This handmade chocolate shop ranks as NC’s best. Here’s why fans crave its treats
If you’re craving chocolate, the Triangle is home to the top place to get it in North Carolina, a new report finds.
Escazú Chocolates in Raleigh ranks as the state’s best shop for the sweet treats, according to a list published in June.
To come up with the rankings, the restaurant review website Yelp said it considered businesses labeled as chocolate shops. Then, it “ranked those spots using a number of factors, including the total volume and ratings of reviews,” results show.
The findings were released ahead of World Chocolate Day, which falls on July 7. But some chocolate lovers might not need an excuse to indulge.
On Yelp, fans of Escazú rave all year long about the shop’s hot chocolate drinks and confections, helping it earn more than four out of five stars.
In addition to praising the taste of the treats, several customers also loved the variety. For example, the shop’s chocolate bar offerings range from dark chocolate sea salt to chili, a flavor some say packs a punch.
Escazú — which bills itself as a “bean to bar” chocolate maker — said it carefully chooses cacao beans before it sorts, roasts and grinds them.
“We then temper it and hand ladle it into the molds to make our bars that are later hand wrapped,” the shop wrote on its Facebook page. “From the day we start sorting until the bar is ready to be on a shelf is an 8 to 10 day process, not counting aging time and from the sorting to the wrapping, our process is completely hand done.”
The North Blount Street business launched 2008 after its co-creator found inspiration in the Escazú region of Costa Rica. In recent years, the shop has earned several accolades, including the Good Food Awards, which honor the nation’s best artisan goods, Walter Magazine and The News & Observer reported.
It’s not the first time a Triangle shop has been acknowledged for its sweets.
In June, the Raleigh shop Baker’s Dozen was named one of the top places to eat doughnuts in the country. But last year, the region’s bakeries were snubbed from Yelp’s lists of best cupcakes and cookies in the state, McClatchy News reported.
This story was originally published July 6, 2022 at 10:58 AM.
