These are the chocolate subscription boxes that every chocoholic should know

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for insider tips and product reviews from our shopping expertsSign up for our free IndyBest emailA monthly delivery of chocolate is perhaps one of the most decadent things we can imagine receiving in the post regularly – if you’re a serious chocoholic, that is. A surprise, posted to us, without having to choose, or even leave the house, is sheer bliss.Although subscriptions are nothing new, they really found their legs during the pandemic. For many businesses, such as recipe boxes or meat boxes direct from farms, they became one of the easiest ways for people to be able to buy food without going to shops, which were struggling to keep food on shelves as it was. Many independent and small businesses were so overwhelmed with new customers, they had to stop new ones signing up.Of course, chocolate wasn’t in the same category of necessities such as fruit, veg, meat and other daily essentials but that time paved the way for increasing amounts of people wanting to have something sent to them, rather than picking it up while doing their weekly shop.Cakes, biscuits, wine, flowers and chocolates sent as letterbox sized gifts, were used as loving ways to connect with separated friends and family during the pandemic.For the chocoholic in your life, these are perfect gifts, especially as you don’t need to wrap them and they can be sent direct, hassle free, to the recipient – remember, that can be you too!How we testedLucky for us, we put each box thoroughly through its paces by eating every single chocolate on offer. We know, it’s a tough job. We were looking for excellent quality, interesting flavours that weren’t reminiscent of liqueur chocolates and weren’t sickly sweet. Extra points went to brands that consider ethics when it comes to cocoa sourcing and production, as well as thinking about making packaging easier to recycle.The best chocolate boxes and subscriptions for 2022 are: Best overall – Rococo fresh box: £45.95, Rococochocolates.comBest value – Seed & Bean chocolate box: £15.99, Seedandbean.co.ukBest choice of subscriptions – Love Cocoa subscription: From £9, Lovecocoa.comBest independent brand – Chococo fresh large box monthly subscription: £25, Chococo.co.ukBest truffles – Prestat jewel box collection: £36.50, Johnlewis.comBest multi-brand subscription – Fodabox one-month taster chocolate subscription box: £14.99, Fodabox.comBest ethical chocolate subscription – Cocoa Runners monthly subscription: £22.95, Cocoarunners.comWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.Already subscribed? Log inWhat started with five London chocolatiers in 1983 has grown to our favourite luxury chocolate brand. The brand’s subscription arm, Rococo Fresh, offers boxes of 25 little individual chocolates, which are handmade in small batches and each chocolate is different. There’s a new chocolate every month, including all kinds of flavours, such as tarragon and lime – hear us out if you’re not a fan of flavoured or ganache chocolates, as Rococo’s creations are a huge step above everything else you’ve had before. There are bold, well balanced and true to form flavours. Standouts include the green olive oil dome, the banana and cashew praline, as well as the dark sea salt caramel.We’re usually fans of more-traditional chocolates, but this box is exceptionally well made and put together, any serious chocolate lover will devour it. Available as monthly, bi-monhtly or quarterly subscriptions.Continue reading…£45.95 Rococochocolates.comBuy nowSeed & Bean is a fun and affordable brand you may have seen in shops, and it has big ethical values too. It started in 2005 and champions using small-scale suppliers, and pays above the market price for its cocoa. All of the chocolate it uses is FLO certified, which is the Fairtrade standard, so farmers benefit from the full Fairtrade premium. It is made in small batches and the packaging is 100 per cent compostable, including the inner foil-looking wrap, which is actually made from eucalyptus tree pulp.Arriving in a letterbox-friendly size, you get six bars – working out at less than £3 per bar. Choose between the four subscription types, which are differentiated by flavour. The first is ‘classic’, as it says on the tin, so expect flavours such as hazelnut or mint. There’s also ‘vegan classic’, which is the same as classic but will use dark chocolate or dairy-free milk. The last option is ‘Jared’s box’ which is named after a friend of the head chocolatier, and specifically includes his favourite order: two x coconut and raspberry, hazelnut and sea salt. Our classic box included the delicious organic extra dark mint and rich milk bars, but our ultimate favourite is lime and sea salt, for its zingy freshness.The chocolate is smooth and delicious with excellent flavours that pack a punch, and, overall, it’s a very affordable subscription with very high standards.Continue reading…£15.99 Seedandbean.co.ukBuy nowLove Cocoa founder James Cadbury is the great-great-great-grandson of John Cadbury, who founded Cadbury, so he really knows a thing or two about chocolate. But what sets him apart from his family’s namesake brand is that Love Cocoa is big on sustainability. There’s no plastic in the packaging; it’s a carbon negative company that plants a tree for each item sold, and it works directly with farmers, ensuring better pay. Love Cocoa also works with farmers to help improve their conditions.The chocolates are decadent, with different and delicious flavours. Truffles range from salted caramel (our favourite – runny inside, with a hard exterior to bite through) to champagne, raspberry, dark chocolate and gin. While the square bars offer flavours including mint, honeycomb (another of our favourites), crushed coffee, earl grey, Maldon sea salt and salted almond, to name just a few.There are different chocolate subscriptions to choose from. The cheaper option is the two-bar subscription, which is £9 (three months is £26, six months is £44), while there’s also the option to double up and get four bars a month for £17 (three months is £50 and six months is £92).You can also opt for a box of 21 individual chocolates, along with two mini mystery bars. This is the tasting box and starts at £22 a month (£65 for three and £122 for six months).Continue reading…Created by a husband and wife team in Dorset, Chococo has four chocolate shops across the country – in Winchester, Exeter, Swanage and Horsham. The brand prides itself on using single-origin chocolate and Weymouth dairy cream to make its sumptuous offering. The wares have won Great Taste Awards, and it’s easy to see why.You can choose from either a rolling subscription or a pre-paid gift. Within each box, you’ll get an impressive 25 chocolates, and the selection will be different each month – ranging from the brand’s top award-winners, classics, newbies and anything seasonal, from summer fruit to festive flavours.The standout here for us is the honeycomb, which we’re big fans of for its generous chocolate covering and slight chewyness. As well as the more innovative Arbequina and sea salt – a divine mixture of Spanish Arbequina olive oil and smoked sea salt in a dark chocolate ganache. But there’s plenty more worth shouting about, including caramels, pralines and truffles.At a pound per chocolate, at this level of quality, that’s pretty good, especially when compared with some of the other more-expensive yet similar brands in this list.Continue reading…For truffle lovers, you’ve got Prestat to thank, as its founders, the Dufour family, created the world’s first truffle in 1895.Famous fans include the Royal family, where Prestat has held a Royal Warrant since 1975, as well as author Roald Dahl – no surprise, considering one of his most famous and much-loved novels is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Using chocolate from Italian chocolatier Domori, the beans are single origin, and are bought directly from the consortium – a premium is paid above that of the market price to better support farmers. The brand claims its supply chain will be completely sustainable in 2023, and has recently replaced the plastic inner tray with a cardboard one.The jewel box is one of the brand’s signatures and features the truffle the brand created, using its original recipe. It’s a delicate flavour encased in a robust truffle that’s definitely moorish. Other favourites include the earl grey truffle, adding the classic tea flavour to the original truffle. There’s also a couple of creams, hazelnut and the crown jewel, in the shape of its namesake, that’s filled with nutty praline and covered in milk chocolate. The chocolates are high quality and have a classic theme running through them.Continue reading…£36.50 johnlewis.comBuy nowIf you’re not familiar with Fodabox, formerly known as Borough Box, you need to be. It’s a platform bringing together more than 100 independent food brands in one place for you to conveniently order multiple brands in one go and find new favourites. What we love most is that it’s about people over profit. The chocolate subscription starts from £15 for one month, and is also available for three, six and 12 months (costing £24, £60 and £135, respectively). Each month, you’ll receive three bars, which vary but will be from the likes of some of the other brands featured in this list, many of them Great Taste award winners, such as Islands Chocolate or Love Cocoa, plus other excellent brands such as Coco Chocolatier. The monthly delivery will fit through your letterbox, too.Ours featured just Love Cocoa chocolate bars, including our favourite, the 41 per cent honeycomb bar, as well as the 41 per cent salted caramel. It’s high-quality chocolate with exceptional flavours.Continue reading…£14.99 Fodabox.comBuy nowIncluding four chocolate bars from brands we’ve never come across before, Cocoa Runners pulls together bars from quality brands doing big and impressive things in the chocolate world for fellow chocolate enthusiasts to delve into each month. Its strap line is ‘from cacao to craft chocolate’, so all the brands featured will be small-batch, single-estate chocolate makers (using the best of the world’s cocoa beans) that the team at Cocoa Runners have fallen in love with from across the globe.We really like that the brand cuts out the middleman, and works directly with farmers. It also goes above just fair payment, which contributes to the welfare of farmers and the rainforest.You can choose from milk or dark only, a mixture of the two or 100 per cent cocoa chocolate only. The highlight from our box was a 66 per cent dark chocolate bar from Hogarth – chocolate makers from Nelson in New Zealand. The bar had hints of honey and stone fruits that still let the flavour of the cocoa shine. While it also included chocolate from Latitude, which is B-Corp certified, vegan and comes from Uganda. Plus, there was Jordi’s 47 per cent Madagascar, which has the most beautiful fold out packaging too.Continue reading…£22.95 Cocoarunners.comBuy now