Champagne wishes, chocolate dreams

Posted on by Mackensy Lunsford

There’s no reason not to go local when it comes to chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Here are seven opportunities:

If you haven’t had a chance to yet, drop by Chocolate Gems, at 25 Broadway in downtown Asheville. The shop’s handmade chocolates include fiery selections like a cayenne-enhanced chocolate, crowned with a red tear drop and an ancho-chipotle variety with a purple teardrop. The shop also offers spiced Mexican drinking chocolates. And on Friday, Feb. 10, Chocolate Gems will offer a wine-and-chocolate tasting beginning at 6:30 featuring the shop’s handmade chocolates paired with selections from the New River Winery, located in Lansing, N.C.

The French Broad Chocolate Lounge once again offers its aphrodisiac collection, which includes confections like the Cosmic Love Potion, made with an elixir that a local herbalist conjured up in a dream (true story). Also included in the box is an Indian kulfi spiked with cardamom, a cayenne-enhance dark-chocolate truffle and a fig-and-port variety. 10 S. Lexington Ave. 

The Chocolate Fetish has a number of Valentine’s Day specials, including a “Dark Desires” truffle filled with European dark chocolate ganache with a hint of vanilla bean. Chocolatier Elizabeth Foley calls the treat a “simple, dark and pure indulgence.” The shop also offers a pomegranate-pink peppercorn truffle, a number of hand-painted chocolate hearts and much more Valentine’s-friendly fare. 36 Haywood St. 

Raw Shakti Chocolates are handmade in Asheville and offer an 85-percent cacao chocolate that’s raw, vegan, gluten-free and diabetic-friendly Valentine’s gift. The bars are sweetened with coconut-palm sugar, one of the lowest glycemic-index sweeteners. For extra, um, fortitude on Valentine’s Day, may we recommend the Energy Elixir made with Himalayan pink sea salt, guarana and rhodiola root, all which help to boost your body’s energy levels? For information on where to buy, visit Shakti’s website.

Another raw chocolate maker, Sinless Raw Chocolates, has moved to Swannanoa.

And UliMana, another local raw chocolate maker is offering the chance to get free chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Visit the company’s Facebook page, write a love letter to your favorite UliMana product, and automatically get entered to win.

Black Mountain Chocolates is a small-scale bean-to-bar chocolate factory in (where else) Black Mountain. The company currently offers a 70 percent dark chocolate bar mixed with cocoa nibs for a serious experience for chocolate lovers that would go amazingly well with a rich red wine. You can order straight from the website here.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

2 thoughts on “Champagne wishes, chocolate dreams”

  1. gramx3

    Actually, Black Mountain Chocolate is located in Swannanoa. They no longer sell retail at their Swannanoa location, but you can buy their great products at the Merry Wine Market in Black Mountain.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.