​In 2018 Henley Chocolates adopted the tagline #RealSustainableFun.  We apply all three of these principles when sourcing ingredients.

Real

Using ingredients which are grown rather than manufactured. The flavour imparted by real ingredients is always a class above what you get from the artificial flavourings which are so mainstream these days, and that are necessary to get the unnaturally long shelf life in mass-manufactured products that commercially need to be able to sit on supermarket shelves for months on end.  

Sustainable

Making sure that the ingredients we use leave minimal lasting negative impact on the environment. This means keeping our carbon footprint low by sourcing locally where possible, opting for ethical suppliers and short-traceable supply chains. 

Fun

Both 'Real' and 'Sustainable' contribute to the fun. Fun is being given a batch of gin-soaked mulberries for the first time by Shakespeare Distillery and perfecting the recipe for our Mulberry gin caramels (which involved accidentally(!) consuming a lot of gin! - well we have to taste test!)

"We are passionate about working with other local producers who are also striving for the same authenticity in the food chain."  

Perhaps you may also be tempted to sample their products after reading our recommendations!  Browse the alphabetical list below to find out the story behind your chocolate…​

"Every flavour tells a story"

Chocolate

All of our delicious products start life as either Barry Callebaut chocolate callets.  The Belgian chocolate recipe is not only high quality, smooth and melt in the mouth delicious but also ethically sourced.  The cocoa used to make the Barry Callebaut chocolate callets is grown by cocoa farmers who benefit from the Cocoa Horizons program.  Among other things, this foundation ensures that farmers earn a fair wage for their cocoa, protecting against poverty, child labour and illegal deforestation.

So yes, eating a chocolate bar from us not only tastes good, but does good!

​The chocolate callets are certified Halal. Kosher certification is available on request.

Coffee

​The coffee we use in our Cappuccino and Tia Maria espresso truffles is sourced from local coffee roasters, Monsoon Estates Coffee Company.  Winners of multiple Great Taste awards, Monsoon Estates is based in Stratford upon Avon, just down the road from us. The coffee beans, selected for their taste and ethical production, are expertly roasted and ground onsite by Monsoon before making the short journey (in paper packaging) to us (about 9 miles!).  
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If you are a coffee lover like us, you’ll enjoy one of their brews!

Cream & butter

​Surrounded by the beautiful green Warwickshire countryside, it's a great location for dairy farmers.  In fact, the Henley Chocolates shop and kitchen is located in the old milking parlour of Yew Tree Farm. It is fitting, therefore, that the fresh cream and butter we use to make ganache and caramel for your chocolate truffles comes from Cotswolds Dairies - a local dairy which sources milk from nearby cows.

Gin

Slowly distilled in small batches, using ingredients inspired by a Tudor garden, Shakespeare Distillery’s  hand crafted artisan gin is simply the best gin that we have ever tasted.  Not only has it won many awards, but like us at Henley Chocolates, the Shakespeare Distillery team believe in short supply chains and local produce. Their flavours (rhubarb, mulberry, quince, elderflower) are all based on fruits which Shakespeare himself would have been able to consume.
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Working closely and in person with Shakespeare Distillery over the years we have developed some of our best selling products: Rhubarb gin and ginger truffles.

There are some things in life, you just can't have too many of- Gin and Chocolate are two!

​In 2024 we also started working with local gin distillers Luke and Richie at East Chase Distillery. Two childhood school friends re-united after following separate careers for over a decade, East Chase Distillers craft their artisan gin less than 15 miles from us in four inspiring flavours: Citrus, Summer fruits, Rhubarb and apple and Dry London.

Warwickshire Fizz!

When planning some special, limited edition chocolate truffles for King Charles' coronation in 2023, Nichola from Welcombe Hills Vineyard approached us and suggested a #WarwickshireFizz alternative to Marc de Champagne.
Once we tasted their award-winning sparkling Ophelia Rose we knew it was a winner. Ophelia truffles are a 'Champagne-style' chocolate soft centre with notes of raspberries and strawberries.

Rum

An email reply to a plea for chocolate development help in 2023, lead us to discover the exceptional, fully bodied 12-spiced rum by DavidsonJ's.  Davidson's passion for rum and flavours (both originating from his past military deployments abroad) are really outstanding.

​After developing a unique spiced rum chocolate truffle recipe for his liqueur we decided this was one chocolate too nice not to be made again, it is now on offer periodically to our customers in our limited edition flavours.

Salt

You may have thought that since Henley Chocolates is sited in the landlocked Midlands, sourcing salt locally would be nigh-on impossible.  Not so!

Churchfields Saltworks, located in Droitwich Spa (less than 30 miles from Henley Chocolates) has one of the oldest and purest brine springs in the world.  At the saltworks their award winning salt is harvested by hand; like us, their team are passionate about the environment, sourcing energy required to process the salt renewably.

Our Droitwich salted caramel bites and chocolate bars are firm customer favourites! We can't make enough!

Seville oranges

When looking to source marmalade for our plant-based Dark Orange and Cointreau truffles it was only natural for us to turn to our local Country Market.  Country Markets are small cooperatives of inspirational local life-long home cooks, growers and crafters.  The seeds of Henley Chocolates were sewn at a Country Market many years ago- it was there that Sally was first introduced to the art of chocolate making (read more here).

​Seville oranges are oranges at their best.  The tart, juicy, fruits are only available during the winter months of January and February when they arrive in the UK freshly picked and harvested from warmer climes.  Using traditional recipes, often handed down through generations, Country Markets cooks transform the fruits into the delicious fine cut marmalade that we use.  So when you bite into your dark orange and Cointreau truffle you can taste the love and care put into making it all the way back to a kitchen table in a Country Market home, on a winter’s day.

Did you know...? 
​We’ve worked long and hard to create a balance between having enough shelf life on the chocolates to enable them to be sold in shops and being free from artificial preservatives and made with fresh ingredients. We think we’ve cracked it using sugar and alcohol as our main preservatives for chocolate truffles which have the added benefit of tasting great too!

Seasonal ingredients

​Throughout the year we make many limited-edition products. These are often inspired by seasonal produce and there is nearly always an interesting story behind them!  As and when these items are available you can read about how the special ingredients were sourced in the product listing.  To give you a flavour, past products include:

Strawberry & cream truffles

One year one of our chocolatiers had a surplus of strawberries on their allotment: would we like them??!  Of course!  Fruit-based chocolate ganache is a revelation. The truffles were an instant sell out (partially because the chocolate fairies ‘had’ to taste-test so many!)

Chilli chocolate bars

British grown chillies can be as fiery (if not more so) than imported ones!  Some friends are market gardeners locally (less than 20 miles from us).  Each year, as per their family tradition, they start growing their chilli plants from seed in January, on the window sills of the house. Chilli plants like warm conditions so the plants migrate from window sills to a heated greenhouse when they are larger.  One autumn the Woolmans had a bumper crop of chillies so we dried them out- a natural method of preserving which intensifies their flavour.  Later, chilli-infused oil was used to make spicy dark chocolate bars- chilli and chocolate are a classic winning combination.