Anybody have a good mail-order chocolate source?
Reader Charm, who lives in a small town and likes to keep high-quality chocolates on-hand, is tired of buying good chocolate by the bar. It’s just too darn expensive. Being in a city, I can generally get decent (or at least, decent enough for me) chocolate at a local restaurant supply store or through a local cake and candy shop. However as far as online or mail-order sources go, I have very few ideas. Anyone have any leads on good sources for chocolate that won’t break the bank?
What a good question! Of course, King Arthur Baking sells good quality chocolate and cocoa in various intensities and sizes. But being fussy, I buy my cocoa from ChefShop.com https://chefshop.com/ChefShop-Cocoa-Powder-P8544.aspx , sold in 1 kilo bags. It is comparable to Pernigotti that Williams Sonoma used to sell.
Thanks Melinda! King Arthur can be a little pricey as well. This is a nice option.
– Joe
Surfas Culinary District has some of the best pricing I’ve seen on Valrhona. It’s a restaurant supply store with branches in Los Angeles and Hot Springs.
https://www.surfasonline.com/
Thanks very much P!
– Joe
Amazon sells 11 lb bars of Callebaut for $6-7/lb. That’s new; they didn’t sell it 4 months ago. And they’re selling 2 lb versions for ~$10/lb.
I used to get 11 lbs Callebaut for $7-8/lb at https://www.chocosphere.com/default/brand/a-c/callebaut.html?chocolate_format=205.
Once it arrives, I break it into ~1.5lb blocks, wrap each block with cling wrap and foil, and store it in a cool place. It lasts me a year or two. There’s some bloom by the end of the time, but it’s still plenty good for what I want.
In my experience, Trader Joe’s still has by far the best price per pound of decent chocolate, and then only in their stores. It’s $4/lb at (I think?) all Trader Joe’s. If it weren’t pandemic season, I’d still be buying there. I can’t justify a trip to a store just for chocolate when there are alternatives, but it was tempting to go and buy 10 lbs of chocolate from them.
Excellent. Thanks Ella!
Joe
Also, Guittard has 10lb blocks for $4-6/lb at https://www.webstaurantstore.com/51125/bulk-chocolate.html?filter=type:chocolate-bars. I haven’t tried webstaurantstore before, but I’ve heard good things about them. Both chocosphere and webstaurant store have a lot of pricier (and smaller!) options too.
Yes, I’ve found Webstaurant to be expensive, but haven’t really shopped it in a while.
Thanks again!
Joe
AzureStandard.com carries incredible cocoas and some chocolate.
I have city friends mail me chocolate from Trader Joe’s
Never heard of AzureStandard. Looks like I have something to do tomorrow!
Thanks!
Joe
No Trader Joe’s? I get the 17 oz. bars that are reputed to be from Belgian chocolatier Callebaut.
I vacuum seal them and keep them in the crisper drawer in my fridge without a blooming prob. I don’t really keep track but I know I’ve had them in there as long as a year without a problem.
Amazing that Louisville never had one until a couple of years ago. I haven’t shopped them for chocolate, but will now!
Thanks Rainey!
Joe
Shhhhhhhhh. Don’t let the word get out. 🙂
Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bars (500 g) are the best chocolate for their price in my area, including mail order sources. $5 for half a kilo, milk, dark, or 72%.
I even use TJ chocolate for making truffles. It’s not really couverture and can be a bit thick for this purpose, so when I’m tempering it for dipping or molding chocolates, I throw in a few cocoa butter wafers. The cocoa butter is more difficult to find, but the cost savings on the TJ chocolate bars still makes it worth it.
Thanks Elizabeth, and a nice tip! Cake decorating stores (or websites) are generally good sources for cocoa butter.
Many thanks!
– Joe
So many, many wonderful suggestion! Thank you, everyone, and Joe!, for the ideas and links. I didn’t know you could store chocolate in the crisper drawer, since I never kept more than a few bars on hands. I’m going to try ALL of them (eventually). My inner baker is gleefully cackling and rubbing (floury) hands in anticipation of the damage I can do….
Thanks, thanks, thanks.
=8-)
Chocosphere! I’ve been ordering from them for years and they have a great range of price points and products. I like that you arent restricted to bars as they also have callets (more appropriate for my baking projects). I live in NYC and still find their selection compelling. IMO They are priced very competitively.
https://www.chocosphere.com/
Thanks Nishi!
– Joe
I can not express how happy I am that this is up an running again! I periodically come back to check for a recipe on something I have not tried or a quick reminder on one I have not made in awhile. But this past year I have not had the chance to really indulge in baking from home until today and to get this surprise today made my weekend! I look forward to checking on this more regularly again 😀
Hey Juan!
Very happy to have you back! It’s been fun doing this again. I’ll do my best to keep it up!
Cheers,
– Joe
The Pastry Depot is a local shop to me, but does a huge mail order business nationally https://www.pastrydepot.com/shop
Even better they are a repackaging company so you can get nearly anything commercial pastry with amazing variety.
I can not speak the owner Frances praises enough and hope you check them out.
Thanks very much, Malachi!
– Joe
I’d echo the recommendation for Chocosphere. They have a huge selection and are also quite helpful on the phone: tell them your use case and budget and they’ll help you navigate the giant library.
Excellent Evan, thanks!
– Joe
http://www.goodscandyshop.com The Best!
Thanks Kathy!
– Joe
Try Gourmail Chocolates, we’ve been ordering from them for years. Good pricing. Great selection.
Great Nina! Thanks!
– Joe
Joe, I love your site. Just made crackers, on to Rigo Jancsi!
Oh wow, invite me over! I love that stuff!
And thank you very much. 😉
– Joe
Maybe not cheapest but https://www.lepicerie.com/ has a fantastic selection of chocolate (under chocolate-professional-couverture) and a bunch of other stuff. The hard to find section is pretty fantastic.
Thanks Marco! Great to know.
Jim