Come to Spectacular Maleny
Lief Chocolates started in 2006 supplying the Eumundi markets and the Brisbane chocolate shops. We moved to beautiful Maleny in 2008 and renamed ourselves to pay homage to the region we love.
We use the best Belgian chocolate couverture for our bars then load them generously with the topping and wrap them in clear bags so you can see exactly what you’re getting. No fake compound chocolate and definitely no preservatives or artificial flavours. While our chocolates will last months if stored correctly they are best eaten fresh. Well, who can wait anyway?
Whether you’re visiting the Sunshine Coast on holidays or are lucky to live in or close to the Sunshine Coast, call in and see for yourself how chocolate should be made and talk to the people who make it.
If you are looking for unique corporate gifts or are a retailer wanting to stock our products, feel free to drop us an email.
You’ll taste the Difference
In 2016 Lief Chocolates moved to Maleny and rebranded as Maleny Chocolate Company. 2019 saw the need for expansion and so a larger factory and retail outlet was built in Maple St, Maleny. Our principles have never let us add preservatives, artificial flavourings or vegetable oils to lengthen shelf life or cheapen production costs. You’ll taste the difference.
About Maleny
Come to Maleny for your fresh chocolate fix. Just an hour from Brisbane or 30 minutes from the Sunshine Coast. Watch the chocolates being made in our factory then grab some bargains to take home from the factory outlet cafe.
FAQS
Vegan chocolate is any chocolate made without ingredients that come from animals. So look for chocolate bars with a minimal number of ingredients.Typically the ingredients will include cocoa butter but this natural cocoa fat is vegan. High quality dark chocolate is a great option for vegans. Look for a cacao content of 50% or more. Dried fruits, nuts, and mint are all vegan friendly however caramels, truffles, and any milk or white chocolate all contain dairy products. There are many versions of veganism and some will be so strict as to not eat honeycomb as honey can be considered an animal by-product.
If you are in doubt one of our friendly sales team will help.
We use Belgian chocolate (Callebaut) not only for a superior taste but also for their transparent sustainability policy. To safeguard the future of cocoa, Callebaut helps farmers to increase their yields through training as well as increasing their incomes by paying premium prices to farmers.
Put it in an air tight container so the cocoa butter in your chocolate doesn’t absorb smells and end up tasting like that cake of soap nearby. Then just store in a cool, dark and dry place, ideally below about 21 degrees and below 50% relative humidity. Stored under ideal conditions solid chocolate will keep for over a year while filled chocolates like pralines and truffles will last around 2-3 months (unless full of preservatives and nasty chemicals to make them last years).
Firstly it will pick up moisture and food odours in the fridge (think smelly blue cheese, garlic etc). The appearance and the taste of the chocolate will deteriorate. Secondly when you bring the cool chocolate into a warm room, condensation droplets will form on the surface of the chocolate causing sugar bloom. If you have chocolate in an air tight container in the fridge, let the container come back to room temperature before opening (if you can wait that long!)
Palm oil is a cheap alternative to cocoa butter that some chocolate makers will use to reduce costs. However this produces an inferior tasting chocolate. Environmentally, as the land is cleared for new palm oil plantations, serious issues of deforestation, erosion, silting of vital waterways and habitat degradation occur. We encourage consumers not to buy products that contain vegetable oil (palm oil).
If the chocolate has a whitish colour with a rough texture like sandpaper, it has sugar bloom – crystals have formed due to moisture on the sugar. Your chocolate has been stored in a damp place like a refrigerator. A smooth whitish colour on the other hand will be fat bloom. This is simply the cocoa butter separating from the cocoa solids and coming to the surface. Either way, it will be fine to eat or just melt it down and re-work after tempering.
White chocolate is made with a blend of sugar, cocoa butter, milk products, vanilla, and a fatty substance called lecithin. So you could say it’s just sweetened fat. Technically, white chocolate is not a chocolate – and it doesn’t really taste like one—because it doesn’t contain chocolate solids.
