Take a bite out of Buddha

A pastor's daughter builds a business selling chocolates shaped like sacred icons.


(FSB) -- To Sarah Hart, chocolate is next to godliness. After learning that the cacao tree's Latin botanical name, Theobroma, means "food of the gods," she had a vision: edible gods and icons. With the help of a sculptor friend, her Portland, Ore., kitchen was soon populated with silicon molds for Buddhas in various poses, the Virgin of Guadalupe, Quan Yin, hamsa hands, Sacred Hearts, and Celtic crosses. Hart tempers and molds the chocolate, then paints it with edible 23-karat gold leaf. After selling her creations at the Portland Farmers Market, she opened an Alma Chocolate (almachocolate.com) storefront in 2006. With three employees and an expanded line that includes truffles, caramels, and bonbons, Hart still focuses on icons, which now include Ganesh and tattoo art. ("Mom" is a big seller.) Still, she says, "I have had people get mad and think that I'm being disrespectful. They don't know where I'm coming from." Hart is the daughter of a Presbyterian pastor and is a certified spiritual director. She says the edible icons illustrate a central tenet of Buddhism: Nothing lasts forever.  Top of page

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.