Q: How can I check my shipping status?

Tracking your delivery Once you complete the checkout process you will be taken to an order summary page where you can enter your phone numer and request shipping status updates via SMS. You will also find a link to track your order with the Shop app which offers detailed tracking information. https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/aDIvXXFAzR/resources/p944XJNFVG/Install%20the%20Shop%20App%20for%20Tracking.png (Install the Shop App for Tracking.png) Email notifications You will receive email notifications once your order has been dispactched/shipped and, if the information is available, when your order is out for delivery. You can click the Track my shipment button on any of the emails to be taken to the tracking page for the shipping provider chosen. https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/aDIvXXFAzR/resources/XcCbBYOafz/Email%20confirmation.png (Email confirmation.png) We're always available to assist in the event that you don't find the information you are looking for. You can contact us via: Phone/SMS (USA) : +1 (805) 600-8625 Phone (Ecuador) : +593 23227520 Email : hello@toakchocolate.com

Question 1

What are your shipping rates & shipping policy?

Accepted Answer

USA

Free shipping to the USA for orders of USD $75.

Rates: Standard shipping: USPS ($12.50 for orders under $75 or free for orders of $75 and above).

Cut off time for same day dispatch: 8am Mountain Time, Monday to Friday excluding US/Utah public holidays

Standard delivery times: 3-4 working days to most destinations, unless 2-day or overnight express options is chosen

Most orders are dispatched from Utah, USA.

Rest of the world (ex. Ecuador)

Free shipping to the Rest of the World for orders of USD $175.

Standard shipping: UPS or DHL ($35 for orders under $175 or free for orders of $175 and above).

Cut off time for same day dispatch: 8am Mountain Time, Monday to Friday excluding US/Utah public holidays

Standard delivery times: 5-7 working days to most destinations

Most orders are dispatched from Utah, USA.

Ecuador

Orders for Ecuador can be collected from our office in Quito (please contact us) or we deliver to major cities in Ecuador with Servientrega (free of charge).

Sipping Insurance

All online orders receive complimentary shipping insurance. Read the details here.

Countries we cannot ship to or that require additional paperwork

There are a small number of countries we cannot ship to due to the import restrictions that those countries impose on foodstuffs. Currently we cannot ship to:

Mexico
Venezuela
Russia

The following countries may require additional information (such as ID number) or paperwork to be completed for the order to clear customs:

Spain
India
Turkey
China
Liechtenstein
Colombia
Poland
Korea

What does my shipping protection cover?

Please get in touch with us for lost, stolen or damaged packages in the unfortunate case that they arise.

What if my order is marked "Delivered" but it is stolen? And when can I file a claim?

We ask that you wait 5 days from the day the package was marked delivered before requesting a replacement or refund. It is common for packages to be scanned as delivered and not show up for a few days. Stolen claims must be filed within 15 days from the date it was marked delivered.

What if my order is lost? And when can I file a claim?

An item is considered lost if it never is reported as Delivered. This can also include if your order has been stuck in any shipping state OTHER than "Delivered" You may file a claim if enough time has been allowed for delivery to take place and it's well past the expected delivery date, or if your order is stuck in a shipping state other than "Delivered"

What if my order arrives damaged? And when can I file a claim?

If your item arrives damaged, unusable, or otherwise in an unacceptable condition, we invite you to file a claim right away. Please remember to include pictures of the item(s) and packaging. Claims for damaged item(s) can be filed right away. Damaged claims must be filed within 15 days from the date it was marked delivered.

Please note it is important (in the case of damaged products) that you take a photo/s of the damage as it is very difficult for us to assist in resolving a damage claim without a photo.

How do I file a claim?

Take a photo of any damage.
Submit the claim information and photo (if available) to us at hello@toakchocolate.com with a brief explanation of the issue.
We aim to resolve claims within 5 working days of submission.

More Questions?

Use a keyword or phrase in the search box above or contact us via phone, SMS, WhatsApp, email or social and we are happy to help.

Question 3

Why is To'ak Chocolate expensive and what makes it unique?

Accepted Answer

Why is To'ak chocolate expensive?

We purchase cacao directly from the cacao growers we work with in Piedra de Plata, and we pay the highest price per pound of freshly-harvested cacao in the country. As far as we know, we also pay the highest price per pound in the entire world.

The reason we’re happy to pay our cacao growers such a high price is because the cacao trees they manage are among the oldest in the world, and represent one of the last surviving remnants of what is now the rarest cacao variety in the world: Ecuador’s legendary “Ancient Nacional” cacao. By the end of the twentieth century, this historic variety was believed to be extinct. We found a valley where some of the last surviving trees still grow.

Specifically, we pay a farmgate price that is 200% to 700% above the local price for “wet cacao.” Most cacao growers in Ecuador have no other choice but to sell their unfermented cacao to local intermediaries who typically pay $25 for a 100-pound sack. We pay $75-200 per sack of wet cacao, depending on the age of the trees that the cacao was harvested from—with the oldest trees fetching the highest price.

We also exclusively produce limited editions of chocolate, with each bar packaged—in the case of our Origin bars—in handcrafted hardwood boxes, each of which is individually engraved with the bar number. Each bar also comes with tasting utensils and a booklet that tells the story behind this chocolate and includes a tasting guide. Details like this require a high degree of skilled and meticulous labor.

We also invest part of our earnings into a long-term project to preserve an ancient heirloom cacao variety currently on the brink of extinction.

For a deeper dive into why our chocolate is priced the way it is, feel free to check out: “Why the Most Expensive Chocolate in the World?”

What makes it unique?

Our chocolate is sourced from the rarest cacao variety in the world ("Ancient Nacional"), previously believed to be extinct.
We've made it our mission to preserve and restore Heirloom Nacional cacao with our rainforest conservation partner Third Millennium Alliance.
We produce chocolate from tree to bar. Not only do we make chocolate, we also cultivate cacao, we ferment and dry it ourselves, and produce the final product - all in Ecuador, the native origin of cacao.
We produce extremely limited editions, often as little as 100 bars per edition.
We make single origin Ecuadorian dark chocolate like a French winemaker produces vintage wine. This means that we exclusively produce single origin, single harvest chocolate that is aimed at expressing the unique terroir of the appellation in which it is grown.
We age our chocolate the way whisky producers age their whisky, using a variety of different barrels sourced from around the world, such as Cognac, Laphroaig Whisky, Sherry, Sauternes, Don Juio Tequila, etc. We also use different types of Ecuadorian wood and other vessels that are carefully selected for their extractable aroma compounds. To’ak is the first tree-to-bar chocolate maker that comprehensively applies this principle to chocolate.
Our roots are in rainforest conservation. To’ak was born from a rainforest conservation project that co-founder Jerry Toth started in Ecuador in 2007. Through his nonprofit foundation Third Millennium Alliance, he helped create a forest preserve along the coastal mountain range. It was here that he began cultivating cacao trees and making chocolate by hand in a thatched bamboo house secluded in the middle of the forest.
We take our social and environmental impact seriously, starting with paying cacao growers the highest prices in the industry through an intimate direct trade relationship. We've built a technology platform for cacao traceability, we upcycle cacao byproducts to create additional revenue streams for farmers, among other several other initiatives.
Our packaging is a work of art. Our Origin bars are packaged in responsibly-sourced handcrafted hardwood boxes that are individually engraved with the bar number. The box includes hand-made tasting utensils and an illustrative booklet that tells the story behind each edition and provides a guide to dark chocolate tasting and pairing. Our Signature bars apply this same attention to artful design, but with a minimalist touch.
As members of the “purist” wing of the industry, To’ak specializes in “two-ingredient” chocolate, using only cacao and cane sugar—both of which are organic. The small addition of cane sugar is akin to a few drops of water added to a glass of whisky—it softens the inherent bitterness just enough to reveal the finer, more subtle flavor characteristics of their unique and extraordinarily rare cacao.
To’ak chocolate has been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, L.A. Times, Wine Spectator, Fortune Magazine, The Guardian, Robb Report,

The short answer is no, but ...

We do not add alcohol to any of our products. Some of our Aged editions have been aged in empty casks or barrels that previously stored alcohol. In this case, aroma compounds from the cask/barrel impregnate the chocolate and impart different aromas. We have conducted laboratory testing and the lab was unable to detect any ethanol/alcohol (i.e. the reading was below their minimum threshold). Although it is unlikely, it is possible that trace amounts of alcohol could enter the chocolate.

The short answer is no, but we produce in a factory that also handles some allergens

Our chocolate is produced at a factory that also handles nuts, peanuts, soy, and milk, but we do not intentionally add any of these ingredients to our chocolate.

The equipment we use is thoroughly cleaned between production batches and therefore it is unlikely that there are nut, soy or milk traces in our chocolate, however if you or the person you are thinking to purchase for has a severe allergy, it may not be worth the risk.

Beautiful cacao inspired wrapping paper

Yes! We offer gift wrapping and we can also include a message on a hand written card. You will find the option as a check-box on the product page. You can also leave a note in the special instructions field in your shopping cart.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/aDIvXXFAzR/resources/FJpbbaVei3/Gift%20Wrapping%20Check%20Box.png (Gift Wrapping Check Box.png)

More Questions?

Use a keyword or phrase in the search box above or contact us via phone, SMS, WhatsApp, email or social and we are happy to help.

Question 9

How can I check my shipping status?

Accepted Answer

Tracking your delivery

Once you complete the checkout process you will be taken to an order summary page where you can enter your phone numer and request shipping status updates via SMS. You will also find a link to track your order with the Shop app which offers detailed tracking information.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/aDIvXXFAzR/resources/p944XJNFVG/Install%20the%20Shop%20App%20for%20Tracking.png (Install the Shop App for Tracking.png)

Email notifications

You will receive email notifications once your order has been dispactched/shipped and, if the information is available, when your order is out for delivery.

You can click the Track my shipment button on any of the emails to be taken to the tracking page for the shipping provider chosen.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/aDIvXXFAzR/resources/XcCbBYOafz/Email%20confirmation.png (Email confirmation.png)

We're always available to assist in the event that you don't find the information you are looking for. You can contact us via:

Phone/SMS (USA): +1 (805) 600-8625

Phone (Ecuador): +593 23227520

Email: hello@toakchocolate.com

Question 10

How and why do you age your chocolate?

Accepted Answer

Aging Chocolate

Aged chocolate is a new phenomenon that To'ak has been pioneering since 2013. The process is grounded in the science of flavor extraction, and draws heavily from long-standing practices in both the wine and whisky traditions.

Chocolate has an interesting advantage in extracting flavor and aroma from the wood: namely, the absorptive oils that are naturally present in cacao.

Barrel Aging Applied to Chocolate

Cacao beans are roughly 50% fat. If you press a cacao bean with a great deal of strength, you can actually extract this fat, which is referred to as “cacao butter.” Cacao butter is used as an additive to some chocolates and also as a skin care product, among other uses. At To’ak, we usually don’t add extra cacao butter to our chocolate. But the cacao butter that is already naturally present in our chocolate is put to work during the aging process.

One of the interesting qualities of cacao butter is its remarkable ability to absorb other aromas.

The Element of Time

In some cases, aging chocolate takes many years—for example, our Ecuadorian wood-aged editions require long-term aging—up to six years so far. In other cases, a positive transformation is evident within one year—for example, our cognac edition—but the aroma continues to slowly improve over the course of many more years.

The value of this approach, as opposed to merely adding flavors at the point of production, is the subtlety and elegance of the aromas that are achieved. Over time, the flavor of the chocolate naturally evolves on its own through processes such as oxidation. Flavor extraction from barrels and other vessels adds another layer of complexity, which also evolves over time.

Doesn't Chocolate Spoil After Several Years?

Milk chocolate does spoil, because of the milk, but dark chocolate does not. The abundant tannins and polyphenols in cacao serve as a natural preservative. This study found that 80-year-old cocoa powder and 116-year-old cacao beans were still viable and "still show very high levels of antioxidant activity and flavan-3-ol content."

Many dark chocolate products have a "best by" date range of two years, but this is an entirely arbitrary number that isn't backed by any research. What is important, while storing or aging chocolate, is to keep it at a cool, consistent temperature and protected from direct sunlight.

We age our chocolate in the perpetually cool climes of the Andean city of Quito, Ecuador. The indoor temperature naturally hovers around 20° C (68° F), give or take one degree celsius, pretty much every minute of every day.

A New Frontier

There is no precedent for this. To’ak is the first chocolate maker to deeply explore aged chocolate, so we are learning as we go. In the process, we believe we are building a new system for the production of chocolate and the crafting of flavor and aroma—one which is based on the science of wine and whisky aging, and is implemented through the work of time.

Here’s the full article we wrote that explains why we do it and how it works.

How can we help?

Most popular

What are your shipping rates & shipping policy?

Do you offer shipping insurance? And how do I make a claim?

Why is To'ak Chocolate expensive and what makes it unique?

What can I do if my chocolate arrived damaged (broken, discolored or melted)?

Does your chocolate contain alcohol?

Does your chocolate contain nuts or other allergens?

What are the main steps in the production of your chocolate?

Do you offer gift wrapping?

How can I check my shipping status?

How and why do you age your chocolate?