Chocri: Create Your Designer Chocolate Bar for Valentine’s Day

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor

Before Christmas I went to visit my BFF Anne-Marie in Chicago and she treated me to a chocolate tour she found on Groupon (she loves Groupon and wrote all about it here). It was a walking tour of downtown Chicago and it was a wonderful way to see the city while sampling some amazing chocolate treats. One such treat was a delightfully and creatively delicious chocolate bar from Chocri, a German company that customizes chocolate bar(s), each made-to-order. At the time, the company had not yet launched in the U.S., but Chocri is here now, with perfect timing for Valentine’s Day gift giving.

Chocri offers over 100 toppings to choose from to go on either dark, milk or white chocolate. For Valentine’s Day they suggest romantically inspired chocolate bars, such as the Sweet Seduction made with white chocolate, candied rose petals and real gold flakes. Or you may want to make one of your own creations using the traditional fruits and nuts or go for something more on the adventurous side with chives, caraway seeds or jalapenos. For the kids-at-heart, there are gummy bears(which were on the very first Chocri chocolate bar ever made) or M & M type candies. All the chocolate bars are handmade in Germany and shipped to you.

I love that they only use the best ingredients, starting with organic or fair trade chocolate from Belgium. The co-founders, Franz Duge and Micha Bruck, believe that the best quality of chocolate means not only the best tasting but also the most ethical chocolate. Meaning that, at every level of the chocolate production, there also has to be fair working practices. What I also love about Chocri is that they donate a percentage of their revenue to an organization that supports children of the Ivory Coast called DIV Kinder. The connection between the Ivory Coast and chocolate, you may ask, is that most of the cacao, the main ingredient in chocolate, is produced there.

Check out their website at CreateMyChocolate.com to give that special someone a real treat. They will be impressed that you know exactly what they love in a chocolate bar… On Valentine’s or any other day!