Charles Chocolates

So sad to see that this has closed. When I used to work in Berkeley, I came here at lunch to get chocolates (chocolates for lunch?). Their window where you can look onto their factory was super fun, as were all the free samples. Too bad. :-(

UPDATE: CLOSED! 2÷14÷10 is the last day at this location, so the store is offering 15 percent discounts to anyone with an Emeryville, Berkeley or Oakland driver’s license. 6529 Hollis St. (at 65^th) Emeryville; (510) 652‑4412.
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Did the «tour» yesterday when we were nearby. I am a huge chocolate nerd and have been to dozens of chocolatiers. This… this isn’t a tour. It’s sitting down along a long glass wall where you look at the machines and tables where they make the candies and you listen to an employee explain their process. True, it’s a free tour, but didn’t really feel like a good use of time.
Staff is friendly though, and of course the chocolates are tasty. Still really expensive, ESPECIALLY those orange twigs that my husband can’t stop eating.
I miss Scharffenberger and their amazing tours.

Stopped by this place after an afternoon of tasting at east bay wineries and biking. So maybe my taste buds were shot but I was craving something sweet. We came here and bought about $ 9.00 worth of chocolates … all haphazardly thrown into a bag.
The flavors we tried sounded delicious, lychee truffle, Peanut butter (fly), kahlua and several others … the flavors were very subtle and the chocolate itself not nearly as creamy as I would have expected. Service was bored … not rude, just bored and uninterested … a vending machine would have worked just as well.
Some of my favorite Unilocalers have given this place rave reviews so I was disappointed with my average visit.

Absolutely 5 stars and for more than just great chocolate. There are three main reasons why I have to give Charles Chocolates Unilocal’s highest rating.
Reason # 1:
Of course the chocolates are yummy. Chuck, the owner, makes some delicious confections. He is always experimenting with different truffle flavors and they do not disappoint. The retail location offers free tours including several samples, and even has a coffee bar. Online you can order a monthly PMS chocolate subscription for your significant other — or really any woman who gets crazy hormonal like I do once a month. Bravo Chuck, bravo.
Reason # 2:
Charles Chocolates believes in building community. During the summer they offer free movies at their Emeryville store. They show a food-​based movie and usually have catering available for purchase. You can also bring your own food and drinks if you prefer. They make a special caramel corn on these nights ($ 5/​bag) and they do offer free chocolate samples. Because people come early to claim their spot Chuck comes out to entertain the crowd and offers up trivia questions for chocolate prizes. I’ve spent several Friday evenings here with friends and have always had a great time.
Reason # 3:
They provide amazing customer service. On my first visit I met Chuck and his family. He spent lots of time chatting with us and answering questions. The next time I stopped in he remembered me and even asked why I had not been in lately. In addition to that he happened to notice I was having a bad day and was a bit down so he made me one of his signature s’mores for free! Topping that incident at the last movie night I decided I wanted to make a purchase after the movie was over. The store was already shut down but Chuck went in and gave me what I requested. I tried to pay him but he said the computers were down and I should just pay him the next time I came in. THAT is great fucking service my friends.
peace, love, and good booze (they had bourbon truffles last time I was in) were all found at Charles Chocolates. ~ chase

My work team and I came here for an informal team build. What fun! The large window peering into the kitchen was delightful as you could see everything from the preparing of ingredients to the packaging of their chocolates. Though the kitchen wasn’t open (except to prepare items for an upcoming festival) we could imagine the hub bub going on.
The presentation of how they make their chocolates was nice, though I have to say I really loved Scharfenberger’s presentation as it was much more historical and agriculturally minded. That said, the presenter at Charles’ did point out that they do not work from the cacao bean. They are chocolatiers who now how to make fine chocolates.
Might I saw the ones we sampled were lip smacking delicioius! I particularly enjoyed their peanut butter one. It’s not as sweet as Reese’s and had a much more peanutier roasted flavor.
I would come here again to bring out of town guests or local friends to get a quick tour. Tour is free and only lasted about 40 minutes. A fun «I have nothing to do today and want to try something new» activity.

Charles Chocolates’ elegant collection of tea-​infused chocolates were so good…
…I even ate the box they came in. ;)
(Thanks H!)

So, I came here with Chase, a fellow Unilocaler, for the Friday night movie (tonight it was God of Cookery —) and movie-​inspired goodies (dim sum and candied Ginger caramel corn). They also had smores, which they toasted the marshmallow while you waited. I wasn’t a big fan of the smores, but that is a personal taste thing. The caramel corn was awesome.
To keep abreast of the movie events at this place… bookmark this link —
. They have movies on the second and fourth Fridays of the month during the summer. Yes, usually a food-​based movie.
I’m not a twitter guy, but Charles Chocolates is on twitter and facebook and so you can probably hear the latest and greatest of the great goodies being created in the East Bay.
We got there early and… this is real important, you have to bring your own chair!!! You can bring your own food, but Charles does a great job of making the dinner decently priced.
Most importantly, it’s the Bay Area, and by the time they show the movie, it is going to be cold, so bring a blanket. You’ve been warned, so I don’t want to see any Unilocalers saying they wish the event was inside because they had to sit on the ground in their shorts and t-​shirt ensemble. Unless you are a total rookie to the Bay Area… you are better than that.
Charles was definitely in his element for this event. I’ve met him three other times, and I think he was at his best for this event. Very engaging, and really made people feel like he was having them over tho his home to watch a movie.
He also gave out prizes for answering trivia questions, so you cacao-​files will maybe get to take home some nice chocolate.

Dylan (DS) and I went with a few of our friends from our playgroup. I loved that they have their own parking lot. It was sort of a turn off when I was getting my son out of the car and a man said if I was going to Starbucks I would be towed. Yeah, thanks but I’m here to pay for your hecka pricey chocolates! Really I didn’t even have my kids out of the car.
The tour was a total of 5 minutes. The kitchen wasn’t running, but they knew that a large group was going to be there. I would have thought they would have made something! I didn’t mind the short «tour» since we were with our friends. Charles Chocolates are expensive, but great quality. I would stop the next time we are in the area shopping.

Unlike Scharffenberger, Charles is not a chocolate-​maker, but a confection maker. They buy their chocolate from Guittard and a couple other makers and blend it and fill it. That’s all you’ll learn on the «tour,» so maybe I saved you a little bit of time.
Because they don’t make their own chocolate, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the bars. As for the truffles and other confections, they are very tasty! My favorite is the marzipan (orange or meyer lemon), but I also like the pistachio lemon haystacks and the caramel.
We go about once a week, and the chocolates are charged by the pound, working out to be around $ 1 a piece. I see that they now have coffee and other goods, but there isn’t really a place to hang out and enjoy. By the way, I secretly prefer Reese’s pb cups over the pb butterflies.

My son and I came here a while back for a free event that included a nice selection of their chocolate and Bi-​Rite Creamery ice cream. My son was in chocolate heaven and I too was pleased with the tasty selection of quality (albeit a bit expensive) treats. It was also interesting to walk around part of the building and remember how the old Andronicos was laid out. Here are some additional observations:
The staff working the event were friendly and helpful. Thank You!
I too enjoyed the large windows that allowed a peak into the rather large chocolate kitchen.
We sure are blessed here in greater Berkeley to have all these chocolate places nearby.
Why can’t Bi-​Rite Creamery come to the East Bay?

I adore the combination of orange and chocolate. From the college days of twice weekly trips to Prince Puckler’s for their mandarin chocolate ice cream to the annual holiday «whack and unwrap» orange shaped chocolate; my taste buds often crave that perfect combo.
I was happy to discover orange twigs at a recent Charles Chocolates open house. There was a bowl of them sitting on a table for the taking. After sinking my teeth into one, I could easily have finished the entire bowl. But I restrained myself because there were other samples to be had.
We tried a variety of chocolates including the raspberry, passion fruit and mojito flavors. The mojito was by far the best. It really tasted like a real mojito (sans alcohol) with a delicate mint flavor.
The Bi-​Rite ice cream chocolate bars were ok. They weren’t as inventive as I had hoped for, but still tasty.
As we navigated our way to the front door, I made a return trip to the bowl of orange twigs and grabbed a couple for the road. There is nothing better than that perfect combo of orange and chocolate.

In the world of artisanal and organic chocolate shops, I’m not so sure that Charles Chocolates measures up. I’m happy that this spot is no longer a vacant parking lot and empty space but as far as Charles Chocolates go, I don’t exactly see a line out the door nor was I an eager beaver to dish out the dough on such a small box of chocolate.
I opted for a taste. A small box of four chocolates for $ 10. Pretty pricey and the peanut butter butterfly wouldn’t even fit in the box. It just wasn’t an option. I had a taste of the lavender honey truffle and it was pretty sweet in taste and liking. I filled my box with a lichee, mojito heart, mint truffle and a fleur de sel caramel. Of all the chocolates, the lichee was my favorite. It was unassuming and dainty. The mojito heart was a miss and the mint truffle and fleur de sel caramel was a bit ordinary. The lavender honey truffle, however, was right on the money.
For $ 10, I expect 4 tiny pieces of chocolate to be exquisite. Each and every bite. I want to be excited about choosing the chocolates. For me, it was a struggle just to pick four.
At least I got a tiny robin’s egg blue box similar to the likes of Tiffany’s. In that case, each chocolate should taste like a diamond instead of pyrite.

Forget everything else you’ve had: THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE TRUFFLES.
I’m a chocoholic… trust me on this one!
THey come in the perfect size to satisfy a craving for le cocoa.
(1) fillings are delicious… not a fan of the peanut butter ones, but the heart ones are soooo goooood… like mojito, or raspberry, or passion fruit.
(2) The most unique and important part: The shell is thin and just collapses into the truffle so that when you’re done w/​the filling, you’re not left w/​a mound of chocolate shell to eat b/​c it just melts away.
OH and i won the chocolate box in december so that makes them extra amazing… and yes i just said chocolate box… that means chocolate assortment inside IN A BOX MADE OF CHOCOLATE (w/​a white chocolate lid)
Unforuntately it’s too expensive to OD on them… but that makes them so great simultaneously b/​c their chocolates are exquisite, so you wouldn’t want to have too much at one time.
Go take the tour and tasting!

I kept thinking about the other Unilocal reviews when I went on the tour today. especially B. Kaye W’s. I really did feel like I had gotten the GOLDEN ticket!
We were lucky enough to have a small group (six) so it felt very deluxe.
Our tour guide began the tour by telling us that Charles Chocolates were Chocolatiers… which means they don’t make the chocolate itself but add things to it.
Now nutty me as soon as she said, «Chocolatier» I kept thinking of the Mickey Mouse clubs’ «Mouse-​ka-​teers.» and wondered if at the end of the tour we would be given Chocolatier crowns by dancing and singing candy makers…“Now you’re an hon-​o-​rary Chocolatier!“
Oh well, poor attempt to copy Ed U’s song reviews!
Although you don’t actually go into the kitchen you can view the entire operation behind a glass wall and sit on stools at the chocolate bar/​counter. Yay – and I actually didn’t leave any face prints on the glass or fog it up!
We had a very delightful tour guide whose name I’ve forgotten.
She explained the entire process and operation involved in making the various chocolates, And we got to sample the hot chocolate drink, at least 3 regular sized pieces of the caramel, butterfly (with a chocoately peanut infused filling) and something with crunchy bits in it.
MMMMMmmmmm…be still my stomach and taste buds.
They sell individual pieces of chocolate as well as bags and boxes.
Pricey but all their chocolate is fresh, no preservatives.
They had bowls of 3 different candies sitting on the counter. I was good and only took ONE of each… really. scout’s honor, would I lie to you?
Check their website for tour information and GO!

Albeit kind enough to host us Unilocalers and quaint in its own respects we found the Elite event at Charles Chocolates to be quite «blah.»
For starters the sign states «Charles Chocolates SF» which is in regards to it’s city of origin HOWEVER it is no longer in San Francisco. It is in Emeryville. Not physically in SF? Don’t claim to represent it because it is part of your history.
The chocolate presentation itself is gorgeous and conveyed in both traditional and innovative manners (i.e. the chocolate box is made actually made of chocolate.
However again, no one could give me a straight answer about if any of the candies or chocolates were devoid of animal products so I was a kid in a candy store who didn’t eat any of it. Instead I drank weird sparkling and dessert wines.
Third and finally… I should have stated earlier that inviting me to a chocolate factory is like having a secret shopper in a department store. My family owns a chocolate store that was started in SF decades before Charles Chocolates by my great grandfather.
Chuck acts as if he is doing something that has not been attempted before in the bay area, unfortunately it isn’t new and the lack of traditional recipes or warm experience is lacking.
For the most part presentation is the strongest of traits here in all aspects of the operation but more often than not you can’t read a book by its cover.
I couldn’t because essentially no one was aware of which chocolates contained dairy or eggs.
Support local chocolate regardless of what I have to say… as with all things, some places just aren’t for everyone.

This is Wonka without all the fishizzle. Chuck «Charles» Siegel knows his chocolates, and his passion for his craft carries through in all his confections.
This past Saturday, we went on a tour of the factory out in Emeryville. The facility isn’t large but you get a nice inside scoop on how everything is made and packaged. I suppose it’s sort of like visiting a winery to learn more about the good stuff you’re drinking.
You can find Charles Chocolates in a bunch of retail locations (or go to
and use promo code Unilocal for 15% off!). Or you can go straight to the factory store and purchase some goodies. Everything from boxes of chocolates, bars, chocolate covered nuts, pâté de fruit — you’ll need sweet teeth, not just one tooth, to survive.
They also sell these amazing caramel apples at Williams Sonoma (I think just online) — worth ordering for the holidays at the very least!

When I think of extraordinary, out-of-everyone-else’s-league chocolates, I think of really just three places: Scharffen Berger, Recchiuti, and Charles Chocolates. A couple others come close, but really, this is the threesome that makes my mouth water most, and quantity of water is my measurement for this operational definition of extraordinary chocolate.
I’ve met Charles, or Chuck, as I like to call him in my dream world where we’ve already moved onto not only first name basis, but nicknames. He’s a fun guy who loves what he does.
He uses only the finest chocolate brands in his chocolate-​making. His pieces are all stunning, both to look at and to taste. Be sure to check out his chocolate boxes, where both the box and the lid are made of chocolate and have gorgeous marbling or other designs all over them. They go for a lot of money (maybe $ 40?), and I am NOT complaining about that one bit.
In fact, not to get off on a tangent about this, but it drives me crazy when people mark off stars from their rating of a FINE chocolatier for price. He couldn’t stay in business if it was cheaper. His chocolate pieces are made with VERY expensive chocolate brands and he makes them in small batches, which are a lot more time consuming and less cost effective. Not to mention, chocolate-​making is an art, and you’re not just paying for conveyer belt Hershey’s kisses!
The orange chocolate twigs are probably the signature «dish» here and I HIGHLY recommend you get them. I think it’s $ 16 for a container of them, and that’s totally reasonable.
If you stop by the factory in Emeryville, be prepared to be sick from all the samples you’ll get to try. They even have two kinds of hot chocolate, and a row of stools facing the factory kitchen so you can sip your cocoa and stalk the workers.
Charles Chocolates is absolutely one of the best chocolate-​makers I’ve ever tasted. You won’t be disappointed. In fact, quite the contrary, you’ll probably cry from utter ecstasy.

Triple Chocolate Almonds & Hazelnuts = Chocolate Covered Balls of Joy!
They had free samples of the balls of joy and orange twigs in bowls right when you walk in and they’ll give you samples of whatever else you want to try. I like my chocolatiers to be giving and generous!

Charles and I are going to have a torrid love affair once he knows I’m alive. Somehow, Charles managed to put orange peel, dark chocolate, and hazelnuts (the foods of the gods, people) together in one very attractive brown and green box that makes me feel like I’m buying design and not just so much more junk food.
This stuff is like crack. I thought I knew what love was pre-​Charles. I had no idea.
I love my boyfriend so much more after turning me on (over and over again) to Charles. He really is the best (well…second best… after Charles…).