibility and identity politics have always been central to my practice, but never more than now.

Rox Chox is bringing it all together.  I'll celebrate that.

On the shelf at People's and at Food Front!

It is so rewarding to see Rox Chox package version #1 on the shelf!  Here we are at People's.  You can still buy Rox Chox in bulk as well- at People's and at the Alberta Coop.

Rox Chox Rox Chox Rox Chox is EVERYTHING!

Wow, we have been running all over the city making chocolate, looking at kitchens, calling distributors, printing labels, packaging, delivering, demoing, sampling.... and definitely eating our fair share, or more of Rox Chox!

We did not expect this to be so overwhelmingly busy-making but it turns out that there's a great demand for these yummy low-glycemic chocolates!  We are so happy to be sharing the bounty of raw organic sugar-free good-for-diabetics chocolates with everyone, and happy that people are enjoying treats that really treat them well.

So far you can find Rox Chox at People's Coop, Food Front Coop, the Alberta Coop and, Open Space Cafe in Portland, and on this here internet.  Spreading our wings, soon we'll be at a coop near you!