Frequently Asked Questions

Max Brenner’s chocolate will stay fresh and delicious for several weeks or longer when stored properly. To maintain quality, please keep your chocolate in a cool, dry area (below 22ºC) and avoid heat and direct sunlight. It is best to avoid storing chocolate in the refrigerator, however if this is essential, use an air-tight container to avoid odour & moisture spoilage.

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans. There are three species of cocoa bean plants: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario. Each variety has its unique characteristics & produces beans of distinctive flavour.

To make chocolate, cocoa beans go through an extensive process of drying, cleaning & fermentation. Once cocoa beans are prepared, they are then roasted, hulled to obtain the centre of the bean, known as the nib. The cocoa nibs are then crushed & ground to obtain the cocoa liquor.

According to each chocolatier’s special recipe, the cocoa liquor, combined with required quantity of cocoa butter are put through a series of processes like kneading, conching & tempering. It is during these refining stages where each chocolatier will add flavours, sugars & other ingredients to create their own masterpiece.

Milk, dark & white chocolate types are determined by total content of cocoa solids along with addition of certain ingredients such as milk. The higher the cocoa solid in a chocolate product, the darker & the more bitter the chocolate becomes, producing what is commonly known as dark chocolate. Max Brenner’s dark chocolate contains cocoa solids ranging from 50-75%. Milk chocolate is the most commercially popular choice by chocolate consumers. This type contains milk along with higher ratio of sugar resulting in finely balanced cocoa bean flavour & sweetness and creaminess in the final product. Max Brenner’s milk chocolate contains cocoa solids ranging from 30-35%. White chocolate does not contain cocoa solids. Due to this, in the French tradition, it is often considered as a non-chocolate product. Max Brenner offers white chocolate in many varieties. The combination of milk, sugar and cocoa butter creates a sweet and creamy treat making a favourite for many.

Raw chocolate cannot spoil, however, blooming may occur due to poor storage. Blooming is a term describing the whitish grey discolouration on the surface of chocolate caused by cocoa butter separating and rising to the top.

While this does not mean that chocolate is inedible, it does mean that chocolate has lost its sheen and the texture may become granular.