FAQ

The small figure (at the top right of the menu) opens your profile page. You can change your personal details by clicking on ‘edit profile’. You’ll also find an overview of your past orders, invoices and addresses.

Our packing team are a pretty speedy bunch, so we can't always catch an order in time to change or cancel it, but you can pop an email to shop@williescacao.com and we'll let you know if there's anything we can do.

In most cases, you and your chocolates should be united within 3-5 working days.

During the summer, in the very unlikely event of temperatures reaching 27 degrees or above, we'll put a short pause on deliveries until the weather sorts itself out, which means your order may arrive a little later than expected. If you need your order urgently, get in touch and we'll let you know what the options are.

For the best flavour and texture, store your Willie’s Cacao chocolate in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, ideally between 15–18°C. Keep it away from strong-smelling foods, as chocolate can absorb surrounding aromas. Avoid storing chocolate in the fridge, as moisture and temperature changes can affect its texture and appearance, sometimes causing a white bloom on the surface. If your kitchen is particularly warm, refrigerate chocolate in an airtight container and allow it to return to room temperature before opening. Properly stored chocolate will retain its delicious flavour and quality for longer.

Yes! Willie’s Cacao chocolate makes a wonderful gift for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas and other special occasions. You can place an order and have your chosen chocolate gifts delivered directly to the recipient, making it easy to share the pleasure of exceptional chocolate with someone special. Explore our range of chocolate bars, truffles and assorted chocolate gifts to find the perfect present. Please check our delivery information at checkout for available delivery options and any gift messaging services.

If you are experiencing problems placing your order and would like assistance, drop us an email. All our orders have to go via our online payment system, which is why we don’t provide a dedicated phone line for ordering. But, of course, we highly value your custom, and we love helping in any way we can, including arranging to take a payment over the phone if necessary.

Willie's Cacao wings it's way around the world. From the USA to Australia.

At the moment, we are unable to ship to the EU due to import regulations.

We are also unable to ship to South Africa or Russia due to difficulties with customs. 

If you cannot see an option for your country, please get in touch and we can see if we are able to ship to your address.  

In the unlikely event that we have made an error with your order, please contact us immediately by email and we will be happy to assist you.

Yes, they are. Information exchanged with any address beginning with https is encrypted using SSL before transmission.The payment is taken via Sage Pay, which is a worldwide online payment gateway. This also means we do not hold or store any of your card details.

The cacao percentage tells you how much of a chocolate bar comes from cacao ingredients, including cocoa solids and cocoa butter. For example, a 70% dark chocolate bar contains 70% cacao ingredients, with the remaining percentage made up of other ingredients, such as sugar. 

Generally, a higher cacao percentage means a more intense chocolate flavour and often less sugar, although the exact flavour and sweetness depend on the recipe.

Allergen information can be found on individual product pages and on the packaging of Willie’s Cacao products. We recommend checking the full ingredients list and allergen declarations before purchasing, particularly if you have a food allergy or intolerance. If you need further information about a specific product or potential cross-contamination, please contact our customer service team before ordering.

All of my products are gluten and soya free. Willie’s Cacao offers a range of chocolate with different ingredients, so we recommend checking the individual product descriptions and ingredient lists to find options suitable for dietary restrictions such as vegetarian or vegan diets.

I think I can confidently say that my form of direct trade goes beyond certified fair trade. Being both a cacao farmer and a chocolate manufacturer naturally means that I put the ethical sourcing of my beans at the heart of the way I make chocolate.

I source all my beans directly from the farmers. I visit the farms and get to know the farmers, the challenges they face and the production methods they use.

I only buy premium beans, some people call them heirloom varieties. So these are beans that are worth paying more for. I never pay less than $500 a tonne over world cocoa prices. So on each 25 tonne container the farmers are getting $12,500 more than if they sold on the open market. Direct trade means that this money is going directly to them, not to a trader or intermediary.

No, there are no added flavours to the cacao or chocolate. The 100% cacao is just that, 100%.The chocolate has only cocoa butter and raw cane sugar added.These flavours are like notes in wine or coffee, a natural part of the different cacao beans.

Yes. The different ‘notes’ in the cacao bars simply give a subtle difference to the flavour, and which bean type you choose is down to personal preference. Part of the experience is to cook with different cacao varieties and see what works for you. Check out my cooking with chocolate page for inspiration.

When exploring the Venezuelan Andes in 1993 with my then wife Tania, Carlos, the Colombian artist we’d met, told us we had to go to “Choroni, where the mountains meet the sea,” and the adventure began. Choroni was as beautiful as Carlos described. Mervyn, the beach umbrella seller, who took a fancy to Tania’s sister, told us of a hacienda in the cloud forest for sale.

We went to investigate Hacienda El Tesoro in the Henri Pittier National Park, where 1800 metre mountains steep into the Caribbean Sea. I knew from a guidebook that some of the best cacao in the world grew in the region, but this was my first introduction to the cacao tree and their beautiful multi-coloured pods jutting out from their trunks.

Tania and I never intended to buy a one thousand acre cacao farm in the Venezuelan cloud forest. But surrounded by the colours and the teeming life, I felt at home. And then the owner, Fernando, changed his mind and decided not to sell.

Three years later, after returning to London and almost giving up hope, I got the phone call. I sold the flat and bought the farm. Fernando had fallen in love with the place as a boy and vowed to buy it, but his children were not interested in farming. I think the interest I showed meant a lot to him.

The forest still feels like home. I am more relaxed and in my element surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of the forest than anywhere else. I can close my eyes and be back walking the land and emerging into the sunlight or picking up a freshly fallen mango for breakfast.

Oddly, before I bought El Tesoro, my cacao farm in Venezuela, I was not a big chocolate eater. I found it too sweet, unsurprisingly, since your average chocolate confectionery bar contains no more than 5 –10% cacao liquor; the rest is mainly fat and sugar. In the last 150 years, as manufacturing methods have advanced, the mass market has transformed cacao into something that its earliest devotees would not recognise at all.

So when I first tasted my own cacao, it was as if a light went on, as I realised that chocolate was not one brown flavour but the home of many. Now when I make my eating chocolate from bean to bar, all I add is raw cane sugar and a little extra cocoa butter for smoothness.

I wanted everyone to experience some of the awakening that I did, and started making and selling my El Tesoro 100% cacao in the local village, then beyond. From this small beginning, I became convinced that the world was ready to rediscover cacao.

The answer is look at the ingredients. If it contains vanilla, someone is covering up the fact their beans haven't got the best flavour to stand alone. If it contains soya lecithin which is a processing aid, it is because they are using an industrial production process which prioritises speed and costs over flavour.

Finally of course, check to see if it says what beans are being used. Are they fine varieties from individual farms? Remember single origin chocolate means nothing…. Chocolate from Ecuador is like saying Wine from France!