Question 1

Do you test for heavy metals like Cadmium in your chocolate?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we regularly test our chocolate for heavy metals, and we’re happy to report that the levels of both cadmium and lead are safe. In fact, our chocolate has some of the lowest levels in Ecuador.

Cadmium:

Lead:

READ MORE about if you should be concerned about heavy metals in dark chocolate HERE.

Percentages

In terms of chocolate bars, our lowest percentage bar is 73% cacao (from our 2015 harvest) which is the based of our Tequila Cask Aged bars, and it was made with the intention to be a very gentle dark chocolate. Our 2017 harvest also has a relatively low cacao percentage of 76%. In addition, our Galapagos Harvest has a fudge-like texture and taste which many people who enjoy milk chocolate will find this chocolate very approachable.

You should also take a look at our cacao powder and drinking chocolate, which you can add milk or additional sweeteners to, if you so desire.

No to low bitterness

All of our chocolate is made with the highest quality fine flavor cacao beans. We're also meticulous when it comes to important post-harvest and productions steps such as fermentation, sun-drying, roasting and conching. This attention to detail means that a bar of To'ak chocolate is much less bitter than most supermarket bought dark chocolate bars. Therefore you can feel confident being a little more adventurous with cacao percentage.

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 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 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.

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 that in almost all cases our chocolate only contains two ingredients

The complete and accurate ingredient list of each product is available on the product page of our website and on the package of each product. The only ingredients in nearly all of our products are organic cacao beans and organic cane sugar.

The exceptions to our "two ingredient" bars are:

El Niño Harvest 2016 100% Cacao contains only one ingredient (organic cacao)
T.cacao Everyday 100% Cacao Powder contains only one ingredient (organic cacao)
Galapagos Harvest 2018 contains three ingredients (cacao, cane sugar, and cacao butter — pressed from the same beans)

Perhaps the question is how long you can wait?

Officially, the shelf life of dark chocolate is two years. Unofficially, it should last much longer than that - there are documented reports of dark chocolate still being edible after 100 years of storage. We have chocolate bars that have been stored in our office for us to six years, that are still in excellent condition. But we don’t recommend waiting that long to eat your chocolate.

Read about our storage recommendations.

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.

Art Series

Origin Bars

50g (1.76 oz) bar of single origin dark chocolate
Full color book covering cacao and chocolate
Full color mini booklet with specific notes about the edition
Bamboo tasting utensil
Handcrafted hardwood box, individually engraved with individual bar number and edition
Artistic presentation box.Origin Collection page

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

9 or 18 individually wrapped 3—4g mini bar of single origin dark chocolate
6 page mini booklet with tasting notes, tasting & pairing guide, and tasting notes exercise sheet
Minimalistic presentation box.Mini Bar Collection page

T.cacao

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

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)

Do you test for heavy metals like Cadmium in your chocolate?

I prefer milk chocolate or lighter chocolate. What do you recommend for me?

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

Does your chocolate contain nuts or other allergens?

Does your chocolate contain alcohol?

What ingredients are in your chocolate?

Does your chocolate have an expiration date?

What is the difference between Harvest editions and Aged editions?

What is included with each product?

Do you offer gift wrapping?