11 best chocolate subscription boxes to satisfy all your chocoholic needs
Looking for a gift for the person who has everything?
Then they need a chocolate subscription – we really can’t think of a single person that wouldn’t appreciate a monthly sweet treat delivered to their door.
Whether they prefer milk, white or dark, chocolate truffles, bars or ganaches, there’s a box for it.
Channel your inner chocolate nerd and invest in a subscription that will teach you a thing or two, taking you on a cocoa tour around the world complete with tasting notes, or take things easier with sprinkles of jelly hearts and marshmallows.
We were on the hunt for hand-crafted, artisan producers, exciting flavours and subscription perks.
Most of these will fit through your letterbox but we’ve highlighted the ones that don’t, with all delivering nationwide.
Choose from a monthly rolling subscription, or pay up front for a pre-determined amount of time, with easy cancellation policies should you change your mind (highly unlikely!).
Of course, we wouldn’t judge if you signed up for your very own chocolate subscription, it’s a great way to ensure you’ve always got your favourite chocolate on standby, should the moment strike.
So get ready to seriously upgrade your post, with our round up of the best chocolate subscription boxes.
The Chocolate Society box of the month: £22.50, The Chocolate Society
Each month, the team of chocolatiers at The Chocolate Society works hard to bring you a completely new set of flavours to enjoy. For July we were treated to six gelato and ice-cream inspired flavours including mint choc chip, pistachio and stracciatella – a dark chocolate with white chocolate ganache and chocolate chips. The stylish letter-box friendly grey box contains 18 chocolates in total which were a mixture of colourful speckled dome shapes and large squares and comes complete with a white fabric ribbon, which would make this an ideal gift. Choose from a one-off month, three, six or 12 month subscriptions. Absolutely delicious.
Cocoa Runners monthly subscription: £19.95, Cocoa Runners
With more than 120 chocolate makers and an online library of more than 1000 bars, Cocoa Runners promise to never repeat a bar in your subscription. You’ll receive four full-size single-estate bars each month, which you’re encouraged to try side by side to compare flavour profiles. In much the same way as we would describe wine, the reverse of the welcome letter provides helpful flavour prompts such as smoked, stone fruit, mineral or tobacco to help you describe what you’re experiencing. There’s even a resealable storage pouch to keep the chocolate fresh, should you not finish a bar. Choose to receive only dark or milk chocolate, a mixture of the two or exclusively 100 per ceny cocoa chocolate. We enjoyed a mellow Jamaican dark chocolate from Pump Street, a 75 per cent and 80 per cent Madagascan and an Original Beans smooth milk chocolate from Ecuador. A really great way to discover exciting, high-quality, artisan chocolate from around the world.
Paul A Young: From £200 for a six-month subscription, Paul A Young
We were absolutely delighted with the bonkers flavours in our box but if you’re looking for something a little more classic this might not be for you. Feeling adventurous? How does peach, pear and pink peppercorn, fizzy ginger beer, sourdough, buttermilk and sea salt, or salt and vinegar “chip shop” caramel sound? Flavours change every six-nine weeks so even if you’re not sold on some of the more experimental flavours, you’ll always have something new to try. Each of the purple and gold boxes contains 16 unique chocolates, which is delivered at the beginning of each month. Aside from the seasonal flavours, the box will always include a couple of Paul’s award-winning sea salted caramels. Be warned, you only have a seven-day window to enjoy as these chocs are super fresh.
The Chocolatier monthly club: £24.95, The Chocolatier
The Lion King may not be the most obvious theme for a box of chocolates, but that’s exactly what inspired The Chocolatier’s July box. From Simba (a chocolate ganache with sesame tahini) to Hakuna Matata’ (a smooth praline with sumac) flavours were tasty but more subtle than we tried elsewhere. Available in just one size, the box contains 18 chocolates across six flavours (so expect repeats) and can be ordered as a classic or vegan version. We’re told next month’s theme is Matilda – we can’t wait to see what Bruce’s Cake and Miss Trunchbull tastes like.
Chococo chocolate club subscription: From £44.75 for three months, Chococo
This picture-perfect chocolate box contains either nine, 16 or 25 individual chocolates and truffles made with fresh Dorset cream. Stunningly presented, with various coloured blobs, dustings and garnishes, many flavours are seasonal – including the summery rhubarb and vanilla – and they vary from month to month but may not be completely new each time, with many flavours winning awards over the years. Particular highlights included the melting milk chocolates, rolled in chocolate flakes; Bob’s Bees made with honey from a local farm and the Dorset Conker gin-infused milk chocolate ganache topped with a locally produced lime marmalade. Choose from three, six or 12 months subscriptions.
Hotel Chocolat monthly subscription boxes: £22.95, Hotel Chocolat
Whether you go for the classic tasting box which offers a little bit of everything, the boozy fortified collection, the high cocoa box full of dark chocolate lovelies, the mellow tasting box with the best of milk or the rare and vintage subscription, you’ll pay exactly the same price. Delivered once a month, members are encouraged to score their chocolate, thereby shaping future boxes. Expect a mix of new flavours and old classics, delivered for either three, six or 12 months.
Love Cocoa British icons original gift collection: £22.50, Love Cocoa
Created by the great-great-great grandson of Mr Cadbury, Love Cocoa chocolate bars are all made in the UK, are palm oil free and organic. The subscription is slightly weighted towards dark bars (you’ll receive four of those and two milk chocolate bars), with the box fitting through the letterbox. Flavours include their popular gin and tonic dark chocolate bar, the dark Maldon sea salt and earl grey milk chocolate. Available as a three, six or 12-month subscription, with 10 per cent of profits going to the Rainforest Foundation.
Cocoba Chocolate Collection Box: £19.95, Cocoba Chocolate
Hot chocolate, made from slowly melting real Belgian chocolate was the original concept for Cocoba, which has since moved into offering chocolate bars, truffles and fudge among other sweet treats. The monthly chocolate collection box offers a nice mix of all these products: we received three types of truffles – dark chocolate, praline and caramel – as well as a large bar of milk chocolate, studded with jelly hearts. Aside from that we tucked into a bag of caramel sea salt fudge (which has been awarded a great taste 2018 award) and a marshmallow salted caramel hot chocolate spoon. Fitting through the letterbox, you’ll receive one box each month on a rolling subscription.
Choc on Choc 3 month chocolate box subscription: £52.75, Virgin Experience Days
Father and daughter duo Kerr and Flo set up Choc on Choc back in 2003, hand-making everything in Somerset from Belgian chocolate. Although this chocolate wasn’t the best we tried taste-wise, it was certainly the most inventive when it came to presentation. Our selection included a white chocolate fruit selection – with everything from a banana, a bunch of grapes, apple, strawberry and an orange. A mini box of chocolates made to resemble well-known biscuits and a rather impressive box of “cheese and crackers” which had the most convincing oozing wedge of brie – all made out of chocolate. There was also a more conventional mini box of marc de champagne truffles with all subscriptions lasting three months – the ideal gift.
Green & Black’s velvet edition chocolate club subscription: £36, Green & Black’s
Everything in the Green & Black’s velvet edition collection is made with 70 per cent super smooth dark chocolate. It includes two 90g bars from the range, delivered once a month for six months. Flavours include mint dark chocolate, raspberry and hazelnut, orange and almond and our favourite – sea salt dark chocolate. With seven flavours in total, you will get some repeats but it’s a great way for dark chocolate lovers to ensure they never run out of their favourite bar.
Wicked & Wonderful truffle club: From £32.95 for three months, Benjamin Chocolatier
Small and perfectly formed, each month you’ll receive one petite little box of nine chocolate truffles from Benjamin Chocolatier. Intensely rich, you’ll only need one or two to sate your chocolate craving though. Flavours vary from month to month but could include chilli milk chocolate, champagne white or sea salt dark. You’ll also get to play guinea pig, trying new exclusive flavours before they make it into the main range. Choose from either three, six, nine or 12 months subscriptions.
The verdict: Chocolate subscriptions
This was a particularly hard one to call, but if you’re in the market for a pretty box of chocolates we think The Chocolate Society box of the month was utterly delicious, good value and had plenty of flexibility. However, if bars of chocolate are more your thing. Cocoa Runners is truly unbeatable for its vast and premium selection.
