Confectionery spread at Primo Botánica in Troy. Photo courtesy of Primo Botánica
Skip the standard heart-shaped box and treat your loved ones to extra-special sweets from these Hudson Valley chocolate shops.
By Megan Wilson, with additional reporting from Olivia Rose
Valentine’s Day is as good an excuse as any to buy chocolate for a significant other (or your mom, or yourself), but don’t even consider one of those ubiquitous heart-shaped boxes of very ordinary candy. The Hudson Valley produces the most extraordinary confections. Head straight to one of these shops to truly show your love.
Fruition Chocolate Works
Shokan
Nestled in a small storefront in the middle of the Catskills, Fruition’s factory may look unassuming, but its chocolate is a big deal. The shop has earned accolades such as (several) Academy of Chocolate Awards, International Chocolate Awards, the Good Food Award in 2022 for its Bolivia Wild Forest 74% dark chocolate, and more since 2011. This confection company’s artisan treats are crafted with flavorful, ethically-sourced cocoa beans from farms in South America, Dominican Republic, and Madagascar that employ transparent trade practices.
We go nuts—pun absolutely intended—for Fruition’s pecans with maple cinnamon milk chocolate, dark chocolate almonds with smoked sea salt, and hazelnuts with citrus-infused milk chocolate. Plus, the chocolate and caramel gift sets are as beautiful as they are delicious. The brown butter bourbon caramels are made with Hudson Baby Bourbon from Tuthilltown Spirits in Gardiner. The dark chocolate with uniquely pink sea salt made in collaboration with Melanie Delgado of Pinkwater Gallery for the O+ Festival in Kingston makes a lovely gift for your sweetheart, but look out for the to-be-determined specials for Valentine’s Day.
Lovebites Chocolate Shoppe
Monroe
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One of the Hudson Valley’s classic confectioneries, Lovebites is a go-to for traditional, gourmet chocolates. You’ll be tempted by chocolate-covered Oreos, decadent truffles, turtles, and more. Want to splurge? Go for a candy-filled chocolate shoe or made-to-order chocolate-covered strawberries. Stop by to purchase treats before the 14th, or take your date to enjoy a light meal (the waffle sandwiches are impressive) in the adjacent café. We can’t imagine many things better than sharing an overflowing milkshake with toppings galore (donuts as a decoration? Yes, please!), which, might we mention, was named Best Over-the-Top Shake in our 2020 Best of Hudson Valley issue.
Lagusta’s Luscious
New Paltz
Lagusta Yearwood and her team are known for confections that are vegan, ethically and sustainably sourced, and, of course, divine. Yearwood utilizes ingredients from the Valley whenever possible (such as the maple syrup in the dark-chocolate maple honeycombs), and regularly donates to organizations that reflect her team’s values. Can anything beat chocolate that you actually feel good about eating?
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The company specializes in creating unexpected flavor combinations, such as its sweet and salty tahini meltaways and strawberry balsamic caramels. This month’s specials: artfully decorated Valentine’s bark and anatomically correct heart-shaped chocolates.
Related: Why You Should Be Drinking Kombucha in the Hudson Valley
Primo Botánica
Troy
The brainchild of a natural-certified chef and an anthropologist studying indigenous diets, Primo aims to honor the source and producers of cacao while creating incredible flavors. Boasting sweets that are produced in-house with no dairy, refined sugar, or pesticides, and with ethically-sourced cacao beans, this Capital Region spot lives up to its tagline “chocolate that does good.” With confections that are 100-percent plant-based and gluten-free that contain ingredients like immune-boosting chaga, Primo can also claim candy that feels good.
Choose from the “herbal therapy” line of solid chocolate bars, grab-and-go candy pieces (like the plant-based Snickers, jungle cups, or cleverly-named Hot Dates), or a pre-boxed sampler. Unique-flavored treats include the pistachio marzipan bar, the “mylk” chocolate bar with toasted sesame butter and lion’s mane mushroom, or the Ecuadorian dark chocolate bar with coconut blossom nectar.
Mast Market
Mt. Kisco
In 2019, the Mast brothers opened a new location of their pre-established Brooklyn originated chocolate business in Mt. Kisco, which was wonderful news for the sweet-tooths of Westchester.
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Specializing in bars wrapped in chic packaging, the brand’s most recent collection depicts works of art from The Met. Mast focuses on creating high-end chocolates with all-organic ingredients. While its simple milk or dark chocolate is amazing, there’s also mint, hazelnut, dairy-free almond butter, tea, lavender, raspberry and more. Can’t choose? No worries—Mast offers mini 1-oz. bars in addition to the 2.5-oz. standard size. We recommend asking Mast to package several varieties to gift that special someone.
The shopping experience at this chocolate shop is equally sweet—the fragrance of freshly roasted cacao beans fills the air, and customers can view the bean-to-bar process through large interior windows. Make sure to order a hot chocolate on your way out!
Related: 5 Perfumes to Shop for Valentine’s Day in the Hudson Valley
