Q: Is your chocolate certified organic?

Organic Certification Yes, all of our chocolate is certified USDA Organic (with the EU equivalent), with the exception of our Galapagos edition. The cacao for our Galapagos edition is sourced from only two small farms, both of which abide by organic standards and do not use any synthetic chemicals or other prohibited substances in their farm. Their decision to not certify their farms was an economic one: they don’t produce enough cacao to cover the high cost and heavy administrative burden of organic certification. Read about our social and environmental commitments (including how we are paying the highest prices to farmers, going beyond certification, up-cycling product, and protecting endangered varieties of cacao). 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 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

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.

More Questions?

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

Question 5

What are your Terms of Service?

Accepted Answer

OVERVIEW

This website is operated by To'ak Chocolate. Throughout the site, the terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to To'ak Chocolate. To'ak Chocolate offers this website, including all information, tools and services available from this site to you, the user, conditioned upon your acceptance of all terms, conditions, policies and notices stated here.

By visiting our site and/ or purchasing something from us, you engage in our “Service” and agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions (“Terms of Service”, “Terms”), including those additional terms and conditions and policies referenced herein and/or available by hyperlink. These Terms of Service apply to all users of the site, including without limitation users who are browsers, vendors, customers, merchants, and/ or contributors of content.

Please read these Terms of Service carefully before accessing or using our website. By accessing or using any part of the site, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the website or use any services. If these Terms of Service are considered an offer, acceptance is expressly limited to these Terms of Service.

Any new features or tools which are added to the current store shall also be subject to the Terms of Service. You can review the most current version of the Terms of Service at any time on this page. We reserve the right to update, change or replace any part of these Terms of Service by posting updates and/or changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the website following the posting of any changes constitutes acceptance of those changes.

Our store is hosted on Shopify Inc. They provide us with the online e-commerce platform that allows us to sell our products and services to you.

SECTION 1 - ONLINE STORE TERMS

By agreeing to these Terms of Service, you represent that you are at least the age of majority in your state or province of residence, or that you are the age of majority in your state or province of residence and you have given us your consent to allow any of your minor dependents to use this site.

SECTION 2 - GENERAL CONDITIONS

We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time.

SECTION 3 - ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND TIMELINESS OF INFORMATION

We are not responsible if information made available on this site is not accurate, complete or current. The material on this site is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting primary, more accurate, more complete or more timely sources of information. Any reliance on the material on this site is at your own risk.

SECTION 4 - MODIFICATIONS TO THE SERVICE AND PRICES

Prices for our products are subject to change without notice.

**SECTION 5 - PRODUCTS OR SERVICES (if applicable) **

Certain products or services may be available exclusively online through the website. These products or services may have limited quantities and are subject to return or exchange only according to our Return Policy.

SECTION 6 - ACCURACY OF BILLING AND ACCOUNT INFORMATION

We reserve the right to refuse any order you place with us. We may, in our sole discretion, limit or cancel quantities purchased per person, per household or per order. These restrictions may include orders placed by or under the same customer account, the same credit card, and/or orders that use the same billing and/or shipping address. In the event that we make a change to or cancel an order, we may attempt to notify you by contacting the e‑mail and/or billing address/phone number provided at the time the order was made. We reserve the right to limit or prohibit orders that, in our sole judgment, appear to be placed by dealers, resellers or distributors.

You agree to provide current, complete and accurate purchase and account information for all purchases made at our store. You agree to promptly update your account and other information, including your email address and credit card numbers and expiration dates, so that we can complete your transactions and contact you as needed.

For more detail, please review our Returns Policy.

SECTION 7 - OPTIONAL TOOLS

We may provide you with access to third-party tools over which we neither monitor nor have any control nor input.

**SECTION 8 - THIRD-PARTY LINKS **

Certain content, products and services available via our Service may include materials from third-parties.

SECTION 9 - USER COMMENTS, FEEDBACK AND OTHER SUBMISSIONS

If, at our request, you send certain specific submissions or without a request from us you send creative ideas, suggestions, proposals, plans, or other materials, whether online, by email, by postal mail, or otherwise (collectively, 'comments'), you agree that we may, at any time, without restriction, edit, copy, publish, distribute, translate and otherwise use in any medium any comments that you forward to us. We are and shall be under no obligation (1) to maintain any comments in confidence; (2) to pay compensation for any comments; or (3) to respond to any comments.

SECTION 10 - PERSONAL INFORMATION

Your submission of personal information through the store is governed by our Privacy Policy. To view our Privacy Policy.

SECTION 11 - ERRORS, INACCURACIES AND OMISSIONS

Occasionally there may be information on our site or in the Service that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies or omissions that may relate to product descriptions, pricing, promotions, offers, product shipping charges, transit times and availability. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, and to change or update information or cancel orders if any information in the Service or on any related website is inaccurate at any time without prior notice (including after you have submitted your order).

SECTION 12 - PROHIBITED USES

In addition to other prohibitions as set forth in the Terms of Service, you are prohibited from using the site or its content: (a) for any unlawful purpose; (b) to solicit others to perform or participate in any unlawful acts; (c) to violate any international, federal, provincial or state regulations, rules, laws, or local ordinances; (d) to infringe upon or violate our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others; (e) to harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate, or discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, age, national origin, or disability; (f) to submit false or misleading information; (g) to upload or transmit viruses or any other type of malicious code that will or may be used in any way that will affect the functionality or operation of the Service or of any related website, other websites, or the Internet; (h) to collect or track the personal information of others; (i) to spam, phish, pharm, pretext, spider, crawl, or scrape; (j) for any obscene or immoral purpose; or (k) to interfere with or circumvent the security features of the Service or any related website, other websites, or the Internet. We reserve the right to terminate your use of the Service or any related website for violating any of the prohibited uses.

SECTION 13 - DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

We do not guarantee, represent or warrant that your use of our service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free.

SECTION 14 - INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless To'ak Chocolate and our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, officers, directors, agents, contractors, licensors, service providers, subcontractors, suppliers, interns and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third-party due to or arising out of your breach of these Terms of Service or the documents they incorporate by reference, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third-party.

SECTION 15 - SEVERABILITY

In the event that any provision of these Terms of Service is determined to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, such provision shall nonetheless be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and the unenforceable portion shall be deemed to be severed from these Terms of Service, such determination shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any other remaining provisions.

SECTION 16 - TERMINATION

The obligations and liabilities of the parties incurred prior to the termination date shall survive the termination of this agreement for all purposes.

SECTION 17 - ENTIRE AGREEMENT

The failure of us to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

SECTION 18 - GOVERNING LAW

These Terms of Service and any separate agreements whereby we provide you Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of United States.

SECTION 19 - CHANGES TO TERMS OF SERVICE

You can review the most current version of the Terms of Service at any time at this page.

SECTION 20 - CONTACT INFORMATION

Questions about the Terms of Service should be sent to us at hello@toakchocolate.com.

Question 6

Does your chocolate contain nuts or other allergens?

Accepted Answer

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.

Art Series

50g (1.76 oz) bar of single origin dark chocolate
Limited edition numbered artistic print
Certificate of authenticity
Full color mini book covering cacao, chocolate & art
Copper tasting plate
Bamboo tasting utensil
Handcrafted hardwood box, individually engraved with individual bar number and edition
Artistic presentation box.Art Series Product page

Origin Bars

Signature Bars

50g (1.76 oz) bar of single origin dark chocolate
6 page mini booklet with tasting notes, tasting & pairing guide, and tasting notes exercise sheet
Minimalistic presentation box.Signature Collection page

Mini Bar Selections

T.cacao

200g — 250g (depending on edition) of single origin cacao or drinking chocolate powder.T.cacao Collection page

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 those countries impose on foodstuffs. The countries we cannot ship to include but are not limited to:

Mexico
Russia
Venezuela
Peru

If you don't find your country in our shipping address form then it is likely that we cannot ship to your country. However, you are welcome to contact us to check if we can make an exception.

Additional information may be required

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

India
Turkey
China
Liechtenstein
Colombia
Poland

We will contact you shortly after your order should we need further information to initiate your shipment or ensure it clears customs.

The difference in brief

Our Harvest editions are harvested from a specific appellation during a specific year (similar to wine), with the objective to highlight the unique flavor and aroma characteristics that are created by the unique soil and climate conditions of that particular harvest (i.e., “terroir”).

Our Aged editions are Harvest editions that have been aged in some kind of aromatic vessel (eg, casks that formerly stored wine or spirits, or Ecuadorian wood vessels) or have been aged in the same container as some other aromatic material (eg, Kampot pepper or Palo Santo wood).

A little more detail on the differences

Our Harvest editions express the unique climatic and growing conditions of each particular harvest year. It's quite amazing to taste totally different chocolate made from cacao that is harvested from exactly the same trees each year. What we can taste are the unique changes in sunshine, rainfall, and factors such as soil nutrients that evolve over time. In the world of wine this is referred to as terroir. We consider our Harvest editions to be terroir-driven expressions of dark chocolate.

Our Aged editions, make up our most innovative collection, where we attempt to push the boundaries of what is possible with chocolate flavor development. The concept was born out of our admiration for whisky and wine production techniques. Approximately 70% of the aroma and flavour in a whisky comes from the cask that it is aged in. Our Aged editions demonstrate the flavour progression of chocolate over time and how this can be enhanced with extractable aromas from barrels and other mediums. We developed this technique with some assistance from the oenology team at Washington State University. Their team predict that we can age our chocolate (thanks to the antioxidants, tanins and lack of perishable ingredients) for upwards of 20 years. You can read more on this blog article about our aging program.

Review our FAQ on How and why do you age your chocolate?

In summary, the main differences are as follows. Our Harvest editions are bold, terrior-driven, expressions of the valley where we harvest our cacao and they are emblematic of the very special Ecuadorian Nacional cacao variety. They are typically highly complex in aroma and flavour.

How can we help?

Most popular

What are your shipping rates & shipping policy?

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

My chocolate/package arrived damaged, what should I do next?

Does your chocolate contain alcohol?

What are your Terms of Service?

Does your chocolate contain nuts or other allergens?

What is included with each product?

Do you ship to my country?

What is the difference between Harvest editions and Aged editions?

Is your chocolate certified organic?