Escazu Artisan Chocolate

If you find yourself in Raleigh, North Carolina, in the throes of a chocolate attack, take your drooling mouth to 610 Glenwood Avenue, just off the downtown area, where you’ll find Escazu Artisan Chocolates. Co-founder and chocolatier Hallot Parson will treat you to samples of the many creative varieties made right there on the premises, all produced directly from the bean. On my recent visit, we started with a very dark and bitter selection made of 81% cocoa content Carenero bean from Venezuela, graduating through a wide range of flavors, all the way to a 41% milk chocolate bar with a deep sweet flavor that lingers on the tongue. The company founders took their name from Escazu, a city in Costa Rica which served as inspiration for the business. After meeting a farmer there who had turned his struggling business around by changing to organic methods, Hallot and his partner Robert Henkens decided to open their business offering all natural chocolates with Latin American influences. Thus, you will find flavorings such as Chipotle chili, Brazil nuts, Guajillo Chili, Costa Rican coffee beans and dried organic bananas. Available by mail order as well as in many stores, these are probably the best chocolates you’ll ever eat!

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Tucked into one half of a tiny, renovated dwelling in Raleigh's Glenwood South district sits Escazu, an artisan chocolate shop and café that prides itself on offering all-natural, Latin American-inspired confections made completely from scratch and all in-house. Show restraint by indulging in just one raspberry truffle or make a meal out of sampling gourmet bars enhanced with Brazil nuts, banana, chipotle chili, roasted pumpkin seeds, or tangy sea salt. Complete the experience with the liquid pleasure and company of hot cocoa or Costa Rican Arabica coffee. Before you leave, take home a cocoa-scented candle to lull yourself into a blissful chocolate dream.

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