Ghirardelli: Squares Assortments, Baking Chocolate and Gift Boxes, and Shipping in Warm Weather

Ghirardelli is the San Francisco chocolate maker best known for its individually wrapped Squares. The Ghirardelli online shop sells those Squares in bags and assortments, baking bars and chips, cocoa and hot chocolate mixes, and a range of gift boxes and tins.

The decisions that make a Ghirardelli order go well are simple: pick the right darkness, pick the right format for baking, and plan around heat in transit.

Reading the Squares range by cacao

Ghirardelli Squares come in milk, dark and flavoured varieties, with the dark range labelled by cacao percentage. The number tells you how much of the bar comes from the cocoa bean; the rest is mostly sugar and, in milk varieties, milk.

A lower percentage dark is smooth and sweet. The high-percentage Ghirardelli Intense Dark bars are noticeably bitter and drier. If you are buying for a mixed group, a variety bag or a Ghirardelli assortment is the safer choice than a single high-cacao flavour.

The filled Squares, such as caramel and mint, are the ones people finish first. If you are buying a big bag for an office, mix one filled flavour with one plain dark and one milk.

Check the allergen line on each product. Ghirardelli lists milk, soy and possible traces of tree nuts and peanuts on many items, and flavours change between seasons.

Baking chocolate: bars, chips and wafers

Ghirardelli makes baking bars, chips and melting wafers, and they do different jobs. Chips are designed to hold their shape in a cookie. Bars chop and melt more smoothly, so they suit ganache, brownies and sauces.

Melting wafers are for dipping and coating, where you want a thin set shell. Using chips for a ganache can leave it grainy; using wafers in a cookie gives you puddles.

For cocoa, Ghirardelli sells both unsweetened cocoa and sweetened ground chocolate. Recipes asking for cocoa powder mean the unsweetened kind. Substituting a sweetened drink mix will throw the sugar and texture off.

Bakers who go through a lot of chocolate should compare the Ghirardelli multi-packs and larger bags against single packs; the unit price on the label shows which is cheaper.

Gift boxes, tins and seasonal ranges

Ghirardelli gift boxes range from small tins of Squares to large hampers with cocoa, baking mixes and a mug. Before choosing, look at the listed weight and piece count rather than the photo. A big box can be mostly packaging.

Seasonal Ghirardelli ranges appear around Valentine's Day, Easter, the holidays and autumn, with limited flavours such as peppermint and pumpkin spice. They sell out, and they are often reduced once the season passes.

For corporate gifts, Ghirardelli has offered bulk and custom options. Ask for a quote if you are ordering dozens of the same box, and give delivery dates plenty of lead time.

Shipping chocolate in warm weather

Chocolate melts in a delivery van. Ghirardelli has typically used insulated packaging or ice packs in hot months and may charge more, limit methods, or hold orders to warmer regions. Check the current Ghirardelli warm-weather shipping note before you order.

Choose the fastest method you can justify in summer, and avoid orders that will sit in a depot over a weekend. Have it delivered to where someone will be at home.

If a Ghirardelli order arrives melted, photograph it straight away and contact customer service. Chocolate that has bloomed white after heat is still safe to eat, but gifts should arrive looking right.

Storing Ghirardelli at home

Keep chocolate cool, dark and dry, away from strong smells. The fridge is not ideal; condensation causes sugar bloom when the bar comes out. A cupboard away from the oven works well for Ghirardelli bags and baking bars.

Check the best-by date on large bags. Dark Ghirardelli chocolate keeps longer than milk or filled Squares.

Where the Ghirardelli savings are

The 20% code is the strongest on the page and suits a large gift or baking order. It is a seasonal Ghirardelli promotion, so it may only work at certain times of year.

The 15% code is named for Squares. Use it on a Squares basket; if Ghirardelli limits it to that range, the percentage will not apply to baking items or gifts.

The free-shipping code likely has a minimum order, going by its name. Shipping can be a large share of a small chocolate order, especially with warm-weather packaging, so on a modest basket it may save more than a percentage code would.

Ghirardelli normally accepts one code per order. Work out which is worth more on your basket: 20% of the subtotal against the shipping charge shown at checkout.

Common questions

Which Ghirardelli dark chocolate is the least bitter?

The lower cacao percentages. The Intense Dark bars with high percentages are the most bitter.

Can I use Ghirardelli chips instead of a baking bar?

For cookies, yes. For ganache and sauces, a chopped bar melts more smoothly.

Does Ghirardelli ship in summer?

Usually, with heat protection and sometimes restrictions. Check the current shipping note before ordering.

Are Ghirardelli seasonal flavours available all year?

No. They appear for a season and are often discounted after it ends.