The Seattle chocolate scene is seriously overlooked by the uninitiated. Those of us obsessed with craft chocolate, however, know it as one of the fine chocolate hubs of the world. Famous more for their hipsters and specialty wines than their award-winning chocolates, the Pacific Northwest has spent the better part of the last decade transforming itself into a veritable craft chocolate destination.

As the home to several chocolate makers, chocolatiers, chocolate shops, and chocolate events, Seattle is at the center of it all, and has now become one of the US's most important chocolate cities. The bulk of the chocolate activity takes place downtown, close to the dizzyingly large Pike Place Market, though there are chocolate stops throughout the expanding city.

Some bakeries, like Bakery Nouveau, are even getting into the craft chocolate game. What was most astounding for me compared to the Asian chocolate scene was the number of chocolate retailers I saw in my last three days in Seattle.

Craft chocolate bars can now be found in cafes & dedicated chocolate retail shops, meaning that many regional makers don't need a café of their own to be able to sell their products. So unlike in most of my chocolate guides, the Seattle chocolate guide is presented based on what type of experience you want out of the city.

To sort by neighborhood instead, simply check out the map at the bottom of the guide. Happy munching!

Seattle Chocolatiers

Chocolati

With five locations throughout the Seattle area, I was pleasantly impressed by the quality of Chocolati's chocolates. With an insanely large collection of 50+ chocolates of varying sizes and fillings, the confections err on the slightly sweet side, but are still quite nice.

The Seattle Public Library Chocolati location, in a little nook away from the books, maintains their massive selection of chocolates plus many chocolate- and espresso-based drinks. Their bonbons are available in gift boxes as well as wrapped individually and then bagged.

The ganache-filled chocolate-dipped Turkish fig was a group favorite, but my personal choice would be the chocolate-dipped ginger. All chocolates (except for the gargantuan fig) were under $2 apiece, reasonable for both quality and options.

Address: 3rd Floor of the Seattle Public Library, 1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104 (5 locations; see map below)

Hours & Prices: 10am-5pm, daily {open at 12pm on Sun.} (~$2 per truffle)

Fran's Chocolates

Considering that I've been seeing Fran's Chocolate across the US for the last half decade, I was surprised and delighted at the quality of Fran's chocolate caramels. Though maybe I shouldn't be; after all, she was Obama's official chocolatier.

Known for their buttery salted caramels, Fran's is quite the upscale brand, but is well-balanced by their friendly staff and massive selection of chocolates. They freely offer samples from the nearly two dozen chocolate bonbons they have on hand, sometimes even found proffered on a tray of sample-sized bites.

It's this kind of customer attention— along with their delicious array of French-style caramels— that earned them a spot on Seattle's Chocolate Indulgence Tour (discussed below).

At the smaller downtown location I visited they have a limited coffee bar but a clean use of space, with a couple of tables to sit at and people watch as downtown passes by. The other three locations noted are larger, including the Georgetown location, where they make all their confections.

Address: 1325 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, USA (4 locations; see map below)

Hours & Prices: 9:30am-7:30pm, Mon.-Sat. & 11am-6pm, Sun. (~$2 per caramel)

Intrigue Chocolate Co.

Intrigue Chocolate is more or less a local legend. Since 2006 they've been crafting soft ganache truffles, infusing creams time & time again, to build up to their current repertoire of over 250 flavors (only about 2 dozen are available at any given time).
Each chocolate is unique, hand-crafted using chocolate made specifically for Intrigue. The chocolaterie is known mainly for their truffles, but increasingly as well for their hot chocolate mixes and their recently-launched bars (made with the same unique-to-Intrigue chocolate).

I had the pleasure of meeting the owner when I popped in, and he disclosed that even though they have a normal collection always available, he's always playing around with new flavors (many of which are vegan-friendly), so every week your choices are different.

Address: online only

Hours & Prices: $2.50 per truffle

Chocolat Vitale

Seattle chocolate makers are becoming quite well known, but Seattle chocolatiers still seem to be struggling for recognition. This where shops like Chocolat Vitale come in. They started with just European-style hot chocolate, but expanded into other local chocolate and coffee products as demand rose.

Maintaining a European bent to their products, Chocolat Vitale is your stop for imported coffee, chocolate, and wine, as well as an assortment of regional products from chocolate makers and chocolatiers. I was unable to stop in on my last trip, but their specialty of thick hot cocoa is high up on my list for next year!

Address: 6257 3rd Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107 (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 10am-6pm, Wed.-Sat. & 11am-5pm, Sun.

Rocky Mountain

Rocky Mountain Seattle is located in the heart of downtown, and boasts a wide selection of chocolate- and espresso-based drinks, with an equally large number of chocolates. However, while this Colorado-based chocolate shop chain is fine for a quick coffee and a huge caramel apple, I was left unimpressed with the quality of their chocolate and their fillings.

With locations around the world (including in Seoul, South Korea) and similar selections in each, if you're looking for unique chocolate in downtown Seattle, I'd check elsewhere first.

Address: 1419 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 9am-11pm, Sat. & 10am-10pm, Sun.-Fri. {open 'til 11pm Fri.} ($2-3 per truffle)

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Seattle Chocolate Makers

Theo's Chocolate

A bit of a legend in the craft chocolate world, and widely known as one of the best buys in the Whole Foods chocolate aisle, Theo's is a Seattle native. The company started in 2006 as the US's first organic chocolate maker, and continues to honor their core ethics through projects in cacao communities in central Africa, as well as within the Seattle area.

With dozens of delicious bars, just as many seasonal confections, and a neat collection of house-made bonbons, I was very happy to open my wallet for a thick stack of Theo products. Their classes and $10 factory tours fill up extra quick in the summertime thanks to camps and retreats, so book at least 2 weeks in advance to have your pick of dates.

We learned that the hard way, but look forward to touring the space another time (and sampling all the treats).

Address: 3400 Phinney Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103 (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 10am-6pm, daily ($4 per 85g bar)

Seattle Chocolate

When you search for "Seattle chocolate" on the internet, odds are great that the first results are for the Seattle Chocolate company. Started in the early 90's, Seattle Chocolate is somewhat of a local legend, and has come to be known around the world for their filled & flavored chocolate bars, likely found in every health food store across the country. The company focuses on creating flavors representative of the Pacific Northwest, such as locally sea salt and coffee bars.

Their sister line of chocolates is the jcoco collection, whose creation you can witness in one of their factory tours, before grabbing a few of their bars or confections. The factory is located in the very fringe of Seattle, less than 10 minutes from the airport. Note that the last chocolate factory tours are offered at 2pm.

Address: 1180 Andover Park W, Seattle, WA 98188 (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 10am-5pm, Mon.-Sat. ($4 per 70g bar)

indi chocolate

Indi is one of my most favorite chocolate factories in the world, huge at first glance, but decidedly understated. Once you make it through the maze that is Pike Place Market, on the third level down you'll run right into the indi chocolate fishbowl. 

As one of the most comprehensive and community-based shops in the Seattle area, indi chocolate was started in 2010 by Erin Andrews, who funded the venture largely by making her cacao-based beauty products. A chocolate maker's journey is never easy, but it's also rarely boring!

Lucky for all of us, Erin was in it for the long haul, and to this day she continues selling her range of cocoa butter-based body care products, along with a large variety of coffee and chocolate drinks, and bean to bar chocolates.

Those who visit the Pike Place Market chocolate shop will also be tempted by weekly chocolate classes & events, as well as the house made confections. My favorites include the mole caramel latte and the lavender caramels. In fact, I'm rather put-off that I don't have one of their mole marshmallows in my hand right this second.

Address: 1901 Western Ave D, Seattle, WA 98101 (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 8am-6pm, daily {closes at 7pm Fri./Sat.} ($2 per truffle)

Spinnaker Chocolate

The newest bean-to-bar chocolate maker in Seattle, Spinnaker Chocolate is a young company taking a very technical approach to chocolate making. The duo behind the company founded it after a long relationship with craft chocolate inspired them to make their own.

This classic tale of love at first bite has led to a line of single origin chocolate bars, as well as a few dark milk chocolates and an equal number of upscale inclusions, like Bee Pollen & Salt or 100 Proof Bourbon Whiskey.

Address: 3416 NE 55th St, Seattle, WA 98105 (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 1pm-5pm, Tue.-Sat. ($10 per bar)

Bellflower Chocolate Company

On my last visit to Seattle, Bellflower was still quite young, and didn't have as much distribution as they do in 2022. Now they offer workshops and have a mobile retail option (The Chocolate Bike™️) & chocolate milk bar.

They even offer tours of their production space on Queen Anne. If you're unable to locate either of those, you can also find their bars at numerous other chocolate retailers across Seattle. I particularly enjoyed the Kokoa Kamili with Black Lava Salt.

Address: Weekend pop-ups at Brooks Running in Fremont (3400 Stone Way North), but check their Instagram before you go

Hours & Prices: see online store (link above)

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Seattle Chocolate Shops

Sugar Pill

Of all the chocolate shops in Seattle, Sugar Pill is sort of the odd ball, filled with all sorts of spice blends and body care products. But the addition of locally-made chocolate makes total sense when put in context.

The shop's honey-heavy collection has an overall theme of being naturally edible, sweetly contributing to your well-being both inside and out.

Amongst the artisanal cocktail syrups and local crafts, I found that Sugar Pill supplied many of the regional makers which other Seattle chocolate shops overlook, like Dandelion, Church Street, and Cloud Forest.

Address: 900 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122, USA (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 11am-6pm, daily {closes 4pm Sun.} ($6-10 per bar)

Honorable mentions to De Laurenti and Metropolitan Market, neither of which I've had the chance to visit, but which are highly recommended to me!

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Events

NW Chocolate Festival (& UnConference)

The NW Chocolate Festival is legendary in the craft chocolate community, and every fall it manages to bring together thousands of serious chocoholics and thousands more curious foodies. Over the course of one weekend, over 100 cacao- and chocolate-based businesses come together and share their products & services with the crowds.

The last time I attended, however, my favorite part was the variety of workshops & seminars held on the six stages throughout the day. Classes range from female empowerment on cacao farms to chocolate tasting basics and cooking demonstrations.

For the chocolate makers among you, the two days before the event are also dedicated to an industry-wide networking event called the "UnConference." Samples are abundant during all stages of NWCF, as well, so I'd highly recommend against eating a big meal before the event!

Venue: Smith Cove Pier 91, 2001 West Garfield Street, Seattle, Washington (see map below)

Dates: November 5-6, 2022 (9am-5pm)

Chocolate Indulgence Walking Tour

Offered just once or twice daily, this two hour walking tour of downtown Seattle's chocolate scene is about as all-encompassing as a chocolate tour can get. Considerate of the variety of flavor preferences and creative minds which flock to Seattle, the dozen or so stops on the tour share a taste of regional foods and traditional favorites.

From cakes and cookies to bars and bonbons, this is definitely a tour to mentally and physically prepare for, and not just because of the long walk!

Location: Downtown Seattle

Dates & Price: daily at 11am for $52USD per person

Pacific Northwest Chocolate Society

Established in 2018, the Pacific Northwest Chocolate Society— PNW Chocolate Society for short— is a group of fine chocolate lovers which meets every month or two for events surrounding craft chocolate and cacao.

The community was co-founded by Lauren Adler of Chocolopolis, which for 10+ years was the heart of the Seattle craft chocolate community.

Bringing together chocolate lovers and makers from throughout the region, you can check their Instagram to stay on top of their calendar and buy tickets to events. Past festivities include a blind chocolate tasting and a meeting with chocolate makers from across the region.

Location: Seattle Area

Dates: monthly or bi-monthly events

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