We always have complimentary gift cards available to add to your order during the checkout process. When nominating your shipping address in step 2 of the order process, ensure 'personalized message' is checked, and write your message for the recipient into the space provided. During Christmas and Easter we have seasonal gift cards available to suit your purchase. If you do not choose to send a gift card, the recipient will receive the gift anonymously. 

Compounded chocolate is made with vegetable fat instead of cocoa butter, and since chocolate derives a lot of its flavour from the cocoa butter component, compounded chocolate does not have the same rich flavour. The most expensive ingredient in chocolate is cocoa butter, and the use of vegetable fat substitute means that compounded chocolate is also much cheaper to produce.

We constantly add new products to the site, especially seasonal ranges such as Christmas, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Valentines Day and Easter. Occasionally products are not available due to being sold out or simply no longer manufactured. Please enquire if you can't find a favourite!

We currently accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Paypal. 

Please contact your nearest Chocolate Box store or order online.

Chocolate should be stored in a cool place at room temperature away from strong light. We don't recommend refrigeration of couverture chocolate, which is used in most The Chocolate Box products. The other type of chocolate, called compound, is a more robust but generally not as high quality type of chocolate that may be less affected by refrigeration. Chocolate should be kept away from extremes of heat and cold, and away from strongly smelling foods like onions.

CARING FOR CHOCOLATE

Below are some helpful hints on the care of your chocolate.

Store the product in a cool, dry and ventilated room.
Keep away from strong light temperature: 14-22° centigrade, humidity: preferably less than 50%.

Use air conditioning where possible and avoid fluctuations in temperature as these may cause condensation to the product. Avoid dampness as the chocolate develops a sugar bloom when moisture collects on the surface of the chocolate. Chocolate stored in overly warm conditions will show fat bloom, which is caused when stable cocoa butter crystals melt, reform as the unstable variety and then transform back to larger crystals that appear on the surface. Neither type of bloom renders the chocolate unusable. It just doesn't look as fresh.

If you need to refrigerate, place chocolates in an airtight container then wrap the container in a towel before placing in the fridge. When you wish to use the chocolate remove from fridge, leaving container wrapped in the towel, until it has warmed to room temperature. It will then be less likely that blooming will occur.

Follow our detailed instructions below to perfectly temper high quality chocolate:

1. Using a double-boiler, or two saucepans of varying size, place the chocolate pieces in the smaller saucepan. Fill the second saucepan with water and heat to a low temperature of approximately 45°C

2. Place the saucepan containing the chocolate over the second saucepan and allow the chocolate to melt slowly. Heat very gently, stirring regularly to avoid burning the chocolate. DO NOT allow the cooking temperature to exceed 50°C, and never heat your chocolate over a naked flame.

3. Cool chocolate to a temperature of approximately 27°C for milk chocolate, or 27°C to 28°C for dark chocolate by leaving on a marble or cold table, or by submerging your saucepan partly into cold water. Stir continually, constantly scraping the chocolate from the sides of the bowl. Take care that no water is allowed into the chocolate as the mixture will become thick and unusable.

4. Return the saucepan of chocolate to the pot of warm water, stirring constantly, raise the temperature of the chocolate to 30°C- 32°C for dark chocolate or 29°C - 31°C for milk chocolate. The chocolate is now ready for moulding or dipping. Centres for dipping should be at 20°C - 25°C.

5. Cool finished products at 14°C - 18°C in a dry place. DO NOT refrigerate, or risk condensation.

6. Unused chocolate can be removed and re-used in the above manner.

All of our chocolates sold via our online store have between a 3 - 18 month best before date. Weekly deliveries are made to our warehouse in Port Melbourne of fresh stock, due to the high turnover between our retail and online stores, especially during peak seasonal times. 

The only exception to this policy is fresh product like our seasonal winter snowballs which has a 2 to 6 week best before/use by date, with every effort made to supply our freshest dated stock to our online store. 

Fair Trade

The term "fair trade" describes cocoa products that have been certified by a certification body in order to ensure that producers in developing countries obtain improved pricing, better working conditions and sustainability. The certifying body Fair-trade, Australia and New Zealand has the following objective:

"Fair-trade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices, Fair-trade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives."The Chocolate Box supports the above objectives through the association of its suppliers of cocoa products with the international organisations including World Cocoa Foundation and International Cocoa Initiative. 

For further information please refer:
International Cocoa Initiative www.worldcocoafoundation.org 
World Cocoa Foundation www.worldcocoafoundation.org

Child Slavery

From October 8th, we are including a free product sample "taster" in each order (if you agree to it), so our online customers can try some of the delicious products we sample in our stores.

To opt-in, click on the checkbox "Yes, I would like a free sample product included with my order", located on the cart page above the shipping calculator.

Here is an example of some of the products we sampled during October. Opt-in to get a sample "surprise" during November/December with your order. 

Please note the sample size is only a small taster sample of our products, not a "full size" product. If an advertised sample is unavailable on a particular week, we will substitute it with an alternate sample.

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Simply email your question to enquiries@chocolatebox.com.au and we will endeavour to send a reply within 24 hours. Alternatively, you can ring our Melbourne head office on (03) 9676 6401.

Coming Soon!

The Chocolate Box's gift cards will soon be available for purchase in our retail stores. Please click here to read our terms and conditions.