Frequently asked questions
What does bean-to-bar mean?
Simply put, bean-to-bar means we actually make the chocolate from cacao beans.
Most chocolate shops and chocolatiers begin with finished chocolate made by another manufacturer, then melt it down to create truffles, bonbons, bars, and other confections. As a bean-to-bar maker, we start with the cacao bean itself and control the entire process, from sourcing and roasting to grinding, refining, conching, and molding the finished chocolate.
Large chocolate manufacturers generally blend cacao from different sources and roast for consistency, with the goal of making their chocolate taste the same year after year.
We celebrate the differences.
Just like wine, cacao has terroir. Its flavor can reflect where it was grown, the variety of cacao, fermentation, weather, soil, and even differences from one harvest to the next. By carefully sourcing our beans and adjusting our roasting and chocolate-making process, we try to let those natural flavors shine.
That’s how a chocolate bar made with nothing more than cacao and sugar can naturally taste like raspberries, tropical fruit, coffee, nuts, or spices without any of those flavors actually being added.
Come taste the difference of bean-to-bar!
What is your return policy?
For food safety reasons, we’re unable to accept returns on food products. However, if there is a problem with your order or you need to cancel it, please contact us as soon as possible. We’re always happy to help make things right when we can.
How fast do you ship orders?
From October through April, we typically ship orders the same or next business day. During warmer months, we generally ship Monday through Wednesday to avoid chocolate sitting in transit over the weekend.
Orders are shipped via USPS Priority Mail or UPS Ground. When shipping chocolate bars to warm climates (around 80°F or above), we may include ice packs at no additional charge.
What about truffles?
Because our truffles are especially sensitive to heat, we do not ship them between Mother’s Day and November 1. If you're sending truffles to a warm climate outside of those dates, we strongly recommend 1 or 2-day shipping so the ice packs can keep them cool in transit.
Does your chocolate contain nuts, gluten, soy, dairy, or other allergens?
We are a gluten-free facility, and our main line of chocolate bars is made without soy. However, we do use dairy, tree nuts, peanuts, and coconut in some of our products. While we take precautions to reduce allergen cross-contact, we are not a nut-free or dairy-free facility.
Gluten: Our facility is gluten-free.
Dairy: We make both dairy and non-dairy chocolate on shared equipment. Equipment is cleaned between batches, but our non-dairy chocolates may contain traces of dairy.
Tree Nuts & Peanuts: We are not a nut-free facility and do not recommend our products for anyone with a severe nut or peanut allergy. Nuts are not added to our chocolate production equipment, but we occasionally use hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts, peanuts, and other nuts as toppings or inclusions. We thoroughly clean molds, surfaces, and surrounding areas after production.
Coconut: Some of our chocolate is made with coconut, including products that share equipment with other chocolates. Because coconut can be an allergen for some people, those with a coconut allergy should be aware of possible cross-contact.
Soy: Our main line of chocolate bars is soy-free, and we do not use soy lecithin as an emulsifier in our chocolate. Some inclusions used in limited-edition or Exotic Chocolate bars may contain soy, and the cocoa butter transfer sheets used on some of our truffles contain soy.
Alcohol: Some of our truffles contain alcohol and are labeled accordingly. Some flavor extracts are also alcohol-based, including those used in our Rum Caramel bar and the vanilla extract used in some flavors.
If you have a specific allergy or dietary concern, please contact us before ordering and we’ll be happy to help you determine which products may be appropriate for you.
Do you make custom label chocolate bars or wedding favors?
We’re always so honored when our chocolate means enough to someone that they want to include River-Sea in their wedding or special celebration. Thank you for thinking of us!
We do offer custom-label chocolate bars, but because of our batch sizes and packaging setup and printing costs, custom-label projects have a $1,000 minimum per flavor/SKU. Customers must also provide their own print-ready packaging artwork, as we’re unable to provide graphic design services.
Because of these requirements, we’re typically not the best fit for one-time custom-label projects or smaller events.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t make our chocolate your own! We can personalize our existing bars and minibars with ribbons, bows, tags, or custom notes, and can even take care of assembling them for you. We’re happy to help you find an option that works for your celebration.
Is your chocolate kosher?
Our chocolates are not currently certified kosher. We’re always evaluating certifications that may make our chocolate more accessible to our customers, but at this time, we do not have kosher certification.
How should I store my chocolate?
Like fine wine, fine chocolate stores beautifully when kept in the right conditions and can continue to develop deeper, more complex flavors as it cures.
Chocolate is best stored in a cool, dry place between 55°F and 70°F (13°C–21°C) with low humidity. A cool cupboard away from direct sunlight and heat is perfect. A wine fridge also works well.
We don’t recommend storing chocolate in a refrigerator or freezer. Cocoa butter can absorb odors and flavors from surrounding foods, and very cold temperatures can make the chocolate harder and more brittle, making it less pleasurable to eat.
For the best experience, store your chocolate somewhere cool and dry and enjoy it at room temperature.
Where is your chocolate made?
All of our chocolate is made from cacao bean to finished chocolate at our DC-area factory in Reston, Virginia, using cacao we source from producers around the world.
We roast, grind, refine, conche, temper, mold, and package our chocolate right here in our factory.
Is your cacao direct trade, and what does that mean?
Yes. 100% of our cacao is direct trade. We maintain direct lines of communication with the farms, producers, and cooperatives we work with and pay prices well above the commodity market and Fairtrade minimums.
Having a founder originally from a cacao-producing region gives us a unique perspective and ability to connect with our partners and understand the realities they face on the ground. Our relationships often go far beyond simply buying cacao. In Brazil and Haiti, our co-founder Mariano works hand-in-hand with farmers and cooperative leaders to improve efficiency, consistency, fermentation, drying, and flavor development in ways that are both economically and environmentally sustainable.
Our goal is to help our partners produce better cacao and gain access to more opportunities in the fine cacao market, whether they ultimately sell that cacao to us or elsewhere. Better quality can open doors to markets where producers can earn significantly more than through the traditional bulk cacao system.
Is your chocolate Fair Trade / ethically sourced?
Our chocolate is ethically sourced, but we are not Fairtrade certified.
We maintain relationships with the producers and cooperatives we purchase from, and pay prices well above commodity market and the meager Fairtrade minimums.
Unfortunately currently the Fairtrade certification alone does not guarantee that farmers earn a living income or that a supply chain is free from child labor.
For River-Sea, knowing where our cacao comes from, building long-term relationships with producers, and paying significantly higher prices is a more meaningful approach.
If you'd like to learn more about the challenges within the conventional cacao supply chain, we recommend the Washington Post's investigation “Cocoa's Child Laborers” and the documentary The Dark Side of Chocolate.
Our commitment to transparency and social equity in the cacao supply chain also led us to participate in an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court cases Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe and Cargill, Inc. v. Doe in 2020.
I’m a cacao farmer or producer. Who do I contact about selling my cacao?
We’re always interested in connecting with cacao farmers, cooperatives, and producers who share our commitment to quality, transparency, and responsible growing practices.
Please email cacao@riverseachocolates.com and tell us a little about your farm or cooperative, where you’re located, your cacao, harvest and fermentation practices, and the quantities you have available. If it looks like we may be a good fit, we’ll be happy to continue the conversation and discuss samples and next steps.
Do you offer vegan chocolate?
Yes! Most of our chocolate is vegan. All of our single-origin and micro-lot dark chocolate bars are vegan, along with most of our dark chocolate inclusion bars. We even make vegan “mylk” chocolate options, including our Coconut Mylk Chocolate.
Just look for the vegan icon on the back of our chocolate bar packaging to easily identify vegan options.
Please note that we also make milk chocolate in our facility and on shared equipment, so our vegan chocolates may contain traces of dairy.
Can I visit your chocolate factory?
Yes! Our chocolate factory in Reston, Virginia is open to the public, and you can watch our chocolate makers in action through the viewing windows in our shop.
Our team is always happy to answer questions about how chocolate is made, explain what’s happening in the factory, and, of course, offer free chocolate samples.
Come see where cacao beans become River-Sea chocolate!
Do you offer factory tours or chocolate tastings?
Because of food safety regulations, visitors cannot enter our Reston production space, and we don’t currently have room for sit-down tastings there. You can watch our chocolate makers at work through our viewing windows, ask questions, and enjoy free samples!
For a more immersive experience, visit our original Chantilly location, where we have a dedicated tasting room and a variety of highly rated chocolate experiences, from children’s programs to adults-only wine and chocolate tastings.
We’ve even kept some of our original small-batch chocolate-making equipment, which we use during tastings to walk guests through the bean-to-bar process and show how cacao becomes chocolate.
Register for a tasting through the "Tastings and Experiences" quick link at the bottom of this page.
Do you offer wholesale or corporate gifting?
Yes! We work with businesses on everything from wholesale orders and corporate gifting to bulk orders, private-label chocolate, and onsite or virtual chocolate tastings.
Whether you need a few hundred gifts or are looking for an ongoing chocolate partner, we’d love to hear what you have in mind.
Visit our Wholesale & Corporate page through the link at the bottom of this page for more information, or email us at factory@riverseachocolates.com.