Who: Chocolaterie Tessa
What: Artisinal chocolate shop offering handmade specialty chocolates, truffles, caramels & candies made on-site.
When: Monday to Thursday 10am – 6:30pm, Friday 10am – 6pm, Saturday 11am – 4pm, Sunday 12pm – 5pm.
Where: 7425 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78757
Why: Chocolaterie Tessa is a little slice of heaven in North Austin. Pop into this adorable artisanal family-run chocolate shop and get your fix of truffles, caramels, and chocolates. Chocolaterie Tessa produces some of Texas’ finest chocolate, free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
The shop is named after and is run by Tessa Halstead, she’s the head Chocolatier, and has such a passion for her craft. Chocolate making is in her family lineage, her father owned a popular chocolate and candy shop in Dallas called Morgen Chocolate. And grew up in the family business getting her first taste of chocolate making at age 14. Fast forward, and in 2012, she opened Chocolaterie Tessa in Crestview, and serves European style chocolates out of her factory and chocolate store.
Upon walking in you can see directly back into the production area, it’s a small but mighty team that is cranking out these handmade goodies. And if they’re in production, they may even let you sample a piece or two. In the store, there’s even a special collection of chocolate molds from her fathers original chocolate factory on display on a shelf above the door. It’s a nice nod to Tessa’s family history and the future she is creating for herself at Chocolaterie Tessa.
Tessa also offers single origin chocolate, which means that the chocolates have a direct line to the actual terroir of the cocoa beans. Chocolate is like wine and coffee, depending on where it is grown, it will take on a different taste. It is some of the purest and best chocolate around, and Tessa is the only creator of single origin chocolate in Austin.
For the holiday season, you can purchase tasting kits with the single origin chocolate that identifies the chocolates’ makers and growing regions, cacao content, and flavor notes, so it provides a fun and educational experience for the recipient.
Whether you’re hungry for one piece or a whole box, Chocolaterie Tessa provides a wide array of options for purchasing and gifting chocolates. And who doesn’t like to receive chocolate?
Please go see Tessa and her team at Chocolaterie Tessa and tell them Dine With Shayda sent you! Be sure to follow me on Instagram @dinewithshayda, for my daily food adventures!
What to order: You can’t visit Chocolaterie Tessa without trying a piece of her award winning salted caramel. It’s not too chewy and melts perfectly in your mouth. If you’re a fan of caramel, then you should definitely get your hands on a box of these.
