Feeling Blue for Chocolates?

I had some time to kill before my dinner at eVe in Berkeley recently, so I visited Chocolatier Blue, which is right next door on University Avenue.

The tiny shop from Chef Chris Blue has been open for awhile, and it’s opened a second location near Berkeley’s Fourth Street shopping district. But this was my first visit in the shop.


The soothing baby blue made the place seem like a spa, especially when you see this tiny nook with cushioned benches and calming light. Blue makes his chocolates by hand at the store, so they’re always fresh. What I noticed right away were the colors.

I’ve seen a lot of artisan chocolates, but these were by far the most outrageous in color and design (and maybe in shape too because I’ve never seen the curved rectangular shape in a chocolate piece before).

There were several interesting flavors to choose from. You can buy the chocolates in a box or by the piece. (On the side of the walls are also foreign chocolates from places like Italy that you can buy as a bar.)

I bought three pieces to try when I returned home. The round truffle with the tiny gold specks was Passion Fruit Caramel, which had a very thin chocolate shell and liquid filling. The odd rectangular shaped candy was Rosemary Grapefruit, which was sweet. The most interesting was the heart-shaped candy, the Champagne and Popcorn. Yep, popcorn. Funny huh?

The filling had two layers where the top thin layer was yellow and that’s the part that tasted like butter for the buttered popcorn. I guess the white part was the champagne? But it didn’t have a strong champagne flavor. I’m not sure if I would call this a winner, but it was unique.

I found that Chocolatier Blue’s chocolates are beautifully designed and are made with very thin chocolate shells and filling that’s more liquid than creamy. And with such exotic flavors, you can spend some time there figuring out your favorite.

Chocolatier Blue, 1964 University Ave., Berkeley. PH: 510.705.8800. www.chocolatierblue.com

More chocolate posts:
Chocolates for the Holidays
The Willy Wonka of Emeryville
A Chocolate Affair to Remember