This edit of craft chocolate is built around the makers we love most: independent, artisan chocolatiers, several of them women-owned. We've tasted our way through a lot of chocolate to find these, and we're thrilled to bring them all into one place. :)
Miss Maude's and Antidote are both women-owned, and every brand here is independent and founder-led, run by people who are obsessed with the details. You'll find the full story of each maker on its product page.
And if you're looking for chocolate gifts…these are the easiest, most universally loved gifts there are. Teacher gifts, a sweet treat for the hostess friend, a little something special to pop in a stocking last-minute, a thank-you for the neighbor who brought your trash cans in. Chocolate covers it.
Gourmet Chocolate Bars
Miss Maude's bars are made in Richmond, Virginia, by founder Jess Leonard, a chef who cooked at Eleven Madison Park before turning to chocolate. Each bar holds eight different flavors in its own little compartments, like a whole box of chocolates in one bar. They come in both dark and milk chocolate, with bars like Why Choose?, Whiskey Business, Après Ski and the Theater Bar. The wrappers are little works of art (we may or may not have kept a few), but what's inside is the reason they're here.
Antidote is woman-owned and founder-led, and every bar is made bean to bar in Ecuador, right where the cacao is grown. The chocolate is bold and high-percentage, from 73% all the way to 84%, with pairings you won't find anywhere else: Rose Salt + Lemon, Mango + Juniper, Lemon + Licorice (that even our pickiest-eater loves). For the dark chocolate person who thinks they've tried everything - Antidote.
We also carry Milène Jardine bars in flavors like Sicilian Salted Lemon and Toasted Coconut, plus a 63% salty dark bar from Figa Foods that’s technically not chocolate, but tastes just like it + disappears fast in our house. It’s made with four simple ingredients: Cupuaçu, dates, cocoa butter, and sea salt.
Taza makes its chocolate bean to bar in Somerville, Massachusetts, on traditional Mexican stone mills. Their stone-ground chocolate discs (Orange, Cacao Puro) are rustic and a little gritty in the best way. Break off a piece, or melt one into hot milk for the richest hot chocolate you've ever had.
Hot Cocoa + Drinking Chocolate
For the nights that call for something better than the packet. NU Chocolat's hot chocolate is handmade in Burlington, Vermont, by Kevin and Laura Toohey, a husband-and-wife team of Swiss-trained chocolatiers who run the shop with their two grown kids. Choose the Signature blend or the Dark Connoisseur (65%), each in a very gift-worthy tin - both consist of chocolate shavings you whip into the milk of your choice. Elements' Vegan Rose Hot Chocolate is made with organic, fair trade Ecuadorian cacao, real rose, and the barest hint of cardamom. And for the full cozy setup, add our SHHHH mug. (No explanation needed.)
Chocolate-Dipped Orange Segments
NU Chocolat's Italian Orange Segments are candied Italian orange slices dipped in dark chocolate, and they're one of the shop's best-known treats. Sweet, a little tart, a little bitter, and very hard to stop eating. Pack them in a gift box, put them out on a cheese board, or keep them in your nightstand. We won't tell.
Gourmet Marshmallows
NU Chocolat’s marshmallows for dropping into cocoa, or eating straight from the bag (no judgement) are just as pretty as they are tasty.
Bonbons + Truffles
Marcie Blaine's gorgeous little chocolates are handmade in Philadelphia by chef Marcie Turney, who co-owns the brand with her partner, Valerie Safran. (Philly locals know them from Barbuzzo and Little Nonna's.) Every piece is hand-painted and made in a small studio kitchen at the back of their 13th Street shop. The flavors come straight from a chef's brain: Fleur de Sel caramel, Cashew Caramel, Bourbon Pecan, Blood Orange with olive oil, the French Farmer with elderflower and Champagne, and seasonal picks like Spiked Egg Nog and Peppermint.
MECHA Chocolate is led by chef and chocolatier Melissa Crandley, who trained at the Culinary Art Institute of Philadelphia and cooked in Center City restaurants before turning to chocolate. What started in a 100-square-foot office converted into a kitchen is now two shops, in Haddonfield, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Her Tea Box holds four tea-infused ganaches: Chai, Chamomile, Japanese Matcha and Earl Grey. The perfect small gift for the tea lover in your life, but subtle enough that even tea-haters can indulge.
What the Percentage on a Chocolate Bar Actually Means
That number on the wrapper is the percentage of the bar, by weight, that comes from the cacao bean: cocoa solids plus cocoa butter. The rest is mostly sugar, plus milk in milk chocolate. So a 70% bar is roughly 30% sugar, and an 84% bar like Antidote's Lemon + Licorice isn’t nearly as sweet, but still perfectly sweet-enough (dark chocolate lovers get it).
A higher number doesn't mean better chocolate, just different chocolate: less sweetness and more of the bean's own flavor, which can be fruity, earthy, or bitter. Most craft milk chocolate lands between 30% and 45%, and most dark chocolate starts somewhere around 55% to 60%.
