Frequently Asked Questions
Pre-orders
1. What’s the benefit of pre-ordering a CocoTerra chocolate maker?
Our initial production run will be limited, so by pre-ordering your CocoTerra chocolate maker today, you will receive a machine before they go on sale to the general public, as well as enjoy an early-bird discount.
2. When will you be shipping my CocoTerra chocolate maker?
Shipping dates are disclosed at the time of your pre-order. We will continue to provide updates to you with the latest delivery information based on your order number. We are committed to transparency and will push as hard and as fast as we can to get an excellent product in your hands.
3. How much will the CocoTerra machine cost at launch?
When we launch to the general public, we expect the initial price to be $1199 for our CocoTerra chocolate maker. The pricing is based on the complexity of the machine and is comparable to other innovative, high-quality consumer kitchen appliances. By pre-ordering now, not only will you be receiving your CocoTerra chocolate maker ahead of the general public, but also you will lock in an early-bird pre-order price.
4. How do I know where I am in the queue?
We will send you an order number after you complete your pre-order transaction.
5. Can I pre-order more than one machine?
You may pre-order up to five machines online. If you are interested in pre-ordering more, please contact us.
6. Can I pre-order a machine if I don’t live in the United States?
For now, we are only taking pre-orders from the US and Canada. We certainly intend to expand beyond North America – the desire to make fresh chocolate at home is global!
7. How much will the shipping cost be?
Shipping cost will depend on your location. Once your order is ready to ship, we will send you an email notifying you that you can log into your CocoTerra account to see the shipping cost and finalize your order.
8. If I change my mind, can I request a refund?
Yes. You have 30 days from your date of pre-order purchase to request a refund. To do so, contact CocoTerra support with your refund request. Your refund will be for the amount you paid less any third-party processing fees. After your product ships, you will have 30 days to request a refund as well.
9. How do I view my order details?
You can log into your account from our pre-order website. General order details will be available on our site as well.
Sales and Distribution
1. What is your partnership strategy? How do I partner with CocoTerra?
We are excited to partner with companies who want to work with us to bring recipes, cocoa nibs, ingredients, accessories and machines to market, as we believe users should have a range of choices to enhance their chocolate-making experience. If you are interested in working with us, please reach out to us here.
2. Who are your CocoTerra partners?
We will be disclosing partners in the coming months.
3. How will the products be sold/distributed?
Initially, we plan to sell our products directly, through our CocoTerra websites, and ship within the United States. Thereafter, we expect to sell through additional channels such as online catalogs, kitchen retailers and specialty appliances stores as well as to more countries around the world. If you are interested in partnering with us, please reach out to use here.
4. How much will the CocoTerra app cost?
The CocoTerra companion app, which has not yet been released, will be free.
CocoTerra Machine and Chocolate-making
1. How is the CocoTerra approach different from personal chocolate-making today? Do I need to know how to make chocolate to use the CocoTerra system?
CocoTerra simplifies the chocolate-making process for experts and novices alike. Integrating grinding, refining, conching, tempering and molding into one unified system, CocoTerra provides a complete chocolate-making experience in one compact appliance. CocoTerra produces about a half pound of premium chocolate in approximately two hours. That’s a stunning improvement in time and physical space from what is possible today. And by unifying all the steps of chocolate-making and dramatically reducing the time to go from nibs to finished chocolate, CocoTerra makes home chocolate-making easy and accessible – for kitchen enthusiasts, foodies, professionals, experimenters and even cacao farmers – really for anyone interested in making chocolate at home or in small quantities. Someone who literally knows nothing about making chocolate will be able to successful with CocoTerra right from the start. While being easy to manage, however, our machine also allows the user to control and modify many chocolate-making parameters, as an experienced user or professional might do. Consumers are always on the hunt for chocolate with the desired flavors, the ideal melt-in-your-mouth experience, a specific intensity, targeted dietary restrictions, even the right allergen profile. CocoTerra provides chocolate personalization and customization that hasn’t been available to the consumer market.
2. What mechanisms or technologies does the CocoTerra system use for all these different processes?
The basic technology behind the grinding and refining process is called ball-milling. This involves stainless steel media that is stirred around with the ingredients to grind them into smaller and smaller particles. Large scale ball mills are in use today by both craft and industrial chocolate makers, but until now, the technology has not been available in a home appliance. The CocoTerra chocolate maker also includes an active heating and cooling system that allows for precise temperature controls, which is particularly important during the tempering process. And finally, CocoTerra employs a patented centrifugal molding system that dispenses and molds the chocolate.
3. Can I make chocolate that meets my specific health and dietary requirements?
One of the great benefits of CocoTerra is that you can customize your chocolate for your health (vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, diary-free, nut-free and more) and dietary needs (for example, keto, paleo, kosher, halal). You can even add health supplements (such as protein powders or puffs) and other additives to create your chocolate power bar. CocoTerra will provide users with a variety of health-conscious recipes and you can always create your own to make chocolate that fits with your lifestyle.
4. What is the output of the CocoTerra machine, i.e. what form and shape is the chocolate in?
A single batch of CocoTerra chocolate is approximately a half pound or 250 grams. Each batch of chocolate is molded into a beautiful ring which can be gifted whole or broken up to be shared with family and friends. The goal of the CocoTerra molding system will be to support a variety of mold rings with different patterns and shapes. The CocoTerra chocolate can also be re-melted (and easily re-tempered with the seeding method) for use with third-party molds or in other recipes.
5. Why does the machine mold the chocolate into a ring?
The CocoTerra chocolate maker uses a patented centrifugal system to dispense and mold the chocolate. There are a number of advantages to molding chocolate using our method. First, chocolate is very viscous and difficult to move. By spinning the chocolate-making chamber, CocoTerra doesn’t rely on gravity to move the chocolate: rather, it controls the flow rate and force by changing the rotation speed of the chamber. Second, CocoTerra makes sure that the chocolate completely fills the mold without any air gaps or bubbles. A centrifuge is very efficient at this, compared to the typical approach of using a vibration table or by banging the mold onto a hard surface over and over. Finally, by spinning the mold, CocoTerra convectively cools the chocolate to help with solidification. The resulting output of such a design is a ring of chocolate. The CocoTerra approach requires little to no user interaction during the molding process (besides deciding on a mold design!). It’s effective, efficient and, we think, pretty cool.
6. Can I use my own molds with CocoTerra?
Yes! You can easily re-melt the chocolate from the CocoTerra machine and pour it into your own molds (using the seeding method to re-temper). Here are instructions for how to do it for dark chocolate (milk and white will have different temperature targets): first, place two-thirds of CocoTerra-made chocolate in a bowl and slowly melt it in the microwave at 10-15 second intervals. The temperature should be between 100-110 degrees F (be careful not to burn your chocolate). Then add the remaining un-melted (chopped) chocolate to the melted chocolate, to provide the “seed crystals” which will keep the chocolate in temper. Next, stir until all the chunks are melted (if you have a thermometer handy, you can check that your dark chocolate finishes at about 90 degrees F or 86 degrees F for milk and white chocolate). Finally, pour the chocolate into your mold and voila! You have your specially-molded, tempered CocoTerra chocolate ready to eat or share.
7. Will the CocoTerra machine do chocolatiering as well as chocolate-making? What about adding inclusions and flavorings?
The CocoTerra machine will provide lots of opportunities to decorate, mold and customize your chocolate. You can use transfer sheets (colorful chocolate decorations) to allow for customized designs and even “paint” molds with colored cocoa butter. CocoTerra also will supply a number of recipes which include different flavors and inclusions such as spices, nuts, and raisins, but you are also free to create your own. Just be sure not to add any wet ingredients since this can ruin the chocolate. We expect the chocolatiering possibilities to grow over time.
8. Does the machine have a “temper only” setting?
Yes, we plan to have a tempering-only mode. To use this feature, you can break up the solid chocolate (or melt it) and pour it into the processing chamber and then run the temper cycle. Once the chocolate is tempered, the system will then mold it as usual.
9. How do you clean the machine?
Cleaning is fast and easy. There are two parts of the machine that require cleaning: the mold ring and the processing chamber. The mold ring (which is comprised of a top half, a bottom half and a filter ring) can be rinsed in the sink with warm water or simply put in the dishwasher. Our goal is to make the chamber dishwasher safe as well. But even without a dishwasher, the processing chamber is easy to clean. Simply flush warm water through the chamber while swirling around the processing media (the balls) to clean the system. The balls on the inside of the chamber will clean the interior surface of the chamber, while the water comes out the opening in the bottom. The lip of the chamber can be cleaned with a small brush. The entire process takes five minutes or less.
10. Will the balls inside the processing chamber spill out?
Not to worry. The processing chamber is sealed so that the media (balls) remain inside and can’t come out.
11. Is the machine safe for children?
We think children will enjoy participating in and/or watching the chocolate-making process, but as with any kitchen appliance, kids should be supervised when using the CocoTerra machine.
12. Is the CocoTerra machine waterproof?
The base of the machine should not be soaked or submerged in water. We plan to make the processing chamber dishwasher safe but cannot commit to that at the moment (although even without a dishwasher, cleaning will be easy). Basically, CocoTerra should be treated like other electric devices when it comes to water, which should not be splashed or poured onto the machine unless specifically requested to do so by the user manual.
13. Do I have to use the CocoTerra app to make chocolate on my machine?
No, the CocoTerra machine can run and make chocolate without the use of the app. However, if you want features such as tracking your chocolate-making process while away from the machine, managing and creating recipes, and buying ingredients from your phone, then we recommend downloading the app.
Ingredients and Accessories
1. What ingredients do you need to make chocolate?
You only need four basic ingredients to make chocolate — cocoa nibs, cocoa butter, milk powder and sugar. These ingredients can be used to make a variety of white, milk and dark chocolates. There are also a variety of substitutes that can be used to customize the recipe to meet particular health or dietary restrictions, such as oat milk powder and stevia. Flavorings (such as vanilla, salt, and cinnamon) and inclusions (such as nuts or dried fruits) can also be added to create a unique chocolate experience.
2. How will users get ingredients such as cocoa nibs?
CocoTerra will sell all the ingredients you need to make a batch of chocolate. We will supply a variety of cocoa nibs from around the world encompassing the different flavor profiles that are available. In addition to cocoa nibs, CocoTerra will provide cocoa butter, flavorings and inclusions as well as accessories and gifting supplies directly through our app and our website. However, CocoTerra is an open system, so you can source your own ingredients as your travel the world or find unique cacao origins.
3. Do I have to sign up for a subscription?
No, no subscription is required to use your CocoTerra chocolate maker. CocoTerra is an open system — there are no “pods” or ingredients subscriptions required.
4. Will CocoTerra sell ingredients that are grown and harvested unethically?
CocoTerra intends to sell only ingredients where we know the labor, harvesting and sustainability practices at the source farm. It’s important to us, and we expect to our customers, to have comfort that the cocoa we sell is ethically sourced.
5. What accessories does CocoTerra expect to sell?
CocoTerra will sell a variety of molds, decorative transfer sheets and other chocolatiering ingredients as well as gift packaging to help you customize and personalize your chocolate.
6. I have some cocoa beans… now what?
The starting input for CocoTerra is roasted cocoa nibs which are roasted, de-shelled pieces of the whole cocoa bean. Users who source whole cocoa beans can use them with CocoTerra, but you will have to roast the beans and de-shell (winnow) them before you can use them in the machine. You may also have to experiment a bit and develop a recipe for your cocoa beans since different nibs have different cocoa butter content and behave differently in the chocolate-making process.
7. Does the CocoTerra machine require ingredient “pods”?
No. CocoTerra is an open system. There are so many incredible chocolate recipes that a pod-based system wouldn’t scratch the surface of what people can make with CocoTerra. CocoTerra will provide ingredients along with tested chocolate recipes, but customers can source their own ingredients as well.
8. Does the CocoTerra machine work with different cacao origins and ingredients from other suppliers?
Yes! CocoTerra will be partnering with many companies to provide a variety of nibs and other ingredients from around the world, as we want our customers to enjoy making chocolate with the broadest possible range of ingredients. We will offer a large selection of ingredients that have been tested and tasted, and that are optimized for CocoTerra. But users will also be able to source their own cocoa nibs (it may take some experimenting to come up with the appropriate recipe parameters). We look forward to hearing about how our customers are making chocolate with nibs and flavors from all over the world.
9. Why do you say you are bean-to-bar if you start with cocoa nibs?
Cocoa nibs are simply broken bits of the cocoa bean. The beans are “processed” in the sense the they are roasted, cracked and de-shelled (resulting in nibs), but they are far from chocolate as we know it. Cocoa nibs are the starting point of the traditional chocolate-making processing steps of grinding, refining, conching, tempering and molding, most of which require dedicated pieces of equipment. CocoTerra does all these steps in one unified machine. So, since nibs are basically broken up pieces of beans, and our the CocoTerra machine goes from nibs to solid chocolate, we think that at its essence, this means CocoTerra is in fact “bean-to-bar”.
Company
1. What does “CocoTerra” mean?
While “CocoTerra” doesn’t have a direct meaning, we selected this name because it conveys the essence of our story: chocolate from the ground up, in terms of starting with the basic ingredients, and also with your own ideas for flavors and form factors. In addition, the passion for chocolate is global, so we wanted a name that would have positive connotations and be wonderful-sounding in as many languages as possible.
2. What does the CocoTerra brand stand for?
The CocoTerra brand stands for the magic of making chocolate. We promise to unlock this magic for customers around the world in delightful and surprising ways. Our values support this brand promise: tradition with technology, accessibility from farmer to consumer, transparency in the making and in our business.
3. I have a million other questions for CocoTerra. How do I get more information?
We look forward to sharing more information about CocoTerra in the months ahead. Sign up to stay informed about all our news and developments.