With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s funny how taste buds seem to head for the sweet table. Research says the average American eats three chocolate bars a week. So you might as well go for the best of the best. Every city seems to have a favorite candy maker. The travel experts at GO have ideas where you can go for some sweet satisfaction.
Maybe it’s the cool, rainy weather, but for some reason you can find quite a few candy sources in and around Seattle. Like most major cities, there’s a good chance someone offers a culinary city tour with a candy specialty. That’s the easy way; and in Seattle you might find one here.
But, a fellow chocolate-lover from the Midwest once traveled to Montreal with a list of local candy stores that she just had to visit. What a great idea! You can learn a lot about a city and its people that way, not to mention, sampling some wonderful chocolate lore and flavors. So, here are some must-taste spots in Seattle, and around the country:
Spinnaker Chocolate says they’ll change the way you think about chocolate. They begin with globally sourced cacao beans, triple sorted to remove any impurities, then hand roasted for flavor. This family run business then continues to test and test throughout the process until they reach perfection. Learn more about Spinnaker and their factory tour here.
Maeve Chocolate in nearby Tukwila offers special tours for Valentine’s Day, where you can “See where the magic happens.” Store and tour hours are pretty flexible, but keep in mind the machines take a break every Friday thru Sunday. You’ll get the entire bean-to-bar experience.
Next up, Fran’s, for bars, truffles, caramels, sauces and hot chocolate. Fruit and nut chocolate coated varieties, too. There’s really nothing in the world of chocolate you won’t find at Fran’s. She was named Best overall chocolatier in the United States by one industry source. And Ina Garten recommends her Salted Caramels as a hostess gift. Gotta’ visit her legendary Georgetown facility.
Denver offers food tours and craft beer tours and even a tea tour in the nearby plant of Celestial Seasonings. But, if you’re interested in chocolate and candy, head for Hammond’s. You’ll find lemon drops, lollipops, sour worms, plus so much more, and chocolate, of course, be it in bars or bulk, with caramel or sea-salted, nuts or plain. The choices can be so hard some times. Plan a visit to Hammond’s here.
Inspired by Belgian techniques and Lebanese flavors, Azar Indulgences allows you to do just that, indulge your chocolate taste buds with a truly unique product. The varieties are endless: chocolate free from dairy, sugar, gluten, nuts, even vegans can find something to love. They’ve recently added specialty coffee, too, so Azar’s could be the perfect break.
But wait, there’s more sweets in Portland. One of the oldest family-owned and operated candy makers in the country is Sweet’s. Whether it’s taffy, milk chocolate orange sticks, or dark chocolate, Sweet’s is another must visit spot for candy people in Portland. Don’t know what it is about the west coast and candy, but who’s complaining.
As long as you made it to the Pacific coast, what’s another six hours in your quest to find the finest gifts that Quetzalcoatl — the Mayan god and source of the original cacao bean — can offer. In Lahaina, the town devastated by fire just a few years ago, sits the Ku’ia Maui Chocolate Company. Well, actually, it’s a chocolate estate, where you can see the beans grow, see how they’re harvested, sorted, processed and lovingly transformed into that chocolate bar you crave. The whole chocolate story in one place.
Back on the mainland, but still in the warmer climate category, next door to Las Vegas, you’ll find Ethel M’s in Hendersonville for a luxury chocolate experience. Especially this Valentine’s Day, they feature special chocolate tastings and their Cactus Garden light display to highlight your visit to their world famous store and factory. Small batch chocolate from from liqueurs, caramels and satin cremes, this is a chocolate lover’s paradise.
You’re in luck. The chocolate covered strawberries are arriving on January 30th at Cerreta’s candy company in nearby Glendale. You can pick up a chocolate tote sampler bag, some Naked Tortoises, even a French Mint Lip Balm. But, it’s the chocolate that separates Carreta’s from everyone else; the Coffee Clusters, Mint Cookie Bites and of course, the chocolate covered strawberries!
Since 2007, Olive & Sinclair has been making small batch chocolate goodies from slow roasted and stone ground single source beans that set a new standard for what they call Southern Artisan Chocolate®. Whether you like Mexican-style, sea salt, candied lemon, or buttermilk white chocolate, O & S is for you. Bars, clusters, chunks or brittle, have a bite.
Most people who go to Milwaukee have an assortment of tours to choose from. There’s beer, of course, German food, motorcycles, even churches, but the real taste of MKE resides in their sweet tooth. One location is Indulgence Chocolatiers, actually with three stores, one being their kitchen, offering chocolate/wine pairings. Their handmade truffles will not disappoint.
Across town is Burke Candy & Ingredients, a four generation candy family that prides itself on the finest quality ingredients and innovative chocolate tastes. Caramels, toffees, Champagne Bubbles, chocolate covered orange peels. And that’s just from page one of the online order site. But a visit to their factory will open your eyes to how family love and lore since 1929 makes for a wonderful chocolate experience.
This is the American story: arriving from Greece in 190, this now five-generation business has added and added and added production space to accommodate the growing fan base for Anthony-Thomas Chocolates around the world. English toffee, pecan dainties, butter cremes, sea salt caramels, and of course their famous peanut butter and chocolate Buckeyes®. Columbus is the home of TOSU—The Ohio State University, after all.
Our final chocolate stop offers a unique chocolate experience for the candy lover. Some stores talk about stone-ground chocolate, but at Taza Chocolate you’ll be able to see it at work, then taste the kind of deliciously gritty flavor their unique process produces. It’s bold and authentic, carrying such flavors as Seriously Dark and Wicked Dark. They deal directly with cacao farmers, no middlemen, here. Definitely worth a bite.
There’s a real chocolate lover’s assortment for your next Valentine. And we never mentioned the names of Hershey or Ghiradelli! Wherever you choose to indulge your sweet tooth this year, count on GO Airport Shuttle to help you in your quest. We serve over 60 airports in the U.S., and several international locations as well, including Ecuador, home of one of the earliest cacao farms dating back to 3300 BC.
All for the love of chocolate!