General FAQs

Are your chocolates gluten-free?

Contrary to what some "free from" brands would like you to believe, ALL chocolate is naturally gluten-free and so you have to add an ingredient containing gluten for it to become an issue! None of our loose flavoured chocolates made in our chocolate kitchen in Dorset England contain gluten in their recipes.
We work with an oat m!lk chocolate produced in Colombia which is 100% plant-based and is also gluten-free as it is made with gluten-free oat powder. 
However we do include cereal balls in some seasonal novelty items and work with gluten for some UK-specific items, so we flag on all packaging that the item may contain wheat.

Are your chocolates suitable for vegetarians?

Yes, our chocolates are suitable for vegetarians. The only exception is our 'Full of Beans' bar and giant slab studded with mini naturally coloured chocolate beans. These beans include shellac in their coating which is debatable as to whether it is vegetarian, so we err on the side of caution and say that these products are not vegetarian.

Do your chocolates contain nuts?

Yes. We work with a variety of different nuts including hazelnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds, pistachios and brazils but not peanuts. As our chocolate kitchen is one room, we cannot guarantee that any of our chocolates, even if they do not overtly contain nuts, are 100% nut-free.

Can you guarantee that your non-nut based chocolates are "100% nut-free"?

No, we cannot give any 100% guarantee of any of our non-nut based chocolates being nut-free as stated above, we make all our chocolates in one room and, as a result, any of our chocolates may contain nut traces. 

Do any of your chocolates contain alcohol?

Yes, some of our chocolates & truffles have alcohol in them and are clearly marked as such in their product descriptions in the relevant selection box details & on the menu that comes with each box. Unlike lots of chocolate makers who use neutral alcohol as a preservative without advertising the fact, we do not do so. So unless it says so, our chocolates do not contain alcohol. None of our bars, slabs, clusters, novelty items contains any alcohol.

Do you make any chocolates suitable for vegans?

Yes, we make a wide selection of dark & oat m!lk chocolate items which are suitable for vegans as these chocolates are plant-based & naturally vegan-friendly. This includes our full range of oat m!lk & dark chocolate studded slabs, assorted dark chocolate treats in cartons, novelties including ducks, turtles, lobsters, dipped orange segments,dipped turkish delight, boxes of vegan-friendly or ginger chocolates, 70-100% hot chocolate flakes & origin bars...you get the idea that there is a lot! There is a vegan-friendly category in our online shop to make it really easy to find all our vegan-friendly chocolates. Whilst all our dark & oat m!lk chocolate vegan-friendly items comply with vegan requirements in terms of their recipes, please be aware that we cannot guarantee that they are 100% free from any traces of dairy etc as we do make all our chocolates in one room.

Do you make any dairy-free chocolates?

Yes, we do make a wide selection of items in dark & oat m!lk chocolate that do not contain any dairy and are therefore also suitable for vegans. However, we cannot guarantee that they will be 100% dairy-free as we make everything in one room & do work with milk and other dairy products.

Why is your Oat M!lk chocolate spelt with an !?

This is because it is a milk chocolate plant-based equivalent product in that it is made with gluten-free dried oat powder instead of dried whole milk powder. It is an attempt by the powers that be to show that it is made with a different type of milk to cows milk. We quite like the ! as it does make it stand out & hopefully make the point! We love the oat m!lk product as it tastes just like a classic milk chocolate but without the dairy or nuts or gluten. There are quite a few milk alternatives on the market made with cashew, hazelnut or almond, which, while they address the dairy issue, don't help if someone wants to avoid nuts as well!

What colourings do you use and are they all suitable for vegetarians & vegans?

We only work with natural colours and minerals, all of which are vegan-friendly. We do not work with any of the 6 'azo' colours which if used, have to come with a warning that they might make children hyperactive (yes really!) and we also don't work with any non-azo colours which are not vegetarian or vegan-friendly. As a result, we are v restricted in the colours we use and that is why you will notice that none of our chocolates are as brightly or as strongly coloured as some chocolatiers achieve as we can only work with natural fruit & vegetable extracts. The edible shimmers are made of minerals (iron oxides) and are dusted on with paintbrushes so the amounts used are tiny.

Do you work with raw egg in your chocolate kitchen?

No. In the UK we make a chocolate containing lemon curd, but it comes to us already cooked & it is not part of our NYC range.

Do you work with diabetic chocolate?

No, we do not work with any "diabetic" chocolate as to be honest, we dont believe in it! We only work with fine quality dark chocolate which means low sugar levels of 30-25% and less. Such high quality dark chocolate also has a low glycaemic index. We understand that there is much debate about the quality & role of "diabetic" foods within the diabetic community & that they may not actually be that good for diabetics. In the UK, we advise our customers to check with Diabetes UK & the UK Food Standards Agency. We suggest for the US, that you consult your doctor or the American Diabetes Association.

Does your chocolate contain soy?

All our milk, oat m!lk, blonde and nearly all dark chocolate grades from Ecuador, Colombia & Cameroon are soy-free (they either contain sunflower lecithin or no lecithin at all). Our white chocolate & 58% dark chocolate (only used in our Triple Chocolate bars) do however contain a small amount of soy lecithin and this is flagged on packaging.

Our Chocolate

Do you make your chocolate from cocoa beans?

No. We work with "couverture" chocolate as do most artisan chocolatiers. It comes to us in large blocks or buttons for us to then temper & create our beautiful chocolates. Making couverture from beans is a different skill base & one that also requires a lot of space & machinery that we do not have. We liken ourselves to being like bakers - they work with flour to make their artisan breads, we work with couverture that has been processed for us, to make all our chocolates. We also strongly believe in working with fine couverture chocolate that is Direct Trade ie: it is processed in its country of origin - from the cocoa beans to the chocolate. This means working with fresher beans, local sugar (& milk if milk chocolate) & importantly, local labour which keeps more of the value chain in the local economy which is better than exporting commodity dried cocoa beans, even fairtrade beans, to be processed in the West. For more information about all the chocolates we work with, see Our Chocolates Sourcing page.

Why do your selection boxes have grids inside and how do I access the chocolates easily?

We have had cardboard grids in our selection boxes ever since we launched the business for 2 reasons - to ensure the chocolates travel safely as they cannot bash into each other in transit & also as they are cardboard! We refused to use the plastic trays you see in so many other chocolate selection boxes back in 2002 and we will never use them! If you find it difficult to extract the chocolates, just remove the grid dividers and you will find it very easy to get the chocolates out.

Shipping & Delivery

Do you deliver on Saturdays & Sundays?

[PLACEHOLDER: original references UK postie Saturday rounds / no Sunday delivery. Replace with US carrier weekend delivery details.]

Do you ship in hot weather?

As & when we start US deliveries, we will monitor the weather conditions in the summer and, as in the UK, reserve the right to pause deliveries in hot weather! We will inform you if we have made that decision as noone wants to receive chocolate soup!

Do you send chocolates overseas?

Our UK website sends parcels nationwide within the UK only, not to Europe or any other international destinations.
The plan is for the US site to deliver States-wide.

What happens if no one is in to receive the chocolates?

This will be confirmed when we start postal deliveries

Gifts & Orders

Can I include a gift message with the item I have ordered?

UK orders can have a free gift message with every order. This service for the US will be confirmed when we start US postal fulfilment

Do you include a delivery note showing the price of the item(s) in the box?

We do not include the price of the item in UK postal deliveries. This will be confirmed when we start US postal fulfillment

Storage & Shelf Life

How do I store my chocolates after purchase?

We advise that all our chocolate items are stored somewhere cool, dry and away from direct sunlight, heat sources or strong odours. That means not near radiators, windows or strong cheese folks! By the way, be wary of storing chocolates in your garage if you use that for other food or drink items, as contrary to popular belief, mice actually prefer chocolate to cheese, as some of our customers have discovered to their cost over the years. Our chocolates are happiest stored at c14-16 degrees (an old fashioned pantry would be perfect for them), but if the only cool place in your house is the fridge, they can be stored there (but away from that cheese or any other strong flavours you may have in there!). Just like cheese though, the flavours are best if the chocolates are brought back to room temperature before being eaten.

Can I freeze my selection box to save the chocolates to eat at a later date than the 'Use By' label says?

Yes! We recommend that you wrap the box in clingfilm, or some kind of wrapping, to keep moisture down & to defrost the box slowly. The chocolates will lose their shine, and some may go a bit 'tacky' to touch but they will taste fine. Co-founder Claire's mum has been the chief tester for freezing Chococo chocolates as she spent many years living in the tropics and is a big fan of freezing things to extend shelf lives!