I cannot believe such a place exists in this quaint little neighborhood, this place has an upstairs seating area, and it was quite lovely. You can see all the thought that went into making this space just perfect for you to enjoy! They had so many touches of comfort, the bench and chat seating. They even had a rocking chair for patrons to use. We ordered the hot chocolate, made with the vanilla sea salt bar. I can't say we would order this again, I'm used to milk in my hot chocolate, and this was a chocolate bar that was blended with hot water, and served, and didn't emulsify well enough for me to be a repeat customer for the hot cocoa. However, I did get 4 chocolate bars to take home, and cannot wait to go back to grab some more. Really enjoyed the space and the chocolate bars. read more

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One of the best hot chocolates in the city! You have to try the spicy option as well as the jaguar option. I love that their chocolate is fair trade. You can now find them at the St. Lawrence market for the holidays season. It will definitely warm you up this season! read more

Chocosol Traders - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I have been purchasing ChocoSol's bean-to-bar chocolate since they started at the Farmers market. Biking to and fro. First it was Dufferin Grove, where I'd try my best every week to go and get my chocolate fix... As the years went on ChocoSol kept on growing, expanding to other markets; Wychwood, Evergreen, etc. Now they are all the way in KW and hold space at St. Lawrence Market too, among other places. So grateful they have exploded. You can tell the need for this kind of chocolate food enrichment is essential! I knew they opened up a store on St. clair years ago, yet found the prices more affordable at other places so I didn't always purchase direct. However with most, if not everything there are trade offs. I found with my continued purchase of the bars at the reduced pricing elsewhere in the city, I was accumulating more and more waste (at least their packaging is either biodegradable or recyclable and I've kept almost all the packages from bars purchased). I found buying from their storefront curbed this completely as the option is to purchase in bulk and mitigate that waste. Plus when you buy 3 you get one bar for free. Today was a day I intended to pick up some bars and their delicious chocolate cookie at the Wychwood Market, yet found the crowd of people very unappealing, so I walked the few blocks and found their Chocolate bar to be quite and peaceful. The perfect spot to enjoy some of the best food ever- Chocolate! For the first time I ordered one of their drinking chocolates.... I can't believe I hadnt ever tried it before. Perhaps because I like to bite into & savour a piece of chocolate instead of having it in liquid form. However inspite of my initial reservations, I decided today was the day and I ordered a 60% with their jaguar milk (their dairy-free mylk alternative is made with their jaguar white cocoa pods and creamed to perfection). It was amazing! And it came with a complimentary piece of one of their crunch bars. I decided to have it to stay, to again save the to-go containers. I hadn't ever been upstairs before, so today was the day for that too. Checked out all their cool decor and traditional cocoa crushing stones.. what a special lil' venture for sure. Met a lovely Brazilian couple too, get this we actually had a conversation without phones. It was blissful. :) human connection... Yeah there's nothing quite like it. The atmosphere is warm and cozy. The room upstairs is not always a guarantee though. We all lucked out today as they have special events and often have it rented out for such occasions. They have a rooftop garden too and the space continues to grow with visions of an inclusive, homey, chocolate loving community of people. Amazing! Will return again sometime soon. Oh last thing, their dine in cups, which are stainless steel with a QR code. You can take it with you, and use it at a handful of other places within the city that have opted in to the program. Return it within 30 days, otherwise you'd pay for it... 10 bucks or so, another wonderful effort to be planet friendly! Gawd, I love this place! read more

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There is a divine grittiness to ChocoSol's chocolate, which makes sense given their sun-soil-soul mantra. You take a bite and you know this is quality chocolate. Not sickeningly sweet, not overly refined or perfectly processed. But chocolate with character and story - the white cacao swirls of jaguars, the crunch of coffee gods, the merry cheer of cherries and Christmas. ChocoSol is different, in its bean-to-bar mission, and in the taste and type and tone of the chocolate its sun-soil-soul mantra produces. Highly recommend! read more

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The customer service I have received at ChocoSol St. Clair has been exceptional. Mariana and all the employees are so kind and helpful. The product quality is amazing and the free samples make the experience very special. I love the coffee, and buy whole beans and grind them at home. The focus on fair trade, ethical sourcing of cocoa and coffee beans, and the atmosphere at the St. Clair shop is something that is truly unique and memorable. Thank you again Mariana, and the whole staff for your kindness and service! Sincerely, Nigel read more

We went here on a recommendation from a friend. I've never had albino chocolate before. What a treat. Not super what I think of as chocolaty, but kind of nutty and delicious. I particularly liked the jaguar swirl, a mixture of dark chocolate and albino chocolate. Apparently I'm not the only one that likes it as it sells out regularly. It's a mixture of dark and albino chocolate. Yum! Delighted to have found this place and delighted that it is gluten and dairy free. My favorites were the jaguar swirl, Mon cherry d'amour, jaguar pure, and the vanilla sea salt though there were a lot of other varieties as well. Very worth a trip to Saint Lawrence market. One thing to note, they had more than one place that sold their chocolates in the market, so if one is sold out of your favorite flavor, another might have it. Keep hunting! read more

We had just eaten a very filling lunch at the nearby King's Tacos, but we figured what the heck let's get some hot chocolate. There are quite a few choices but we ultimately decided to go with the Vanilla Sea Salt flavor, and that also came with a bite of their Jaguar chocolate. This is very impressive (and very chocolatey) hot chocolate. It's got this rich chocolate flavor that's pretty much impossible to resist, although I will admit I was initially caught off guard by its complete lack of sweetness. A few slurps, however, and I just found myself enjoy its intensity. The bite of Jaguar chocolate fared even better, as it possessed this complexity that I wasn't expecting. There's a lot going on in this thing and it's all delicious. I can now see why ChocoSol is so highly regarded here, that's for sure. read more

Best chocolate in town. The owners believes in horizontal trade where everything from farmer to production are interconnected. Some herbs used for the chocolate are grown inside the chocolate manufacturing facilities. On some occasions, you may be able to purchase less than perfect chocolate for a lower cost. read more

The other day I visited ChocoSol to pick up a 2lb Easter Bunny, which I won online. I was super excited to venture to ChocoSol since they are a vegan chocolate shop and I'm lactose intolerant. From the moment I arrived in-store, I was acknowledged by the employees who were helping other customers. ChocoSol sells drinks in shop/to-go and tons of chocolate. I asked them what their specialty was and they suggested I try a vanilla sipping chocolate. The sipping chocolate was definitely an experience. They blend it up and pour it into a ceramic bowl for sipping. The sipping chocolate was a little too rich for me so I took the rest to-go. Next time I would definitely try a latte, which is made with their chocolate but probably less rich. My chocolate Easter bunny was fantastic. It is completely dairy free and it is made with cacao nibs. I love cutting off small pieces of my Easter bunny to eat at the end of the day. I savour the tasting process and let it melt in my mouth. I really enjoy how you can taste the cocoa nibs as you break down the chocolate. It is rich and a little is really satisfying. Thank you for hosting your Facebook contest so I could discover your amazing company! read more

Chocolate Heaven! ChocoSol Traders' Eating Chocolate is just amazing. Dark Chocolate is just my favourite Rustico line has varieties of bars which are 65% to 100% cacao and the bars are stone-ground for approximately 8 hours. Five Chili Bullet (75% cacao) - spicy and you actually can taste the individual chili flakes Vanilla Sea Salt (65% cacao) Mon Cherry D'Amour (65% cacao) - There are chucks of dried cherry inside Jaguar Chocolate (82% cacao) is one of their unique offerings made from a very rare albino cacao bean known as Theobromae Bicoloris. According to their website, they are the only chocolate producer in the World that make this type of chocolate. Chocosol Traders were founded in 2004 in Oaxaca, Mexico but have been based in Toronto since 2006. Thanks so much in bring such amazing Mexican chocolate to Toronto! Cacao is really the "Food of God" read more

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Just an update: I've now encountered staff that are very knowledgeable about their Chocolate and I feel that this is the general rule. Mats was super friendly and helpful and also gave generous bonuses with my purchases. My current favorite bar is the 82% "Sinfully Vanilla". Despite the volatility of the Vanilla market they're not afraid to use it and it's the perfect balance of bitter and sweet. I"m warming up to the 65% "Coffee Crunch" although it's just a little too sweet for my tastes, so I like to mix a piece with a 99% portion. The Albino Jaguar 75% bar is, for all intents and purposes, a TRUE "Blonde Chocolate" bar. Although Chocosol doesn't use milk, the Jaguar beans are mild and inoffensive and, when in bar form, almost have a milky taste and consistency. Fans of milk chocolate will find a lot to love here. I simply adore it and right now it's my second favorite. read more

Chocosol Traders - Albino Cacao beans - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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This is a chocolate maker shop. They buy (the cacao) direct from farmers and make the chocolate on site. Christie, the staff, shared her knowledge about the whole process and her enthusiasm was genuine. This is one of the few places where one can purchase 100% cacao bars without sugar! I highly recommend visiting if you want to taste natural chocolate without being over laden with sugar. read more

Chocosol Traders - 100% cacao, no added sugar. - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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The love I have for this place really can't be fully conveyed. As a chocolate lover, I love what they're doing and there's generally a high appreciation for their focus on only quality Mexican cacao, making their value proposition much more focused and appreciated than Soma for example. I think there's two products that standout bar none that they carry: 1) The albino chocolate line they call Jaguar. Extremely rare to find an the flavours are so complex and nutty. A real treat and unique experience for chocolate lovers. 2) The 'red coffee' bean they carry is also a unique and rare treat for coffee lovers. Other great features of Chocosol are extremely knowledgable staff, great options for vegan and lactose intolerance, and wonderful fun workshops every friday. The 'mixed bag' of leftover mix and match chocolate pieces is also a great little pick me up for the week in those cheeky nibbly moments you have. read more

Absolutely stunning hot chocolate + coffee. Don't remember the name but something like "Jaguar". Can't even describe the taste, it is something that you want drink as a shot but at the same time it is not for 30 min sipping. The only minus is that it doesn't come cheap. Indeed, two chocolate coffees turned into $17ish... read more

Just wonderful! The staff is super friendly, as well as very knowledgeable in the processing of beans to make their exceptional product. I have had chocolates from all parts of Latin America, and this is up there. There are samples, very generous ones too, that help you make up your mind. We walked out with 100%, 65% with mint, cherry with vanilla salt, and the 5 chilli. You can purchase 1/2 bars as well. Highly recommend going and trying out for yourself! You can even try the actual beans that they use. 5/5 read more

A small storefront with a larger space in the back to process the chocolate. The girl who was working was very friendly and seemed as though she was very enthusiastic about the product! I tried a couple of different types of chocolate that was made there. I'm not a die-hard chocolate fanatic, so I wasn't really up to buying a half bar for $6-7 dollars. Full bars were $10 which, as a non-chocolate person, seems a bit steep. Honestly, I don't think I would be able to taste a difference between a cheap vs. an expensive bar. I got a cold cup of drinking chocolate to try for $3. The cup was fairly small, but it was enough as it was fairly rich. Plastic cup was compostable, so I appreciated the fact that their mentality extended to their serving containers as well. Storefront was stuffed up with boxes of storage. I think I would've had a better impression if it was cleared up and there was more merchandise on display. read more

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Smells amazing, soooo many different kinds of chocolate! My review is based solely on the drink, which I didn't really find that impressive, and also I was the only one in the shop and it took like 15-20 minutes for them to serve me, which (with a baby) is sort of unacceptable. Great product for home but not for a drinking spot. read more

This is a cute little store where ChocoSol sells their products. I was hoping for more options since this is also where they make the chocolate but some of the special flavours weren't available. I do like the fact that we can get a discount if we bring out own container & buy bulk. We got the coffee crunch (hubby's fave) & the vanilla salt (also delicious). I like the area that the store is in. Mandala Design isn't far & Cafe Baristo has some delicious food so we'll be back again to buy more chocolate in the future. The lady behind the counter was superfriendly & let us try samples of flavours they had available. read more

I have not visited the factory anytime recently, but I was at Wychwood market today and was happy to learn that there are NO NUTS on their premises. I have a little person in my life with a tree-nut allergy, so it was delightful for him to be able to drink some of their chocolate milk today. Not only did I have peace of mind, but my young child did, too, and I have a soft spot in my heart for companies that can affect a person with allergies this way. My favourite products from them are: their chocolate (chili bullet, or either of their vanilla chocolate flavours), their Mexican hot chocolate. I've found some of their chocolate competitively priced at Karma Co-op in the Annex. --- Bonus - their items are quite tasty, but also vegan. read more

Omg. best chocolate ived tasted. had the chocolate and cherry bar. soooo yummy. also got the coconut and coffee bars. the tshirts are also well designed. ask to see the amazing rooftop top garden. such a treat!!! read more

Chocosol Traders - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Came across their booth at this years CNE. Tried a sampling of the three different bars they had there. Wow! Each bar had a real distinctive flavour with subtle after notes on the pallet. If you like chocolate, real chocolate, you will be hard pressed to ever put another piece of mass marketed product (Cadbury, Hershey, Purdy, etc) into your mouth. read more

The shop is a little out of the way for me, but luckily ChocoSol is stocked at a lot of health food stores and some farmers markets around the city. Hard though it may be to stomach paying $10-13 for a chocolate bar, the chocolate itself is decidedly NOT hard to stomach. I've been eating my way through the entire line and my absolute favourite is the coconut, but the vanilla sea salt and cherry chocolate (when it's available!) is also great. Wouldn't kick the Coffee Crunch bar out of bed either. And the coffee beans themselves ($13/lb) are of course fantastic - our #1 coffee to keep at home for sure. Will have to start a separate savings account soon to fuel this addiction. Worth it. read more

Since trying Chocosol's eating and drinking chocolates, I'm hooked. Like coconuts, cacao fruits have so much to offer us: cacao nibs, cacao powder, cacao butter. Cacao, in its minimally processed or raw form, is one of the most antioxidant-rich foods we consume. Raw, stone-ground chocolate is born from this happy marriage of cacao, its butter and some raw cane sugar. Kudos to Chocosol for using beyond fairly traded beans from Mexican farmers in its bars as well, proving that commercial chocolate doesn't have to be a product of inequality. My favourite eating chocolates are their darker ones like Sinfully Raw Vanilla. If you get a chance to try Jaguar, do it and don't look back. Jaguar bars are made of this heirloom albino cacao bean that has an otherworldly, creamy, nutty flavour whose smoothness is bliss. Drinking chocolates are phenomenal as well; I can't go back to the powdered mixes now that I've had their "xocolatl" (literally "bitter drink" or "water"). Part with your Lindt bar and you will step into a new world and understand why cacao is revered as a food of the Gods. It gets better because Chocosol is a social enterprise that emphasizes community; they have workshops, tasting tours, are active participants of various farmers' markets and are environmentally conscious (their packaging is compostable/biodegradable, something I am 100% behind). Everything sounds too good to be true, but the proof is in the chocolate. It's so refreshing to see a local business, whose operative is more than just profit, do well. There is good reason why they have been voted Best Chocolate in TO! read more

I met the team at their Union Summer Stand and tasted and bought their dark chocolate - being Swiss I am very complicated and tried most of the artisan chocolate here in TO. This is maybe the best dark chocolate I have found (here ;-). But what blew off my mind was their cold chocolate drink with cinnamon and fresh cacao! Oh wow, soooo delicious! read more

Fantastic experience at Chocosol with their taste & tour. I couldn't believe how much they offered for the $25 cost; a full 60+ min tour including detailed Q&A by the incredibly knowledgeable Matt. And a multi-course tasting including several of their specialty drinking chocolates, a large chocolate board with their best selling varieties, and two individual courses of savoury & sweet food items. I would have appreciated shortening the length of time spent in the non-air conditioned areas of the tour, which were pretty unbearable in the summer humidity of Toronto. Also, the tour group was a considerable size, and it seemed that there were several Chocosol staff who joined the tour solely as attendees. The tour areas are quite small, and at times it felt a little cramped in terms of space. It would have been nice if they had a smaller limit on tour group size, or maybe just restricted the group only to Chocosol guests rather than including staff members. But all things considered, it was an enjoyable and educational experience that I would highly recommend. Chocosol is a fantastic and super ethically conscious company that I am happy to support. And of course, their products are delicious. read more

I just came home stocked up with delicious chocolate from ChocoSol. Loved the Taste & Tour and the inspiring story behind ChocoSol. After tasting various chocolates, my favourite chocolate is the Jaguar blueberry bar... oh and the Albino Chocolate drink is just heavenly, a must try. Thanks Mat for sharing all your knowledge and passion with us! read more

A MUST visit to enjoy chocolate but go on a tour as well. I went on a tour at this small but growing company and was so impressed with the Commitment to sustainability, horizontal trade and human social development. On top of all that the chocolate is excellent and comes in totally compostable packaging (including the glues)!! They also deliver much of there chocolate by bicycle. "Wow!"is all I can say. I will buy my chocolate from them all the time. read more

I received some of the Chocosol product as a present from a good friend. I have never tried any dark chocolate of this quality; simply amazing! Next time I'm in town I will have to track you down! read more

Chocosol Traders - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

The store front is so inviting with all the chocolate and goodies that you can see through the window. As soon as you walk in the door the staff are so friendly and inviting. They have summer and winter solstice celebrations where you give a donation and can hang out to watch live bands and drink chocolate drinks. I happen to walk in on the evening of the winter solstice. I gave my donation, was given a stamp then waited in line in front of the kitchen to get a melted blended cup of gourmet chocolate. The products are top notch as they bring them in from Oaxaca, Mexico where they were founded. I myself brought home a bag of direct trade coffee beans which were really good even for a coffee snob like me. They are also much cheaper than I would have expected on all their products, especially beautifully crafted clay vessels. It's also important to note that they take cash and credit but no debit for some reason. read more

A very interesting concept, wonderful staff, a different kind of place. I purchased 2 bars of chocolate but in retrospect they were a bit pricey for chocolate. I also had a hot chocolate and asked it be made with milk. They offer a safe environment for people with allergies or sensitivities which is nice but once again it was expensive for what you got and it wasn't what I expected. I give three stars for staff and creativity but it may not be the best bang for your buck. I did it once and that was good enough for me. read more

From the moment you enter the door, your senses are captivated by the wonders of this chocolatey paradise. We went specially to try the 100% bar, and while it was an experience we will never forget, I do not recommend it! It was very bitter, I'll stick to 82% and under! Everything else here is probably delicious. read more

Excellent variety of chocolates. Great coffee. A different kind of store. Love what they do.

It's different from your average chocolate bar. It's more grainy and much tastier. Give it a try and you might like it more then your typical Lindt and Cadbury bar. As for the price.... you get what you pay for and you can taste the quality of these chocolates. read more

Have only tried them at the Brickworks, and enjoy their chocolates, service and ethos. A business well worth supporting.

Amazing chocolate!! A true find!! As a baker and lover of decadent chocolate, I always use their many varieties of chocolate, especially the 5 Chili Bullet which I've used in my Dark chocolate and cranberry granola bars! And what I love best about ChocoSol is their friendly staff. They always are happy to answer any questions and as well are very generous with letting you sample their oh so delicious chocolates! Thank you ChocoSol!!! read more

Their chocolate bars are good. The upside is that their chocolate is "safe" for my son who has multiple food allergies & he likes it! read more

I eat this chocolate all the time! Hands down the best chocolate on the planet. Chocosol takes their craft very seriously and you can tell in the quality and flavour of their chocolate. I believe the owner is doing his doctorate in Cacao and is a world renowned expert on the topic. What more can you ask for? Try it, your going to LOVE it! read more

I recently went to the new Chocosol store front for a private birthday party, and I was blown away by them! We were there for a chocosol workshop, and we got so much more, including: wine, a delicious dinner and dessert, tons of chocolates, hot chocolate (or mocha, espresso or coffee if you wished), and we got to make our own corn tortillas and chocolates! That's my brief summary, now I'll break down the entire experience for you. The Food and Drinks: Absolutely yummy! *Chocolates: I tried 6 kinds, including coconut, 65% chocolate, coffee bean, vanilla, unsweetened, and chili (I may not have the correct names). They were all delicious! My favorite was a tie between the coconut and the chili. The coconut chocolate is a bit creamy, and the chili chocolate had just enough spice to have the right amount of kick. All of the chocolates were also vegan! *Dinner: We got to make our own corn tortillas (see workshop below), which was so much fun! The corn tortillas were used to make little tacos (I don't know that they were tacos, but I am not sure what else to call them. They were more like mini burritos) with a variety of tasty fillings, and these were all vegetarian. They also made us some vegan versions (no cheese)! *Dessert: For dessert, they melted chocolate into the corn tortillas. This was SO SO GOOD! *Hot beverages: They primarily made us a rich and decadent hot chocolate, which is unlike any traditional North American (American and Canadian to be more specific) hot chocolate. It was rich and not very sweet, but you could add sweetener if you wished. There were other options as well, like coffee, espresso or mochas. I didn't have these drinks, but I hear they were also really good! I was also told that if we had brought some beer we could have made chocolate beer floats, and that the hot chocolate is also really good chilled and makes a great sauce. Workshop: We got to make 2 things, corn tortillas and chocolates. Learning how the corn tortillas were made was a lot of fun. We started with how the corn is ground and got to see it all getting ground up, then we made the dough, then the tortillas. While I helped make tortillas, one of the staff members (Matt I believe) told me a bit about how the left over corn meal could be used and is used in the jungle in Mexico. The corn tortillas we made were used for our dinner and dessert! We also had a chocolate making workshop. I missed some of that because I was too busy in the front eating delicious food, drinking wine and chatting with friends, but I did have a chance to go to the back and mould some chocolates! Staff: There were 2 staff and a volunteer working during our event. They were all very friendly, and they were happy to share their knowledge with us. I certainly learned a lot from them during our visit, and I appreciate their enthusiasm for the ChocoSol products. Store Front: Perhaps my only (slightly) negative review is the location, but that's for selfish reasons. I wish that it was located closer to ME! The store itself is quite lovely and is decorated with fantastic informative posters, ChocoSol products and items of Mexican culture. If you didn't feel like chatting with anyone for a bit, there was plenty of interesting items to check out! The store was spotless, and they required that we wear hair nets and aprons while in the kitchen to ensure no stray hairs got into any of the food items. I really want to commend them for their posters. I am quite picky about both the accuracy and validity of information shared by a number of well-meaning companies, and I am happy to report that ChocoSol presents the science, environment and health related facts of their products and company expertly and in an engaging manner. All in all ChocoSol is the full package, and you would be giving yourself a real treat by visiting them. I know I will be purchasing lots of gifts from ChocoSol in the future! Although, I will probably make most of my future ChocoSol purchases at stores and farmer's markets that are a bit closer to me. read more