How Can we Help?

Over a decade of writing about how to make chocolate means there's a lot of content. A lot of writing and you probably have a lot of specific questions. We're going to build this section out over time to help answer common issues and questions. You can start by searching the site for what you're looking for:

After that, make sure you check out the basics. 

 

About Chocolate Alchemy

Can I buy cocoa beans from you?

Yes!  Aside from being a virtual chocolate making university, we sell over 2 dozen varieties of cocoa beans for you to make your own chocolate.

We also sell a full line of chocolate making equipment.  Melangers, roasters, crackers, winnowers.  We have both a Retail and Wholesale store

Can you help me find cocoa beans for my chocolate business?

Chocolate Alchemy doesn't just sell cocoa beans and equipment for for homemakers.  On our Wholesale store you can by as little as 25 lbs to many metric tons of cocoa beans if that is your need.  Our goal is to be your supply chain source of quality, ethically traded cocoa beans.  We take care of that.  You take care of making it.. 

 

Are all of your cocoa beans organic and Fair Trade?

 No, not all of them.  We well label all Organic products.  We are USDA certified as an Organic Handler.

We guarantee ALL of our products are ethically traded.  In many cases they are Fair trade certified, well labeled again.  We also carry beans certified through the Rain Forrest Alliance,  IMO and work directly with various growers to offer Direct Trade beans.  Under no circumstances do we support or offer any beans that were produced with slave or enforced child labor.

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Ordering and Payment

Where do you ship?

 We basically ship everywhere. 

If you are outside the continental USA (that includes Hawaii, Alaska and Canada) please pay special attention to any equipment you purchase.  Make sure you pick the correct voltage where applicable.  We have 110 v and 220 v options where available.

Also, many pieces of equipment have shipping included in the price.  Make sure you choose the option that corresponds to your shipping address.

 What form of payments do you accept?

 If paying by credit card we accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. You may also use PayPal.  We also accept checks, money orders and wire transfers.

 Wire transfers are NOT automated on the site.  After you place the order you will be sent the appropriate routing numbers.

 What is your return policy?

You can find our complete return policy for our US store here

Can I combine a retail and wholesale order into one?

Unfortunately you cannot.  Due to the complexity of wholesale shipping we are forced to keep them separate.

In addition, and our apologies for the inconvenience, you need a separate account for each store.

And for that matter, the Forum also requires it's own as does leaving comments in the Articles.

Many people either log in via their Social Media or use the same name and password to simulate having one account.

Shipping and Fulfillment

How will my Order Ship?

Retail orders, i.e. those from the Retail store ship UPS and USPS.  Go HERE for more details about Retail shipping including how much will fit in various USPS flat rate boxes..

 Wholesale orders, i.e. those from the Wholesale store also ship UPS and USPS for small orders under 150 lbs.  You will see that is all automated with the live shipping calculators.

 Once you go over 150 lbs things get complicated from an automated standpoint but we have it covered.  Details are HERE.  The summary is this.  You will see options like:

  • Customer will arrange shipping

  • Estimated Shipping $xx.xxx

  • Have Chocolate Alchemy handle shipping and charge me accordingly.

  • Have Chocolate Alchemy give me a quote for shipping.

In all those case I will contact you after you have placed your order and we will work out together exactly what you need.

 And of course, you can contact me before you place an order and we can work out the best shipping options for your particular case.

 USA orders ship a variety of LTL carriers picked based your timeline and budget.

International orders (again over 150 lbs) nearly always ship DHL.

And it is worth noting that International shipping can be expensive.  Please save us both the time and energy and refrain from asking if there are cheaper methods.  There are not.  Otherwise I would offer them.

 

Still have a Question? Ask the Alchemist!

 

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