Fine quality chocolates, each individual piece made by artisans that you can taste the flavour and texture in every bite. Hold up hold up…Is your mind wandering to Switzerland? Or France? Or Ghana? Well you need to land back, because artisanal chocolates have finally found a home in India, and we bring to you our favourite homegrown indie brands!
If you’re ready to level up from the mass produced chocolates, and appreciate the fine quality cocoa and the distinct flavours with each bite, then welcome aboard to the heaven of artisanal chocolates!
All Things
Re-introducing us to our childhood, All Things by Kuhu Kochar and Tejasvi Chandela caters not only to our chocolate wishes but also to that long forgotten magical world. The duo has set their sights on taking chocolate out of its current space and making it more experimental, they believe in beauty on the inside and the outside, spoiling us with delectable chocolates in ever-so-cute encasing. With the motto to celebrate art in everyday life, they bring to us bars made with premium cocoa and hand-picked ingredients from around the world, with quirky wrappers narrating the story behind each bar. So if you’re having a bad case of Monday blues, bite into the All Things Monday (Belgian dark chocolate & granola), or try the All Things Barcelona (Belgian dark chocolate & sangria) to get a taste of España. With encasings featuring summertime alphonso love, warm winter evenings with marshmallows, the old world charm of Jaipur, and the like, these are a feast for ‘em taste buds as well as our eyes! At the DSSC headquarters the days invariably start with a dose of All Things Breakfast (Belgian dark chocolate with coffee & biscotti), sprinkled with a few squares of All Things Water (Belgian dark chocolate & sea salt), All Things Polo (dark chocolate with hazelnut praline & feuilletine) …okay, we see where this is going. You should simply try them all!
Stevie’s watch out: Beware of turning into a hoarder of All Things wrappers!
Available at: Enjoy everything at The All Things Shop
Smitten Bakery & Patisserie
Trading a career as a Senior TV Journalist and pouring her heart and soul into her baking baby, Mandakini Gupta gifted Delhi the Smitten Bakery & Patisserie. This hidden gem in the lanes of Asiad Village sure has the city smitten with its cakes & bakes! We love her Bran Bread, Boozy Chocolate Cake and the Lemon Poppy Cake, but what keeps us going back for more are her artisanal chocolates! With a handpicked selection on offer, Mandakini whips up five exquisite flavours, all made with fine Belgian chocolate. You can take your pick of a small or a large bar in Red Rice Crackle, Roasted Coffee Bean, Almond Currant & Maldon Sea Salt Hazelnut, Fig & Orange and Pumpkin Seed & Candied Chilly Rocky Road. Being the coffee lovers that we are, the Roasted Coffee Bean has a little star in front of it in our list!
Available at: Get ready to be smitten at Smitten Bakery & Patisserie, smittenbakery1@gmail.com or call +91 9810010735.
Mason & Co
If where to find superior quality chocolate is your question, then Mason & Co is your answer. Nestled in the quaint town of Auroville in Puducherry, the duo of Jane and Fabien Mason are spreading some choco-happiness through their bean-to-bar chocolates. They source cacao beans grown by Indian farmers, stay away from all chemicals and belt out bars that are organic, vegan and of premium quality. They also use very little sugar and absolutely no milk for their chocolates!
So there, now you have legit reasons for hogging on those bars, it’s not just taste- it’s pro-environment too! They have a range of 12 flavours of dark chocolate on offer, from Sea Salt to Chilli & Cinnamon. Though us DSSC peeps have a soft spot for the Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate, we certainly cannot stop at one!
Stevie’s tip: Along with their chocolates, help yourself to some of their ace cacao powder, nibs and tisane (a type of herbal tea).
Available in our city at: Nature’s Basket stores; Blue Tokai Coffee (Khasra 258, Lane 3, Westend Marg, Saidulajab); The Altitude Store (Shop no. 110 & 116, Meharchand Market); Health is Wealth store (Defence Colony Market).
Bean Therapy
For some there’s therapy, for us there’s chocolate. Correction, for us there’s the best of both the worlds – Bean Therapy! Chef & Chocolatier Sanjay Solomon’s venture, Bean Therapy aims to churn out the finest grade chocolates, infused with flavours from all over India. A lover of the art of making chocolates (and chocolates, of course!), Sanjay takes inspiration from local Indian cuisine and converts it into luxury chocolate. Using only the best ingredients available for these handcrafted chocolates, Bean Therapy seeks to give us one of the best quality chocolates made in India. Choose from any of their 10 unusual flavours, and you won’t be disappointed! Zershek Berry, Watapi Coffee, Guntur Chilli, Adrak Chiraunji and Himalayan Rock Salt are only few of the experimental flavours on offer!
Stevie’s tip: Don’t forget to add their delish Hot Chocolate powder to your basket.
Available at: Get some much needed chocolate therapy at Bean Therapy.
Earth Loaf
Saying hello from Mysore, Earth Loaf greets us with some finger-licking artisan and raw chocolate. Another chocolatier to acquaint us with the bean-to-bar quality chocolates, they make handcrafted goodies, all in small batches to ensure that premium standards are maintained. Not one to solely deliver taste, Earth Loaf strives to preserve the nutritional value of cacao in their chocolates, combining ‘old-world craft and new-found nutritional wisdom’. Their flavours range from regular to adventurous, like the Raw Dark Chocolate Bar and the Coconut, Ginger & Gondhoraj Chocolate Bar. All of their seven flavours are a must try, but be sure to not miss out on the Smoked Salt & Almond Chocolate Bar!
Stevie’s tip: Go beyond the bar and try some of their extensive range of bon-bons, nibs, chocolate ladoos & truffles!
Available in our city at: Blue Tokai Coffee (Khasra 258, Lane 3, Westend Marg, Saidulajab); The Altitude Store (Shop no. 110 & 116, Meharchand Market); Health is Wealth store (Defence Colony Market); Greenr Co-Food Community Kitchen & Café (416, Shahpur Jat); I Say Organic (Okhla Phase 1, Okhla Industrial Area).
Go ahead, stock up that chocolate coffer, and this once when you open your box of chocolates, you’ll know exactly what you’re gonna get!
Cover picture courtesy: parapolitika.gr
