Love and chocolate just seem to go together. The love affair started more than 1500 years ago with the Maya and Aztec cultures. Believing the cocoa bean was an aphrodisiac, the Aztec ruler, Montezuma, allegedly drank several cups of a strong and dark chocolate drink known as “xocoatl” before visiting his harem to give him stamina. Maybe that’s not really love, but you get the point.
Some of us simply have a love affair with chocolate. If you’re like us, then consider traveling for chocolate – you never know what you might find. Here are some great places to do exactly that – with or without a lover.
French Broad Chocolate Lounge – Asheville, North Carolina
When Jael flirted with Dan (the cute bartender at her brother’s wedding) she was flirting with destiny. The two young lovers took off to Costa Rica in a converted Volkswagen van that ran on fuel made from vegetable oil. First, they made a couple of cute babies and then started making chocolate. Ultimately they found their way back to Asheville where they opened the French Broad Chocolate Lounge which sure has sweetened up the Asheville food scene. This wildly popular lounge has live music and offers an assortment of chocolate beverages, coffees, teas, wine and beer; and decadent desserts like the Highland Mocha Stout Cake. This dense chocolate cake with a dark, malty flavor from local beer, layered and topped with coffee butter cream and finished with dark chocolate curls is so delicious, I had to return a second night for another slice. If you’re lucky enough to be in town, check out the French Broad Chocolate Factory and Tasting Room and sample, sample, sample! www.frenchbroadchocolates.com
The JHouse – Greenwich, Connecticut
Every day is a chocolate love day at The JHouse courtesy of the property’s Chocolate Lab – a chocolate themed café where small batches of hand crafted innovative chocolate creations await. The cocoa-centric café is under the direction of Chef Kwak-Dongo, an internationally acclaimed chocolate expert having grown up on his grandparents’ cacao farm in the Cote d’lvoire.
If you’re coupled up and looking for a Valentine’s getaway, The JHouse boutique hotel takes the romance of chocolate to a new level with the Ultimate Chocolate Lovers’ Valentine’s Day Package. Couples can celebrate love and chocolate at a chocolate truffle making class with Chef Kwaku-Dongo. There’s also a four-course Valentine’s Day dinner at their renowned eleven 14 Kitchen restaurant with chocolate as the grand finale. Don’t be surprised to find sweet treats in your room at bedtime. www.jhousegreenwich.com
Hershey, Pennsylvania – The Sweetest Place on Earth
If there ever was a destination that encouraged traveling for chocolate it’s Hershey. Every day Hershey offers chocolate themed dining, adventure parks, lodging, spa treatments and chocolate cocktails. In February the chocolate decadence is even more intense when the entire town celebrates Chocolate-Covered February.
Festivities at the Hotel Hershey include complimentary Chef Demos, Chocolate Tea, Wine & Chocolate Pairings and a Chocolate Dinner Extraordinaire – a five-course chocolate infused dinner. Meanwhile at the Hershey Lodge just down the road there’s something for everyone in the family. Youngsters will love the Chocolate Covered Children’s Tea and Hershey’s Character Breakfast. Grown-up chocolate lovers enjoy a Beer & Chocolate Pairing, a Chocolate & Spirits Pairing and Martini Mixology. Seriously, how can you not love this? www.hersheypa.com
Fassbender & Rausch, Berlin, Germany
Berlin is home to the world’s largest chocolate shop, Fassbender & Rausch. A chocolate lover’s dream, this elegant shop offers over 200 varieties of fresh filled chocolates and truffles. Here chocolate meets art with displays of chocolate sculptures of the Berlin TV Tower, the Brandenburg Gate, the Titanic and more.
Upstairs overlooking Gendarmenmarkt is a charming café serving hot chocolate, handcrafted mini-tortes and other decadent cocoa creations. The chocolate experience continues in the evening with a four course dinner and show at the Chocolate Restaurant. Currently the entertainment is music from the Berlin of the Twenties! www.fassbender-rausch.de
Geiranger Sjokolade, Norway
I went to Norway for the jaw-dropping natural wonders, but I found chocolate. There it stood at the water’s edge – a little brown converted boathouse with its rooftop sprouting grass and set against the dramatic backdrop of the Geirangerfjord. The sign read “Geiranger Sjokolade – Chocolate with a View.” They weren’t kidding.
Inside the delicious aroma of chocolate permeated the air. A spattering of three or four wooden tables and a nook with comfy sofas were filled with tourists from Sweden, France, Scotland and South Africa sipping hot cocoa. Together we sampled chocolates filled with brown cheese, blue cheese, Arctic berries and Aquavit, Norway’s liquid spirit treasure. It was an international chocolate moment.
Geiranger Sjokolade produces decadent chocolates from local ingredients inspired by the Norwegian fjords and mountains. And it’s not hard to find that inspiration, just look out the window. www.geirangersjokolade.no/?lang=en
Cotton Tree Lodge, Belize
True chocolate adventures start where chocolate originates. One such place is in the Toledo District of Belize where howler monkeys provide the morning wake-up call and cacao pods hang on jungle trees. Cotton Tree Lodge, an eco-lodge nestled between the banks of the Moho River and a rainforest, hosts Chocolate Weeks where guests can experience first-hand the bean to bar process.
During my stay I harvested cacao pods from the jungle, used an ancient metate stone to grind the cocoa nibs into a chocolate paste, drank traditional chocolate beverages with the locals and sampled cacao wine. In nearby Punta Gorda, I even made my own chocolate bars at Cotton Tree Chocolates. Now that’s traveling for chocolate. www.cottontreelodge.com