I wasn’t sure what to anticipate from the Mile High City before visiting this dozen or so Colorado chocolate businesses. I knew Colorado had some good restaurants and a few chocolatiers, but the Denver chocolate scene is on fire! Certainly, there are the usual Sees Candies, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Kilwins, and Itsugar, but there are also over a dozen local chocolate stores to select from.
Mexican-style hot chocolate and handmade chocolate bars are among the options, as are chocolate-covered marshmallows and twenty various types of fudge. Fortunately, the majority of these stores are easily accessible, either entirely online or in the city center. Since there are so many alternatives, stores are divided into three groups based on whether they produce their own chocolate, purchase chocolate and transform it into truffles and bonbons, or buy ready-made truffles and bonbons. These are chocolate manufacturers, chocolatiers, and chocolate stores, in that order.
*Please keep in mind that the stores indicated with an asterisk are presently only available online.
Contents
Denver Chocolate Manufacturers
*DAR Dark Chocolate
DAR Chocolate is a Denver-based artisan chocolate producer with a subsidiary business, Gataka Wellness, that produces handmade CBD chocolates. The founders’ introduction to chocolate production began with a cacao nib smoothie they had in Costa Rica, and a few years later, their newfound enthusiasm for cacao led them to Denver. Their present offering comprises both normal bars and an original called a truffle bar, which is a fluffy chocolate confection whipped up with only the most natural components as flavoring.
I’ve just had their regular bars, but their Fireside bar is quite delicious, and I’m eyeing both the Caramel Coffee and the Lemongrass & Ginger. DAR Chocolate is currently only available online and via other Denver-area stores, but we hope to be able to see them in their own shop one day.
Visit their online shop by clicking here.
*Bar and Cocoa
Bar & Cocoa, like many Denver chocolate enterprises, is now only available online, supplying bean to bar chocolate to customers all over the globe. For the record, they only sell bean to bar chocolate and do not create any themselves, which is why they are classified as Chocolate Makers. They have 70+ handmade chocolate firms and approximately 1000 distinct items, ranging from bars to bonbons to chocolate spreads and cigars; my favorites are the Pralus Barres Infernales and any white chocolate bar from Mission Chocolate.
But, for the most odd chocolates you’ll ever come across, utilize the filter options to select the chocolate of your desires. Take note of it for the time being. Even for local clients, Bar & Cocoa exclusively accepts delivered orders. Perhaps, as things calm down across the globe, they’ll be able to reopen a physical store, but for now, we can browse the complete inventory at once.
Visit their online shop by clicking here.
Handcrafted Chocolate Bibamba
Bibamba is new to the Denver Chocolate industry, but the founders are no strangers to cacao (the base ingredient of chocolate). In reality, all of the cacao used to manufacture their Denver bean to bar chocolate comes from the family’s farm in Cameroon, a coastal country in West Africa.
Although their current product line primarily consists of dark chocolates, their varieties are all extremely fantastic, with my favorites being the plantain or coconut tastes, both of which are available for sampling at all of their popups in the Colorado and Boulder area markets. If you can’t wait till the next market, you may get their chocolates online.
Visit their online shop by clicking here.
Chocolate Cultura
Cultura Chocolate is the only Colorado handmade chocolate producer with their own store location as of publishing. The store in question also serves as their factory, with an open floor layout that allows visitors to view into the chocolate-making facility, as well as one table and two seats inside and plenty of sitting outdoors. As soon as you walk in, you’ll see a plethora of jars of dry ingredients needed to manufacture the chocolate bars and sipping chocolates that line the shelves below.
If you want to make classic Mexican recipes at home, they also sell spice blends, sauces, masa, and tools like a grinder and a metate, which are prominently exhibited around the store. If you want anything other than their single origin chocolate bars, I suggest the horchata with cold brew or the hot chocolate, all of which are equally enjoyable. There are also many locally made handmade things, ranging from muscle balms and bath bombs to soaps and jewelry.
3742 Morrison Road, Denver, CO 80219
Hours: Thursday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Denver Chocolatiers​
*Cocoa Pod from Colorado
Colorado Cocoa Pod is now only available online for pickup or delivery, but it is worth the call. The company’s product range is centered on their several varieties of gorgeous bonbons, while they also sell little bars of chocolate and caramels. We had to have some bonbons, and among our dozen options, the Cinnamon Marshmallow, Lemon, and Passion Fruit Guava stood out.
Just one of the ganaches, Earl Grey Lavender, was not strong enough for me, so I would avoid any gentler tastes for a time. As for the remainder, each of the taste combinations was powerful and well-balanced, and I’m excited to sample their whole collection one day. The caramels have a fantastic texture!
Visit their online shop by clicking here.
*Confections by M2
This one-woman cabaret was created just a few years ago and currently sells chocolates for pickup or delivery throughout Colorado. While I was looking through the M2 catalogue (pronounced Em Squared), their bonbons stood out as especially interesting; after some thought, I chose to sample a dozen different bonbons, their chipotle nib brittle, and the passion fruit pate de fruits. In addition, they included a sample of their French Toast bar with my order, which was really amazing!
There are so many flavors in each of their chocolates that it’s difficult to choose a favorite, but our group of tasters like the Burnt Passionfruit, Carrot Cake, and Strawberry Sorbet. When I return to Denver, I want to find a retail store with their whole inventory.
Visit their online shop by clicking here.
*Coco Gusto’s
Wade Stembridge, a young chocolatier, developed the Coco Gusto chocolate brand. The company’s speciality is hand-painted bonbons and bars, which come in a variety of tastes (for the moment, you cant customize a box through their site). Their seasonal offerings vary year to year and may include macarons, brownies, or even a chocolate meat rub! If you have a special event coming up, you may purchase any of their gift sets for local delivery inside Denver city boundaries, however they have just introduced countrywide shipping as well.
Visit their online shop by clicking here.
Fine Chocolates Stargazer
This little Denver chocolate store in the Colorado Place strip mall offers a vast assortment of chocolate and coffee beverages, a limited selection of beers and wines, and a few quality bars. The remainder of their selection is available in pre-selected boxes of bonbons or as a pick-your-own from the case. I really like the spacious inside sitting, which is uncrowded and comfortable for those who want to stay a bit.
I chose 6 or 7 chocolates from the case, and although they were all a touch sweeter than I had hoped for, they were definitely beautiful, with rather sophisticated caramels and flavored ganache fillings. The Rosemary Honey and London Fog bonbons were especially tasty and unexpected to me, but I was pleased with everything.
700 Colorado Boulevard, Denver, CO 80206
Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Chocolates by Deiters
Deiters seems to be a 1950s restaurant from the exterior, yet the inside resembles a posh Manhattan confectionery store. Prepackaged sweets and chocolate-dipped delights, as well as toffee, dried fruits, and boxes of caramels, are available on tables and shelves around the store. We tried nine different types of bonbons, and they all ranged from fine to excellent.
Apart for the Earl Grey and Honey Cinnamon, most of the flavors were much too light for my preferences, to the point that I felt like I’d purchased a lot of plain truffles with varied decorations. I’d return for the toffee and the Askinosie chocolate, but not for the chocolates.
Denver, CO 80210 (1734 E Evans Ave)
Daily hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closes 5pm on Sundays)
Chocolate Labrador
Chocolate Lab is a low-key establishment that serves wines and drinks, chocolate barks and confections, and chocolate bonbons. The drinks are extremely delicious and vary in price from $11 to $15, but the chocolates themselves were overly sugary and lacked the complexity Id expect for the pricing. Here is the place to go for a one-of-a-kind chocolate confection, such as Brussels Sprouts & Bleu Cheese bark or Mustard Pretzel bark. It’s simply not my place.
2504 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80206
Hours: 12pm-6pm on Wednesdays and 12pm-9pm on Thursdays and Sundays.
Chocolate Stores in Denver
Chocolate should be tempered.
Temper Chocolates’ inventory comprises around a dozen bonbon tastes and several dozen distinct bean to bar chocolatiers bars, with the majority of the more well-known chocolatiers available. For the record, some of their bonbons and truffles seem to be created in-house, but the vast majority of their inventory is purchased wholesale and then resold to the ultimate buyer.
They also sell a modest assortment of non-bonbon confections and are placed in a tiny cafeteria among a number of restaurants and pubs. The bonbons themselves have extremely powerful, plain tastes and are exactly what they seem to be. But, they did not taste as balanced as I would have wanted, and for the price, I would not purchase them again.
2669 Larimer Street, Denver, CO 80205
Sat.) Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday (closed on Friday).
Enstrom’s Candy
This regional chain confectionery store with a concentration on chocolates and chocolate-flavored confections has a downtown outlet in Enstrom, which I visited. Their selection is so broad that it was difficult to choose a solid representative of their wares, but based on evaluations, I tried a few dozen types of bonbons and truffles. Apart from that, they also sell flavored pre-packaged chocolates, bulk jelly beans and other candy, a range of coffees, and their own brand of ice cream.
The store I visited was likewise pretty spacious, with lots of outside space as well as a few tables inside. The chocolates I sampled were quite sweet and reminded me of the candy stores I visited as a child, particularly in terms of strong tastes and uncolored exteriors. These truly strike the mark for nostalgia and pricing, but I’d choose for stronger tastes like toffees and coconut over the caramels and turn-based ones.
201 University Boulevard #118, Denver, CO 80206 (multiple locations; just one noted on map)
Hours: 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Friday; 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday; and 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday.
Chocolates by Robertas
Robertas Chocolate is a modest business on a busy street in Denver’s West Highland neighborhood. They sell several dozen distinct types of bonbons and truffles, all thick on the exterior with flavorful insides and priced around $1 to $2.25 apiece. Besides from chocolates, they also sell fudge, old-fashioned sweets, and Colorado-themed items. Despite their modest size, they’ve crammed a lot of alternatives into the area, and we really liked the assortment of Denver cards and postcards.
The chocolates itself were extremely sweet, with a very mild chocolatey taste even on the exterior chocolate and a thick sweetness within that often disguised the flavor. If I only wanted something extremely sweet for a low price, I’d go for their less priced chocolates or fudge and then go elsewhere for bonbons.
4022 Tennyson Street, Denver, CO 80212
Mon-Fri: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
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