"I've been eating chocolate
Looking up and out on the land
It's just one stop short of heaven
Oh, I must be in Switzerland"
(Bellamy Brothers)
When we walked by the newish Läderach store specializing in Swiss Chocolates, I presumed it was named for a Swiss word. But I was wrong because Läderach is the family name of the company's owners!
Be prepared when you walk past their front window and into the store, because you will see an eye-popping display of chocolate slabs speckled with all sorts of goodies. Those inviting slabs are "FrischSchoggi" and there are twenty types available.
So, what in the name of the Swiss Alps is a FrischSchoggi? Well, it's a Swiss German term meaning "fresh chocolate," and refers to large, hand-broken slabs of artisan chocolate. The slabs are poured onto cooling tables and snapped by hand into irregular shards rather than neat, molded bars. To make them even better, they feature things like roasted nuts, freeze-dried fruits, and caramel.
When we walked into the store, we were greeted by Anthony who had a fantastic personality and a tray of FrischSchoggi samples. Now, we all know that all chocolates are not made equal and some are better than others while some are a LOT better than others. The Läderach chocolates we sampled were so amazing we knew we'd be leaving the premises with a bag of something.
The FrischSchoggi samples were so thick that even a small sized sample was a lot of chocolate to savor.
They sell over 100 varieties of chocolate. Besides those incredible FrischSchoggi slabs, they offer pralines, truffles, and specialty boxes.
We picked up a specialty box of 24 mini FrischSchoggi squares -three each of eight varieties with assorted mix-ins like hazelnuts, almonds, blackberry and raspberry, salted caramel, orange, pistachios, and milk.
I had my first mini FrischSchoggi last night- a heavenly square of chocolate with Hazelnuts. Seriously, it was one of the best chocolates this chocolate loving Yelper has ever had.
Price? Well, as you might suspect this is a pricey store. But trust me on this, their quality sure supported their price. read more