FAQs

We distribute our consumer products in Ecuador (Quito-Guayaquil-Cuenca-Galapagos), Peru (Lima-Cusco) and Colombia (Bogota). To find the nearest Chocolate Boutique to you, please check our Chocolate Boutique list.

We distribute our chef products in many countries, in North America, Latin America, Middle-East and Asia Pacific. To find the nearest distributor to you, please contact us.

Yes, all our products are Non-GMO certified. Please contact us if you need a certificate.

We are Kosher certified by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America for all of our chef products. Please contact us if you need a certificate.

Yes, all our products are Non-Ionization certified. Please contact us if you need a certificate.

Our products are not organic or faire trade at the moment. The reason being is that we chose to focus on having direct and transparent relationships with the farmers, cutting down intermediaries as much as we can to start with.
Moreover, one should know that plantations in Latin America are historically small and farmers struggle to obtain certifications, which can represent a lot of work, investment and training. We choose not to exclude the smallest farmers, and to focus with them on their daily work, and accompanying them in their best effort to grow cacao the best way.

Pure chocolate does not go bad and can be enjoyed months after its expiration date.

Each product has a label with a production and expiration date. Please refer to the first one.

The shelf life of chocolate usually is of 18 months for dark chocolate, 14 months for milk chocolate and 12 months for white chocolate. Chocolate keeps best at room temperature – between 18 and 21°C (65 and 70°F). You should keep it away from direct sunlight and protect it from moisture. Ideally, you shouldn’t refrigerate your chocolate.

If you can’t manage to have your room temperature around 65°F, then storing chocolate in the fridge will keep the heat from melting your chocolate and ruining the temper. However, when refrigerating chocolate, make sure it is sealed in an airtight container and always allow it to chill to room temperature before enjoying it.

República del Cacao’s chocolate can be melted in the microwave, placing the chopped chocolate in a bowl and melting it, stopping to stir the blend every 30 seconds. Otherwise you can proceed with a “bain-marie”, setting the unmelted chocolate in a bowl placed in a boiling water pot.

Temperatures to melt dark chocolate are 55-58°C (131-136 °F) and 45-50°C (113-122°F) to melt milk & white chocolate.

The objective of tempering chocolate is to give it a “crunch” and shine. It consists in putting chocolate through a cycle of various temperatures in order to align the cocoa butter crystals within the chocolate. To proceed, you should start by melting your chocolate like recommended above and keep stirring it continuously. Then slowly add unmelted chocolate to the melted chocolate. This fresh chocolate is made of new crystals that, added to the melted chocolate, will lower its temperature. For every 300g (10.6oz) of melted chocolate, add 100g (3.5 oz) of unmelted chocolate. It is important you watch the temperature at this point, trying to reach the following:

Dark chocolate: 29°C (84 °F)
Milk Chocolate: 27°C (81°F)
White Chocolate: 26°C (79°F)
Finally you need to raise the temperature of this mix again in microwave or with a “bain-marie”.
Dark chocolate: 32°C (89-90 °F)
Milk Chocolate: 30°C (86-87°F)
White Chocolate: 28°C (82-83°F)
Please download our technical sheets in each chef products page to have a more precise information.

Make sure your chocolate is now tempered by dipping the tip of a clean and dry knife in the bowl for a couple of minutes. If the chocolate on the knife tip reaches a nice hard and shiny state, your chocolate is well tempered.