Beverly Hills Chocolate Self-Guided Tour
The Beverly Hills Walking Chocolate Tour offers a decadent 2 1/2 hour tour with tastings that covers 1 1/2 miles of chocolate shops. I debated going on the tour a couple of times, and Pleasure Palate dining group also had their own version of the tour. I was wait listed for that event.A fellow wait-lister and friend suggested we try to go on our own, since the locations are all listed in various places online.
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| Sprinkles Cupcakes - where the tour began (you can see the "real" tour attendees outside) |
Our version ran 1.1 miles, although we skipped 1 location which we'd both tried in the past, and backtracked a couple of times to get a bit more walking in, feed the parking meters and change the order up.
- K Chocolatier by Diane Kron - 9606 Santa Monica Blvd - Chocolate Truffles, K Bears, Spanish Orange, Vodka Balls
- Teuscher Chocolates & Café - 9548 Brighton Way - Champagne Truffles, Hazelnut Pralines
- Beverly Hills Brownie Company - 315 N Beverly Dr - Chocolate Walnut Brownies
- Vosges Haut Chocolat - 311 N Beverly Dr - - Chocolate Chip Cookies and various chocolate bar tastings
- Bouchon Bakery - 235 N Canon Dr - Pain Au Chocolat and Chocolate Eclairs
- American Tea Room - 401 N Canon Dr - Various tea samplings and fresh brewed Choco-Late
- Coupa Café - 419 N Canon Dr - Spicy Mayan Hot Chocolate and Abuelita Hot Chocolate
- Edelweiss Chocolates - 444 N Canon Dr - Dark & Milk Chocolate Caramellows; Peach, Apricot, and Orange Peel dipped in Chocolate
- Sprinkles Cupcakes - 9635 S Santa Monica Blvd - Red Velvet and Chocolate-Marshmallow cupcakes, Sprinkles ice cream
The tour:
K Chocolatier by Diane Krön
These "shots" consist of dark chocolate orbs with real alcohol centers - tequila, vodka and scotch.
Their specialty is the TK truffles, an original recipe by Thomas Krön, containing various textures of dark chocolate with whipped centers.
The Spanish orange, also notable, are orange peel sticks covered in dark chocolate.
2nd stop:
Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland
This cafe and shop had a gorgeous display case with whimsical animal-shaped confections.
Back to the Kouign-amann (pronounced kween a-mon), meaning "butter cake". It doesn't sound like a french pastry name because it's a cake from Breton, originating around 1860. Breton is the ancient Celtic language from Britanny. The secret recipe is known only by a few people on earth.
The personal sized cake is made with bread dough containing layers of salted butter and sugar folded in. It's then slowly baked until the butter puffs up the dough and the sugar caramelizes. And the bottom bears this deeply caramelized crust that shattters like glass - something you'd find on top of a crème brûlée.
Trust me in saying it's a sweet-salty, flaky bite of heaven.
6th stop:
The tea room brought a welcome palate cleanser after so many tastings. The tea displays are stunning and span a very wide range.
The attentive staff welcomed us, showed us around and offered us 2 tea tastings.
Coconut Oolong tea - The delicate, lightly floral oolong tea with added essence of roasted coconut bears a tropical vibe. It has no bitterness, but tastes slightly like vanilla, with a rich, creamy taste.
Choco-Laté Tea - This caffeine-free, fat-free blend of organic cacao husks, organic vanilla beans and organic rooibos tea really evokes dark chocolate in color, aroma and smooth taste.
They also suggest dressing it up with agave nectar and rice milk for a healthy tea latte, or drinking it as a natural pairing for chocolate
7th stop:
The second photo shows the inside of the Kahlua truffle, Caramellow and cherry cordial.
8th stop:
We chose Coupa Cafe for our final stop, and it hit during their happy hour. It was a convenient opportunity to try some bite sized items on their menu.
This shop definitely falls on the high end, luxury side of the spectrum - just what you'd expect from a Beverly Hills chocolate shop. However, the environment is very friendly.
The moment we walked in we were greeted with smiles, conversation and endless samples of anything that catches your eye. They worked very hard the whole time. In fact I had to ask them to stop in order to save room for more tastings at the other shops.
These K bears, covered in milk, dark and white chocolate, offer a nice crunch
wrapped in teddy bear shapes. If I recall correctly, they told us the interior is made of crisped rice. What I loved was the lightness and light sugar in its earthy taste. They gave me this little bag with my purchase.
These "shots" consist of dark chocolate orbs with real alcohol centers - tequila, vodka and scotch.
Their specialty is the TK truffles, an original recipe by Thomas Krön, containing various textures of dark chocolate with whipped centers.
The Spanish orange, also notable, are orange peel sticks covered in dark chocolate.
2nd stop:
Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland
This cafe and shop had a gorgeous display case with whimsical animal-shaped confections.
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| honeybees, dogs, cats |
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| fish, gianduja butterflies, ducks |
I bought this sampling of 4 items: hazelnut praline, champagne truffle, pistachio marzipan, Baileys Irish Cream truffle.
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| insides of the above; the lower left is K Chocalier's tequila shot |
3rd stop:
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| brownie with edible gold leaf |
Beverly Hills Brownie Company flagship store, which started online and evolved in 2009 into this charming store. The flavors rotate in this stunning case.
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| cream cheese chocolate chip, sea salt caramel |
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| classic walnut mini, sea salt caramel |
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| peanut brittle |
Besides the classic walnut, one of their specialties is the Caramel Blondie. The , Peanut Brittle simply is a knockout with a peanut butter "glue" and baked with a square of peanut brittle on top, that's partially melted.
The brownies are priced reasonably and contain the perfect ratio of crunchy and soft.
4th stop:
4th stop:
Vosges Haut-Chocolat truly is an experiential store with true craftsmanship and innovative flavors. Ingredients are sourced from all over the world, creating a unique sensory experience.
Owner and chocolatier Katrina Markoff, trained in Paris at the renowned culinary school Le Cordon Bleu, and worked with renowned chefs including Ferran and Alberto Adria at the famous El Bulli restaurant in Spain. She conceptualizes all the flavors.
Owner and chocolatier Katrina Markoff, trained in Paris at the renowned culinary school Le Cordon Bleu, and worked with renowned chefs including Ferran and Alberto Adria at the famous El Bulli restaurant in Spain. She conceptualizes all the flavors.
The store, which I was told was a template store, is fit for royalty in it's gorgeous purple and white Moroccan style interior.
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| chocolates displayed in small glass cases with handwritten labels |
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| chocolate bars |
Both full size and mini chocolate bars can be found throughout the store. Here are some of the imaginative flavors:
- Smoke & Stout Caramel Bar
- Pink Himalayan Crystal Salt Caramel Bar
- Amalfi Exotic Chocolate Bar - white chocolate, lemon zest, pink peppercorns
- Black Pearl Exotic Chocolate Bar - ginger, wasabi (light), black sesame seeds
- Black Salt Caramel Exotic Chocolate Bar - Black Hawaiian sea salt, burnt sugar caramel in 70% cacao dark chocolate
- Cherry Rooibos Chocolate Exotic Bar - African rooibos tea, dried Michigan cherries, 45% cacao deep milk chocolate
- Naga Exotic - toasted milk, Indian curry, coconut
- Oaxaca - guajillo & pasilla chillies
- Red Fire - ancho & chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon
- Woolloomooloo - roasted, salted macadamia nuts, Indonesian coconut, hemp seeds, milk chocolate, 41% cacao
Other bars contain Goji berries, crunchy carrot, citrus salt, blood orange, bacon, toffee parfum.
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| Easter peanut butter bunnies - love the ears! |
I was given a box of their exotic collection a couple of years ago and tried several of the flavors, so I skipped the chocolate tasting here. The Naga definitely stands out as the most unusual, tasty confection.
The back of the store contains a cafe, and their specialty is the chocolate chip cookie, which is hands down the BEST you can ever taste. More on that in a bit.
We tried this blueberry white chocolate oatmeal cookie, which was good, not great. The texture was much like a muffin top.
Now, the stellar cookie, called The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie, bears that name for a good reason. The are baked crunchy with crisp edges on the outside and chewy in the middle. 62% hefty cacao dark chocolate chunks.
The 4-5" diameter, almost 1" tall cookies cookies are big enough to share, but I could happily eat one myself.
The store sells the cookie mix. I read that a recipe for 12 cookies contain 2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, eggs, heavy cream and pure vanilla extract.
The butter remaining on the waxy wrapper says it all. If you are lucky like I was on my 2nd visit, you will get a warm, just baked cookie.
5th stop:
Bouchon Bakery is located at the lobby of Bouchon Bistro in the Beverly Hills Garden Building. Owner Chef Thomas Keller's intention was to bake the bread for the restaurants and to add an an ambiance of cafe life to the areas that surround each of the Bouchon Bistros.
They only do baked goods based on traditional French baking techniques, that are deceptively simple.
I've been to this bakery several times to order their perfect capuccino with the most perfect foam. I've also had some of their breads, the epi being the most memorable.
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| Bouchon pastry case - macarons |
I believe the focus here are the pain au chocolate (chocolate croissants) and croissants. Although I had no doubts they would be excellent, seeing how super sized they were I looked for something else.
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| Religieuse and eclairs |
While these stunning choices, especially the éclair, tempted me, I opted to ask the staff for the must-try option.
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| canelles, kouign amanns |
I adore canelles too and heard the ones at Bouchon were excellent, however I took their advice and tried the Kouign-Amann. Strange name and somewhat unremarkable looking compared to the gold topped éclairs.
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| capuccino, water and pastry to go |
The reason we took this to go is to grab a seat in the beautiful courtyard and taste more of our samples. This adorable dog was our neighbor at the next table.
Back to the Kouign-amann (pronounced kween a-mon), meaning "butter cake". It doesn't sound like a french pastry name because it's a cake from Breton, originating around 1860. Breton is the ancient Celtic language from Britanny. The secret recipe is known only by a few people on earth.
The personal sized cake is made with bread dough containing layers of salted butter and sugar folded in. It's then slowly baked until the butter puffs up the dough and the sugar caramelizes. And the bottom bears this deeply caramelized crust that shattters like glass - something you'd find on top of a crème brûlée.
Trust me in saying it's a sweet-salty, flaky bite of heaven.
6th stop:
The tea room brought a welcome palate cleanser after so many tastings. The tea displays are stunning and span a very wide range.
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| tastings - coconut oolong and choco-late teas |
Coconut Oolong tea - The delicate, lightly floral oolong tea with added essence of roasted coconut bears a tropical vibe. It has no bitterness, but tastes slightly like vanilla, with a rich, creamy taste.
They also suggest dressing it up with agave nectar and rice milk for a healthy tea latte, or drinking it as a natural pairing for chocolate
All of their teas contain no sugar; they are sweetened with fruit or natural flavors. This is a true testament to the flavorful natural ingredients chosen for their brews. The tea area contained a limoncello blend and various special macha varieties.
7th stop:
Edelweiss Chocolates
This Beverly Hills factory hand-makes their own fruits, nuts, caramel and toffee confections. Because of the time of year, they had lovely sugar Easter eggs.
It is jam packed with offerings. We got in minutes before they were closing so our service was a bit rushed, and we were not offered any samples, but we quickly made a few purchases to take away.
This Beverly Hills factory hand-makes their own fruits, nuts, caramel and toffee confections. Because of the time of year, they had lovely sugar Easter eggs.
It is jam packed with offerings. We got in minutes before they were closing so our service was a bit rushed, and we were not offered any samples, but we quickly made a few purchases to take away.
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| "collage" of various items in the very large case |
Pictured: Grand Marnier Truffle, Kahlua Truffle, Geraldines (ground apricots with caramel), chocolate dipped tart California apricots, Milk Turtles, Slices (chocolate dipped, glazed orange, pineapple, peach, pear, orange, apricot), S'mores, Walnut Marshmallow, Caramellow
My to-go box consisted of chocolate glazed apricot, walnut marshmallow, brandy cherry cordial, Kahlua truffle, orange peel, Caramellow, rum soaked date.
8th stop:
The chocolate item at this stop is the Spicy Maya Hot Chocolate. This sipping chocolate is an ancient recipe that balances spices, cayenne peppers pasila and cinnamon with premium Venezuelan chocolate.
We shared 1 order of this drink, and they put it in these cute mini cups. I had similar beverages in Mexico City and they really do satisfy at a deep level.
Our final bites and palate cleansers were an order of mini arepas. The Reina Pepiada contained chicken salad, mayonnaise and avocado sauce. It tastes creamy, spicy and herby at the same time.
The Cachapa is a corn griddle pancake topped with fresh queso de mano guasacaca - a most delicious avocado salsa made with dijon mustard and vinegar, olive oil, nata (sour cream) and black beans. It was slightly sweet which really worked for the dish.
Overall, it was a delightful adventure with plenty of goodies to last for several weeks. It's not something I could do often, but definitely worth the effort.
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