I had walked past Nutty Delights in the George's Street arcade but thankfully a voice in my head told me to double back to try a sample. The lady attending the stall, Wish (that's her name), has a full selection of samples to try out and is very friendly and helpful. I ended up with a bag of smoked almonds and crunchy barbecue cashews. I've had several varieties of smoked almond before and these ones get the gold medal (or perhaps joint gold), and the BBQ cashews were even better. At €2.80 per 100 grams (€12.60 per lb.) they were a bit on the pricey side - I'd expect them to be organic for that price. If you want to try them out on a budget, peanuts are €1.80 per 100 g. Or just drop by for a free sample!
I'm giving them 4/5 "green stars" for social and environmental impact. I like that each basket of nuts has a notice listing the country of origin and suitability for vegans. As far as I know, all of their coatings are vegan-friendly, gluten-free and contain no preservatives. The country of origin is important to know when buying nuts since there are serious human rights and labor issues associated with nuts from certain countries, for example cashews from Vietnam and hazelnuts from Turkey. Nutty delights provide paper bags with a clear cellophane window, which are entirely compostable or recyclable. They also encourage customers to bring their own bags or containers - they are popular with zero-waste and plastic-free folk. (Bulk foods are not so widely available in Ireland.) Apparently they can stock organic nuts on demand - some, like almonds are quite heavy on pesticide use and some conventional growers can put stress on bee populations (by transporting them long distances for pollination and exposing them to pesticides). Sourcing from specific growers (preferably organic) can also help ensure that there are no serious labor issues.
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