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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Is Tangle Chocolate vegan?

Yes! The only two ingredients are certified organic cacao beans and certified organic cane sugar.

Is Tangle Chocolate kosher?

Yes! Our chocolate is certified kosher by the Massachusetts Kosher Commission.

Is Tangle Chocolate gluten free?

Yes! There are only two ingredients in our chocolate, organic cocoa beans and organic sugar, both of which are gluten free, so our chocolate is gluten free.

Chocolate News | Tangle Chocolate

Oct 14, 2021

A Different Perspective on Child Labor in West Africa

As you may already know, the chocolate industry has a long and terrible history of using slave labor, including forcing children to work in ways that can harm them. Part of the driving force behind Tangle Chocolate and many other fine chocolate makers is to end such practices. But this issue is more complex and nuanced than it seems at first glance. I recently attended a panel discussion on child labor in west Africa that presented the issue in a cultural context and from the point of view of cacao farmers and the children themselves, and want to share what I learned.

Sep 30, 2021

Women in Chocolate: Alysha Kropf, Ecole Chocolat

For Alysha Kropf of Ecole Chocolat, an online culinary school for all things chocolate, a love of chocolate is in her genes. Read how she went from being "Sticker Girl" as a child, when she helped wrap holiday chocolate confections, to now being the program and marketing director at Ecole and a contributor to making the chocolate industry more sustainable and equitable.

Sep 16, 2021

Women in Chocolate: Ruth Kennison, The Chocolate Project

Ruth Kennison is a chocolatier, chocolate educator, and the founder of The Chocolate Project in Los Angeles, California. Read about her story, her business, and her thoughts on the bean-to-bar chocolate industry in 2021!

Sep 9, 2021

What Is Dutched Cocoa?

Have you ever seen a piece of chocolate cake that is so dark brown that it’s almost black, and then been surprised when it didn’t taste as chocolatey as its color led you to believe it would? Or have you perhaps ordered a hot chocolate and had it taste, well, not as flavorful as the hot chocolate you’re used to? It’s possible that the cocoa powder used in these treats was Dutched. What does that mean? How does Dutched cocoa differ from regular cocoa, and when and how is it used?

Aug 5, 2021

A CRASH COURSE IN COCOA BUTTER

All chocolate lovers who read this will know that cocoa butter is a critical natural component of the cocoa bean. Some of you may have seen it also listed in the ingredients of inedible products such as cosmetics, and wondered if it’s a bioidentical product. Turns out, cocoa butter is enormously versatile. In addition to being super important in chocolate, it can be used in baking as well as in moisturizers, makeup, and health care products.

Jun 24, 2021

Pairing Chocolate with Wine and Beer

Wine and beer tasting events are great places to learn about how specific vintages and varieties pair with chocolate. (Yes, you read that right, beer and chocolate!) People get to learn about why it’s great to serve these ingredients together and how each one complements the other. Here is some basic information about chocolate and alcohol for you to know before you attend a tasting, or perhaps to help you host your own.

Jun 17, 2021

HELP! MY DOG ATE MY CHOCOLATE!

Has your dog ever gotten into a piece of chocolate cake you had sitting on the counter for dessert? Have you ever wondered whether to head to the hospital when the last piece of your chocolate bar goes missing? People tend to think that chocolate is deadly for dogs, and while it can be for some, it actually depends on a few different factors: the size of the dogs, the amount and type of chocolate consumed, and the dog's age and overall health. Here's the scoop.

Jun 10, 2021

CHOCOLATE BOOKS TO TAKE TO THE BEACH

Ah, summer. Time for many of us to spend some time unplugged by the water, reading, napping, and doing whatever brings us joy. Taking chocolate to the beach is not a great idea unless you want to slurp it melted, but there are numerous excellent books about chocolate that travel a lot better than chocolate itself. Here are four of Tangle Chocolate’s favorites.

Apr 15, 2021

IS SUGAR GMO-FREE?

If you read our last blog post, you’ll know that not all sugar is vegan. Cane sugar generally is not vegan, beet sugar is. However, cane sugar is way less likely to be made with GMO crops, whereas beet sugar most likely started with GMO beets. Here's a little more info to help you understand the pros and cons of GMOs.

Apr 8, 2021

IS SUGAR VEGAN?

Sugar comes from either sugar cane or beets. Vegan foods are those that are made with no animal products. Sugar cane and beets are plants. So why isn't sugar always vegan? The secret culprit is a product called bone char. Bone char is made from cattle bones and is a de-coloring filter often, but not always, used in sugar production. Read more to find out why it may matter to you and how to make sure you are consuming truly vegan sugar.

Mar 18, 2021

The Rich Chocolate History of Massachusetts

Massachusetts is known for many mouth-watering treats from baked beans to cream pie. But it also has a rich history of chocolate which includes the invention of chocolate chip cookies, white chocolate, Baker's chocolate...and has an interesting cameo appearance by the one and only Paul Revere!

Feb 18, 2021

We were interviewed on the radio!

On February 8, 2021, Bob Flaherty of WHMP radio in Northampton, Massachusetts invited me, Suzanne Forman, the founder of Tangle Chocolate, to sit down with him for a few minutes to talk all things chocolate. We had a ball as Bob tasted Tangle's slivers of chocolate using a flavor wheel, discussed what's special about this chocolate, and praised his wife who happened to also be my children's gymnastic coach years ago! Here's an audio file of the approximately eight-minute segment.

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ALL ABOUT CHOCOLATE

A Different Perspective on Child Labor in West Africa

Women in Chocolate: Alysha Kropf, Ecole Chocolat