Kakao Chocolate

Forever. Ruined. I will forever be ruined for any other chocolate. This little bite of sin is their second shop and now located in Maplewood. I was lucky enough to attend a fancy private chocolate tasting event presented by the owner himself. Here’s the real kicker — it’s really not that bad for you AND it makes your brain feel like it’s in love. Nothing on the planet has more antioxidants. What’s better than that?!
Rules for tasting chocolate (from the owner): These little nuggets should be taken in two bites. Take one bite, then put it down. Then, finish it and savor it. So, as a now chocolate professional armed with the rules, I got to work. They don’t use any artificial flavors or sweeteners and try to source most of their add-​ins locally. For example, the Chai Tea Truffle uses chai tea from a coffee/​tea shop right around the corner, as is the balsamic vinegar whipped in to the Raspberry Balsamic Truffle — you heard me, there’s vinegar in it — and oh did they hit the nail on the head with it. You find a lot of unique chocolates here because they really support their employees to think outside the box and be creative. That being said, hurry and buy the lot of what you like, you may not find it again.
My favorites: The Dark Chocolate Truffle (Uses two ingredients — Just butter and chocolate). Then there was the Bacon Brittle. I knew this one would be dangerous as I watched it come to be from across the room. It tastes like Sunday morning. It’s not too sweet, very bacon-​y, and very second-​helping worthy (and maybe there was a third in there). My final fav was a mix between the Peanut Butter Truffle (locally sourced Missouri nut-​butter), and the Sea Salt Caramel. Oma goodness, I may have shed a tear for these…
Very awesome family-​owned shop that provides life-​changing/​saving creations. Can’t wait to go back!

This is what you get when you honor a woman as a Mrs. or feel special… (which should be everyday not just one day)… Kakao is that great!
You can tell the owner, Brian, loves and knows his business. The passion transcends to the candy and in dialogue.
Chai truffle ⁴⁄₅
Milk chocolate: Sea Salt Caramels 4.5÷5
Dark chocolate Sea Salt Caramels ⁵⁄₅ which is surprising because I love milk and usually hate dark chocolate lol
If you’re in Maplewood… make your way to Kakao!

Chocolate is one of life’s best things, and this place does it right! I love how adorable all their vignettes are set up, and how cute the shop is. I had never been, so it took me a while to figure out what I wanted! I ended up having some truffles! The eggnog, gingerbread, and salted caramel. All were tasty, but I must say their caramel is out of this world! It has a perfect buttery taste and that combined with chocolate and sea salt is heaven! I also brought home the toasted hazelnut chocolate piece and my husband got the coffee bark. I love the hazelnut chocolate, it’s yummy! I have my eye on a few other things I want to go back for! This place is perfect for gifts, and the price is pretty good! I’ll be back!

For chocolate ⁴¹⁄₂ stars for service perhaps 3 not very personable they had a small selection of chocolate but it was excellent.

Breathe deep when you enter the shop – the smell of chocolate is heavenly. A young lady greeted us warmly, asking if we had questions and offering a free sample. We purchased an assortment of chocolates. Loved the truffles, the raspberry fruit, and the dark chocolate nut barks. The biggest disappointment was the toffee. I love toffee, but this was hard and didn’t have the rich buttery taste of other good toffees. It did not taste burnt as another reviewer said, but it did not melt in your mouth. The recipe needs tweaking!

I really love Kakao chocolates and if you’re ever in St. Louis you should try them. I cannot recommend shipping the product. I ordered a 4 piece box of caramels to surprise my mother in Cleveland. Yes, it is brave to ship chocolates in the summer, but given the cost of shipping and the fact that there weren’t any warnings or advise against shipping, I went ahead. The surprise was that the chocolate was melted all the way through the shipping box. The foil wrapped box was packed in a cardboard box with a single cold pack. I followed up with Kakao via my order confirmation message and have had no response from the company.
I wasn’t expecting a refund or even an apology, but at least a «what did you expect shipping chocolate in July». Very disappointing.

I love to buy my friend’s birthday gifts here because who doesn’t want some beautiful chocolate treats? But it’s usually hard to leave without buying a treat for myself as well. Especially because they always have samples of something amazingly delicious! I would LOVE to try one of their chocolate tasting parties, but haven’t gotten to yet.

LOVED our visit here! First of all, the orange/​brown color scheme and designs on the walls were fab. The restaurant was closed that evening for our birthday party, and we were seated at one long table for about 12 of us, which was nice to all be able to sit together. Tori was our hostess — goodness, this girl deserves a raise! Lol, in case she isn’t being paid well. She is so knowledgeable, pleasant, passionate about the products/​quality, and she went out of her way to take an interest in all of us and key into every little detail of her presentations and service, Kakao’s chocolates will put you at risk of swearing off regular American chocolate forever. Everyone brought their own wine, and the samplings were just great. I wondered if I was going to be sick of chocolate by the time it was over, but there is enough variety and the samples are dainty enough that that’s not the case. Tori is amazing and I hope she never leaves the people industry.

Life changing. If you are a foodie, or even appreciate a good meal every now and then, this is the store for you. Clearly owned by likeminded people, this store puts a new meaning to the phenomenon we call chocolate. I was hesitant to stray from my traditional Costco jumbo bag of «salted dark chocolate almonds», but now I will never buy Costco chocolate again. I have been eating cardboard disguised as chocolate my whole life and only today have I seen the light. If you have never had an issue with portion control, stop by kakao and see how the other side lives. My personal favorites: lavender truffle, Irish coffee truffle, pistachio bark

I didn’t know that much about this place until recently, when I helped move an stl250 cake here (it is on display at Kakao until July). We stopped in for ice cream, and I ended up buying some candy. I’m a sweets lover, and without doubt this place really did my fix! The ice cream is from Serendipity, and they add toppings of their own (some you may not have heard of). I bought some of the usual chocolates, plus these lemon covered blueberries. Sounds weird, but they were addicting! The lady behind the counter warned me about them. Speaking of the staff, they were very friendly and enthusiastic about their products. Gotta love that, especially in a small business. The price wasn’t always nice, but again, its a small business. You gotta respect that. Cheers!

Rich, delightful chocolate! I had a chocolate tasting party for my family and friends at Kakao and the owner, Brian, made it so much fun that everyone still raves about it a year later! He clearly loves the business and puts a lot of thought and care into the product. He discussed the sourcing, the creative process and gave us quite a variety to taste. I appreciated that he balanced his stories with giving us time to talk during the tasting. We brought wine and beer and the shop provided glasses and accessories. My friends and I turned into regular customers! I’ve never liked marshmallows in my life, but I loved Brian’s homemade marshmallow pie! The shop has a friendly, help staff. He has a stand at Tower Grove Farmers Market as well.

I am NOT ashamed to admit that I have now done 3 chocolate tasting parties with Kakao :) The first one was with my church. The other two were ones I scheduled with my graduate school friends. All of them were absolutely fabulous! So fabulous that I’m having my sister’s bachelorette party with Kakao this coming winter.
First, this business is pretty amazing. The man who started it, Brian, was sick of his previous job and decided to get into the chocolate making business. I am SO glad he did. His chocolate is AMAZING. First, there are no artificial ingredients in the chocolate he makes. Second, he’s local (I love supporting local businesses!). And third, he is always thinking up new things!!! These knew things range from chocolate peanut butter cups that have sea salt and a peanut on top to lavender truffles. You name it… he’s probably tried it. I just have to say it is amazing to have a modern-​day Willy Wonka making chocolate naturally! It is no surprise he has won so many awards, including several best chocolate awards in St. Louis!
You can taste his chocolates either in one of his stores during business hours (he has three now) or via a chocolate tasting party. I would HIGHLY recommend the chocolate tasting party! The party lasts about 1.5 hours and starts at 7 PM (after the store closes). It is pretty cheap. You need a minimum of 8 people (maximum of 28). If you schedule Monday-​Thursday, it is only $ 12 a person. If you schedule Friday-​Saturday, it is only $ 15 a person. This price gets you 6 chocolates, a marshmallow pie sample, and a pates de fruit. Basically, 8 samples (along with a 90 minute presentation of chocolate) for only $ 12-​$ 15. It is such a steal considering that you get the store after hours along with the undivided attention of Brian (or another associate). You are also free to BYOB!
When we went yesterday, we tasted so many good things! We tried a raspberry pates de fruit, a marshmallow pie sample, a peanut butter cup, a chai chocolate, a dark sea salt caramel chocolate, a chile truffle, and 2 others I’m blanking on. All of them were delicious! Their biggest seller is the sea salt caramel, which is fabulous. I would also highly recommend trying a pates de fruit or the peanut butter cup. I’ve also tried their chai hot chocolate, which is also good. In sum, you just can’t go wrong!
If you couldn’t tell already, this place is amazing!!! Check it out as soon as you can and definitely book your chocolate tasting party ASAP!!!

We absolutely love Kakao. Recently, we visited the store on the Maplewood Sweet Tooth Tour which they of course were sampling some amazing sweets. Dan can not get enough of their dark chocolate candies, especially the sea salt kind. When we visit my family we like to take the milk chocolate covered caramels with sea salt back as they are my mom’s favorite. Having Kakao in Maplewood really brings a unique feel to this already amazing town. Not only is the staff incredibly kind and friendly but also they have new treats each time we come in. Check out this amazing sweet shop in the heart of booming Maplewood.

This is an amazing place. Some of the best things at Kakao are not even chocolate. They have a chai tea brittle which is to die for as well as a bacon brittle that is absolutely decadent. Also best caramels I have ever tasted.
Like many chocolatiers, they make seasonal large items like turkeys and santas. Just have to say that not only are they tasty, but they are especially nice-​looking and packed up creatively. We got one for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit with the family. It was not even particularly pricey– it was around 10″ tall, hollow and cost around $ 25.
Overall, a cute storefront, pleasant employees and delightful wares. Good stuff.

Putting Godiva to shame is hard but these guys do it. Local, hand made, unique chocolates are their specialty. The offerings change every day so you’re guaranteed something new but they always have the classics in stock. Everything is made in house and you can tell by the quality and freshness. It’s also less expensive than high tiered chocolates so you can get more bang for your buck. They offer chocolate tasting parties which sound just amazing. Also on site are hot chocolates and ice cream. Buy a gift certificate for mom for the holidays, she will love it!

Kakao makes the best chocolate in St. Louis! Everything they make is high quality and tastes just fabulous. They have the best salted caramels I’ve ever tasted, and their truffles are divine. Personal favorites are the turkish coffee truffle and the lavender truffle. The flavors are intense when they need to be intense and muted when they need to be muted. These chocolatiers truly know what they’re doing and it shows. I’ve been very pleased with the entire staff at all of their locations, and will continue to keep going back and going back. I. LOVE. KAKAO!!!

I love Kakao Chocolate! They are a great example of a successful local St. Louis business. Anything that can be made with chocolate… Kakao makes it. It’s impressive.
On my most recent visit here, I was shopping for a birthday present for an out-​of-​town friend. I knew she loved chocolate and I thought it’d be great to get her something local to St. Louis… so Kakao fit the bill!
Kakao also now serves Serendipity Ice Cream at their store. I didn’t try it because it was 40 degrees outside… but I imagine it tastes great on a hot summer day! They also serve hot chocolate which is to die for (they sell different versions of their hot chocolate mix too!).
They have lots of packaged assorted chocolates in the $ 3-​$ 5 range so you can pick and choose your own combination of items… or you can also get a pre-​made box of chocolates that are already boxed up for you. Again, this is a great place for present shopping.
After picking out chocolate for my friend’s birthday, I couldn’t leave the store without getting something for myself. Haha, so I bought a marshmallow/​caramel/​chocolate sandwich. It was messy… but ohh so delicious! And it was rather large that it took me three separate sittings for me to eat all of it.
I plan to visit Kakao again when I’m doing my Christmas shopping or just want a really tasty hot chocolate!

It’s a chocoholics delight.
They have all types of artisan type chocolate there which is good. Some of it tasted really good and some of it didn’t taste so good. It depends upon your personal preference as far as chocolate is concerned, but they have just about everything for everyone.
The employee who waited on me was very nice, friendly and she was very helpful with picking and pointing out what was where in the store.
All production of their candy and chocolate is at the store in Maplewood or the original store in the city. They opened a new store in Clayton, but that is only retail.
I have bought boxes of assorted chocolate that I was able to pick out for my mother for her birthdays, Christmas, Easter and other occasions.
I bought an assortment of different chocolate candy with nuts like pecans and almond for my mother for a gift box; it included milk chocolate with pecans for one choice and milk chocolate with the almonds for another. I bought some truffles that had milk chocolate with caramel and nuts for the gift box, too.
When I was browsing around the store, I found a mix for Mexican Hot Chocolate which apparently make there in the Maplewood store, so I bought a box of it. BUT, and notice that it’s a bit BUT, even though I was excited about having a Mexican hot chocolate mix, I didn’t like how it tasted. Even after putting sweetener in it, I still didn’t like how it tasted.
Next time that you are in Maplewood, check them out. It’s worth it just to see what they have.
I will return. After all, it’s CHOCOLATE!!!

I think I just found heaven :) This chocolate shop is just so great! I stopped by on a busy day after working to grab a couple of pieces. The interior is so quaint and the staff is extremely sweet! One of the ladies was super helpful is suggesting different types of chocolate I would like and even offered me a sample of a couple. They do have some interesting combinations so if you’re looking for something unusual for the chocolate lover in your life… *HINT HINT****
I tries a dark chocolate with ginger bark and another one with lavender/​citrus in milk chocolate. While I loved both, the lavender one is my new favorite. It was so well balanced and something extremely unique! Just a little sweet, a little tart, and a little fragrant. I cannot wait to come back to sample some new chocolate!

Lots of pre-​packaged goodies in baskets on tables. Grab what you want and check out. Most of the packages were in the $ 3-​$ 5 range.
Bacon brittle was especially enticing, and Kakao lip balm was interesting.
At the case near check-​out, you can get confections by the piece. There were lots of offerings everywhere.
I got:
dark chocolate with toasted Missouri pecans (a $ 3 package)
extra dark chocolate with sea salt (a $ 3 package)
4 dark chocolate sea salt caramels from the display case at check-​out
This was $ 12 and change.
Unfortunately, at check-​out, there are samples. Incredibly ridiculously sized huge samples. Color me pig.
I «sampled» a huge chunk of bacon brittle, which was very good.
But this other thing — and I don’t know what it was — was chocolate-​covered ganache or something else heavenly. I took one piece.
And stepped away. Waaaay far away. And savored the flavors. Maple. Sea salt. I don’t know. But it was divine!
Others in our foursome were still in line to purchase their sweets.
And I went back and got another piece of that wonderfulness. It was lunch. Wrapped in diabetes.
As far as my purchases:
The pecans were clearly toasted. The nut flavor was incredibly rich and quite fresh. And with dark chocolate, it was superb.
The extra dark chocolate was my least favorite, probably because there was not so much sea salt.
The dark chocolate sea salt caramels I cut in half to make them last longer. They were drool-​worthy.
Now everything is gone. I want more!