Charley's Chocolate Factory, Mission Beach review: is it sustainable and worth a visit?

One minute you’re looking at real cocoa pods growing right before your eyes in various stages of ripeness, and the next you’re sampling 5 different flavours of locally-produced chocolates between whirring machines right in the middle of the small factory. While Charley’s Compact tour is quick, we found it both fascinating and delicious.

Quick verdict

Charley’s is an Australian cocoa farm and chocolate factory, producing award-winning chocolates from locally grown and closely sourced ingredients near Mission Beach, Queensland.

They offer Compact and Big tours, each taking visitors through the “cocoa tree to chocolate bar” process and including a tasting of 5 delicious chocolates. The Compact tour is ideal for visitors on a budget or who are short on time, while the Big tour is suited to real chocolate enthusiasts who are eager to learn about chocolate production right from its ancient origins. We found the Compact tour highly enjoyable and very well priced.

Charley's sets out clear sustainability commitments, and we'd recommend it to eco-conscious travellers and foodies alike.

What to know before you go

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  Price:

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    Compact tour (35 minutes): $21 AUD per adult, $19 concession, $15 for children
  • ◦
    Big tour (90 minutes): $39 AUD per adult, $34 concession, $25 for children
  • ◦
    Under 3s go free but don't get tastings (they probably wouldn’t appreciate the dark chocolates anyway!)
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  Schedule:

  • ◦
    Compact: Wednesday and Friday at 10:30am, Saturday at 12:30pm, lasts 35 minutes
  • ◦
    Big: Thursday at 10am, lasts 90 minutes
  • ◦
    Times can change, so check the booking calendar
  • ◦
    There's a short walk onto the farm, so sensible shoes are recommended
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  Getting there: 388 Cassowary Drive, Mt Edna, about 10 minutes' drive from Mission Beach. Search "Charley's Chocolate Factory" in Google Maps, as the street address can send you to the wrong place
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  Bring: A hat, insect repellent and a refillable water bottle
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  Booking: Book in advance at charleys.com.au or on 07 4068 5011

We visited in July 2026 on the Compact tour. Prices and times above were checked in October 2026.

Is Charley’s chocolate grown in Australia?

Back in 2012, Lynn and Chris Jahnke saw an opportunity to turn a banana farm into a cocoa farm, something incredibly rare in Australia. Many Australians we’ve spoken to didn’t even realise cocoa is grown in Australia. Mission Beach is a famous area for cassowaries, and in 2026 Charley’s staff were lucky enough to find five healthy Southern Cassowary chicks with an adult male on the farm, the first such sighting in over a decade.

Charley’s offers chocolates made from their own cocoa and locally harvested, native ingredients such as Davidson Plum, alongside tropical creations made using cocoa from Far North Queensland and Papua New Guinea combined with fruits from Far North Queensland.

During the tour, you get to walk around the cocoa plants, see the pods growing and discover what a perfectly ripe pod looks, and even feels, like.

From cocoa tree to chocolate bar

The factory where all of Charley’s chocolate is produced sits right by the farm, so the journey from tree to bar really is a few hundred metres. The Compact tour takes you from the trees up the hill to the factory. The presentation takes place in between two rooms of chocolate-producing machines, behind huge windows that offer you the chance to see every step of the manufacturing process.

In the factory, we got to break open the roasted cocoa beans and taste the raw cocoa nibs inside. Note, it’s very bitter at this stage, so it’s not to everyone’s taste. It’s somewhat comparable to eating roasted coffee beans.

The presentation leads on to the machines themselves, which take this bitter cocoa and combine it with varying levels of milk and locally grown fruits to produce Charley’s variety of chocolate flavours.

What’s in the chocolate tasting?

Chocolate tasting is included as part of any tour at Charley’s, and consists of 5 different chocolates per person. You get a sheet with information on each of the samples, and a space to write your own tasting notes - ideal if you fancy picking one up from the shop after the tour.

The chocolates on offer are mostly dark, ranging from 60 to 70% cocoa. Flavours during our tasting included coffee bean, beach coconut, rosella & pistachio, single origin milk and tropical crunch. The standout for us was the rosella & pistachio thanks to its unique, fruity and earthy flavour profile. For coffee lovers, the espresso coffee bean sample was deliciously intense.

There’s a shop on-site where you can purchase more of your favourite chocolate, and the tour includes a voucher to save some money on your purchase.

Award-winning chocolate

Charley’s range of chocolates have won awards across Australia, in the Australian Fine Food Awards and the Sydney Royal show, highlighting their dedication to producing high quality chocolate.

Internationally, cocoa grown at Charley’s Mt Edna plantation was twice recognised by the Cocoa of Excellence program in Paris, in 2017 and 2019.

Is Charley’s chocolate ethical?

Sustainability and ethics in chocolate production are serious issues globally, with far-reaching environmental and social issues. It’s estimated that cocoa production is responsible for around 1/3 of total forest loss in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana over the last 60 years. Cocoa farming is widely known to be an unfair industry, with the average cocoa farmer’s pay well below the extreme global poverty line and notably lower pay for women.

Charley's says it takes sustainability seriously, both socially and environmentally. It says it trades directly with its cocoa farmers to ensure fair prices and traceability, and raises awareness about the importance of sustainable and fair chocolate production.

Charley’s state that they make efforts to minimise their environmental impact at every stage of production, from promoting farming practices that eliminate harmful pesticides, to clearly outlining how every part of their packaging can be reused or recycled. Their packaging also features the delightful artwork of local artist Kim Rayner, depicting natural environments around Mission Beach.

Charley's does more than most chocolate makers by growing much of their own cocoa and naming where the rest comes from, as well as by using local ingredients and recyclable packaging. While we can’t independently verify their farming practices, it’s important to us that they state this commitment so clearly.

Should you book Charley’s Compact or Big tour?

We took Charley’s Compact tour simply because it’s available 3 days per week, whereas the Big tour only runs on Thursdays. Over 35 minutes you get to discover the cocoa beans growing in the plantation, learn about the machines on the production line, sample roasted cocoa nibs and then taste 5 chocolates. We were delighted by this tour and felt that it was very reasonably priced for an enticing look into the chocolate-making process.

According to Charley’s, the Big tour follows a similar journey but takes guests into much more depth, starting from the history of cocoa production and including a visit to the tree nursery and a detailed look at the chocolate factory itself.

If you’re coming with children, the Compact tour is probably the right choice, unless they’re really into chocolate (and history). If you have the time and the passion for learning, the Big tour is ideal. And while you’re in Far North Queensland, check out our reviews of Calypso Reef Cruises for visiting the Great Barrier Reef, and the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary in Kuranda.

Whichever tour you choose, if you care about sustainable chocolate production (and you should), Charley’s is a great place to visit near Mission Beach - even on rainy days.