9 WAYS TO BURN 9 CALORIES = 1 TANGLE CHOCOLATE THIN!

Q: What is your shipping policy?

Warm weather policy starts April 19, 2021: We want you to receive your chocolate in perfect condition and as quickly as possible. In warm weather, we ship on Mondays and Tuesdays (and Wednesday if the destination is close enough to guarantee arrival before the weekend). We add insulation and an ice pack at no charge, and we strongly encourage you to choose an expedited shipping method if your order is traveling outside of New England. We cannot be responsible for chocolate that is heat-damaged when you open it, so please have someone be home when your package is expected to arrive or provide a safe, cool delivery spot. We may need to delay shipment altogether if the weather is too hot here or there, and will notify you if this happens. You will receive an email when your package ships. We do not ship internationally at this time.

Q: What is your return policy?

Your chocolate is shipped in perfect condition and, as described above, we take every precaution to make sure it arrives in perfect condition as well. If it is damaged in transit, we will gladly replace it but cannot refund shipping costs. We cannot accept the return or exchange of chocolate that was received intact. Having said that, if you are unhappy with your order, we hope you will reach out to us. Our products are created for you, and we want to hear if we need to make changes to our product, our shipping methods, or anything else in order to keep you as a happy customer.

Q: How should I store my chocolate?

Best is to keep it between 65 and 70 degrees and in low humidity (less than 55%) and darkness, like a pantry or cupboard. Refrigeration is a good choice as long as you first put it in something else with as little air as possible such as a baggie with the air forced out. Please let it come to room temperature before enjoying it. Hot temperatures as well as big swings in temperature make chocolate “bloom” or go out of temper, meaning the cocoa butter separates from the cocoa solids. When this happens, although there is nothing wrong with the chocolate, it will have chalky whitish/greyish patterns (that’s the cocoa butter) and a different mouthfeel. When stored in ideal conditions, your chocolate can be enjoyed long after you got it, but we like it the most when it’s as fresh as possible.

Q: What does 70% mean?

It refers to the percentage of cacao by weight in the finished chocolate. Because Tangle Chocolate has only two ingredients, you know that our chocolate consists of 70% cacao and 30% sugar.

Q: Do you make other kinds of chocolate besides 70% dark?

Not right now...but what do you think we should make next? Please let us know!

Q: What's the big deal about Tangle Chocolate being freshly made?

Some foods improve with age, such as wine and many cheeses. Others lose some of their taste over time. We find that the flavors in chocolate mellow. Now, this may not concern you, and you may have been perfectly content your whole life with chocolate that arrived in a shop perhaps many months before you purchased it. But we invite you to try our chocolate and see if you notice a difference in the number and quality of distinct flavors straight from the cacao bean that you can taste.

Q: Is Tangle Chocolate single-origin? And what does that mean?

Yes, Tangle Chocolate is single origin. That means that all of the cacao beans used in our chocolate are from the same region. Those cacao trees experience the same soil, weather, altitude and so on that contribute to the distinct flavor of the chocolate. Tangle Chocolate uses cacao beans from a single region of Guatemala, the Cahabón region.

Q: What's the difference between bean-to-bar and craft or artisan chocolate?

These words, along with other ones like "small batch" and "handcrafted," are used in an attempt to differentiate specialty chocolate from large-maker industrial chocolate. However, none of them has a legal definition in the U.S., so their presence on a label doesn't necessarily guarantee anything, which can be confusing and even misleading. Bean-to-bar chocolate means that the maker started with cacao beans, did all of the roasting and refining in house, and ended up with the finished chocolate. That describes Tangle Chocolate. Very large companies technically can be bean-to-bar chocolate makers too, but the term is generally used to describe small chocolate makers like us. The terms “craft” and “artisan” imply that the chocolate was made by a small company with lots of human involvement in the process, whether or not the chocolate is bean to bar...but again, without a legal definition, it's hard for us as consumers to know what "small" is. Industrial chocolate makers have noticed consumer interest in craft products, and some now use words like "craft" and "artisan" on their labels. In addition, while some “craft” or “artisan” chocolate companies are also bean to bar, others buy ready-made chocolate, melt it and perhaps add special touches, and then remold and package it with their label. If you're unsure about a chocolate company's label language, call them and ask any questions you have.

Q: Is your chocolate certified organic?

Not at this time. Although the cacao beans and sugar that we currently use are certified organic, we have chosen not to go through the process to be certified organic as a company. This enables us to keep the door open in the future to using non-certified organic beans that we love. We understand that sometimes a farmer can't meet the costs and administrative duties associated with getting and maintaining organic certification even though their products are up to organic standards.

Q: Is Tangle Chocolate Fair Trade?

No. We are committed to paying more than the Fair Trade price standards and to meeting or surpassing any ethical standards you can think of. We buy our cacao beans from good people who know their many small farmers (average farm size: 2.5 acres) and are super transparent about their practices and finances.

July 16, 2020

An afternoon sweet, a morning coffee accompaniment, or a deliciously easy dessert; each Tangle Chocolate Thin is only 9 calories! Wanna know how easy it is to burn off those calories so that you can feel good about treating yourself with our gourmet chocolate? Read on.

Swimming or running. Personally, swimming in a natural body of water is my absolute favorite way to uplift my spirits and connect me to nature. I know that running does the same for many others. Thirty minutes of casual running (at a ten-minute-mile pace), swimming, or treading water will burn 372 calories. So it takes only about 45 seconds to burn off each Tangle Chocolate Thin!
Desk Work. Whether you’re paying bills or working on a novel, you are burning 9 calories every 4 minutes. So when you’re ready for a break, push away from your desk, relax your mind, and bring your attention to chocolate melting in your mouth.
Dancing. Sometimes I just want to move my body to music. The fact that it burns calories is not the point. But it does, at the rate of 10 calories per minute! Need a little dancing guidance? Check out this follow-along Zumba workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=210&v=bm4WZyH5p2I&feature=
Cycling. Take your bike out for a spin! A great activity to do with others, cycling at a leisurely pace (defined as less than 10 mph) burns around 10 calories every 2 minutes.
Folding laundry. Only 3.5 minutes of folding clean clothes banks you enough calories burned to equal those in one Tangle Chocolate Thin. And other household chores such as dusting and vacuuming burn calories even more quickly.
Stretching. This relaxing movement will increase your range of motion while decreasing stress. Stretching for just 3.5 minutes will burn 9 calories. Here is a great website where you can find an exercise for any type of stretch you need. https://www.stretching-exercises-guide.com/
Sleeping. Yep, you’re still burning calories as you dream — at the rate of 9 calories every 12 minutes. Time to treat yourself to that well-deserved afternoon nap!
Watching TV. OK, you’re not going to burn calories as quickly as you are when doing something more active, but still, watching TV burns 28 calories every half hour. This amounts to 9 calories burned in 9.6 minutes. So when your show is over, bring your attention to this chocolate treat guilt-free.
Gardening. Since the start of the summer, many of us have been busy out in our gardens taking care of flowers and veggie patches. Gardening is an activity that’s rewarding in itself, but it is also quite a workout. This outdoor activity burns 9 calories in only 1.6 minutes!