Ordering Belgium Chocolates

I have ordered chocolates from Dumon (also in Bruges and recommended by Rick) from a company called Chocobong online. They arrived in only a few days and tasted great. None of them broke on the journey. They don't have the large selection that they did in-store but I was able to get a variety.

I've looked into this for my favorite brand, Moeder Babelutte. Unfortunately, because the FDA requires certain monitoring standards for all food imports, many of the smaller chocolatiers do not export to the US. I have no idea if Jan De Clerk exports, but they may not for the above reason.

Even if they did have FDA approval, I wouldn't buy these type of chocolates via mail order. They need to be consumed within a couple days to maintain their freshness. But most importantly, chocolate absorbs odors very easily; gods know what the chocolates will be exposed to on the journey from Belgium to the US:)

I can thankfully report that by mail, Belgian chocolates (well, at least Leonidas) hold up pretty well if mailed. From time to time, my in-laws send me a box. Not as good as from the source, but hey, its better than no Belgian chocolate!

Try Cost Plus Stores for other Belgian brands. Online ordering can get expensive. I love Belgian but Lindt Swiss chocolates are still my favorite.

Only chocolates with fresh cream have to be eaten within a few days. The regular chocolates will survive the transit just fine IF the weather is cool enough. I would suggest waiting until around mid-November to order. You don't want a gooey blob to arrive at your door. Although it would probably still taste pretty good! Be forewarned that shipments over a certain dollar amount (I think it's $200 USD) are subject to a US Customs duty, which usually starts around $50. And the shipping will approximately double the cost of the chocolate. As previously mentioned, the store must already be set up with the FDA.

We bought chocolates in Belgium, carried them back home in our laps on the plane. Gave the boxes out sparingly to friends and ate some also. Two weeks later, we found the SAME chocolates, in the SAME box made by the SAME company for sale in Aldi's, for LESS then we paid for them in Belgium, figuring in the exchange rate. Moral -Try Alidi's for Belgian chocolates.