EXPLORE

Welcome to Zak's Chocolate!

Craft Chocolate Factory/Preorder for Pickup

WE WILL BE COSED JUNE 18 - JUNE 30

Hello Chocolate Friends,

OUR STORE IS NOT OPEN TO WALK INTO SO THAT WE CAN KEEP UP WITH ORDERS AND SERVE MORE OF YOU

PLEASE NOTE: WE NO LONGER OFFER TOURS OF OUR FACILITY

PLEASE ORDER AHEAD ONLINE FOR PICKUP

CLICK HERE FOR OUR ONLINE STORE

CLICK HERE FOR ZAK'S E-GIFT CARDS

CLICK HERE FOR OUR CURRENT LIST OF BONBONS & CARAMELS

If you have any questions, just email or call us.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

OUR STORY: Zak's Chocolate is a local, award-winning small-batch craft chocolate maker and an artisan chocolate shop. We are one of a small number of chocolate shops that makes 100% of our own chocolate. And, we use only ethically-sourced cocoa beans.

We (Maureen & Jim, that's us in the photo of our entire staff), love chocolate and we love the amazing natural flavors of fine cacao varieties. What started as Maureen's home hobby now allows us to share our passion with you at our small production/retail shop in Scottsdale.

At Zak's we roast only ethically sourced cocoa beans (read more here) and make our own single-origin and proprietary House Blend chocolate to use in dark, milk & white chocolate bars, as well as bonbons, truffles, brownies and other yummy confections. Everything is done by hand, from sorting cocoa beans to wrapping bars to hand crafting our chocolates.

Cocoa beans are the seed of the cacao tree, and each cacao origin will taste different based on the bean variety, its growing environment and how we roast and bring out unique flavor profiles. Like coffee and wine, each cocoa bean comes from a unique terroir that impacts its flavor.

Photo credit for pic of chocolates: Debby Wolvos

Our single-origin dark chocolate bars contain only organically farmed cocoa beans (most of which are organically certified), organic cane sugar and a small amount of cocoa butter to enhance the smoothness of our chocolate (which we press in-house from the same beans used in each origin bar). Our chocolate making style results in a chocolate that is creamy and smooth, but not bitter.

All of our dark chocolate bars are vegan, gluten free and dairy free. We also offer a rotating selection of beautiful and tasty bonbons and caramels, including several vegan bonbons. Almost all of our bonbons are gluten free. Our milk chocolate bars are crafted with the same ingredients as our dark chocolate with the addition of organic whole milk powder. Our unique, award-winning Sonoran Desert White Chocolate is made with only three ingredients: House-pressed cocoa butter, organic whole milk powder and organic cane sugar. Our bonbons and caramels are best enjoyed within 2 weeks. Our dark chocolate bars will be good for at least one year; milk and white chocolate for 6 months, if stored properly. What is proper storage? We recommend storing all chocolate in a cool/dry place, away from sun, at a temperature range of 55 - 73 degrees. If you happen to have a wine fridge, that's a great place to store chocolate. Just let them warm up to room temp before you enjoy.

Allergen info: we use dairy, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts and wheat in our facility.

We do not use soy, corn syrup or anything to artificially extend the shelf life in any of our products. 

We hope to see you at our small factory/retail shop in Scottsdale where we make our chocolate directly from the bean and you can pick up some for your own enjoyment or to share. Find us at:

Zak's Chocolate
6990 E Shea Blvd. "Sweet" 116
Scottsdale AZ 85254

email: info@zakschocolate.com

Phone: 480.607.6581

We are honored to be recognized by FOOD & WINE MAGAZINE: The Best Chocolate in America & TASTING TABLE: 17 BEST CHOCOLATIERS IN THE US. We are also proud to be the first Arizona Good Food Awards winner in the Confections category, to be awarded 2021 & 2018 Best Chocolate & 2017 Best Ice Cream by Phoenix New Times, as well as 2017 Best Chocolate & 2016 Best Local Food Product by Phoenix Magazine. We have also been featured in USA Today, Eat This, Not That, AAA Magazine, on the Cover of Chocolate Connoisseur Magazine and on several local news segments. Click on the images below to view the stories and see more in our NEWS & VIDEOS tab.

Be in the loop about new items and upcoming events. Click here and we'll keep you posted.

Check out our Facebook and Twitter feeds below and our NEWS & VIDEOS page for all things chocolate

Chocolate Events - not currently available

PLEASE NOTE: WE NO LONGER OFFER TOURS OF OUR FACILITY

The following is offered as a PRIVATE EVENT ONLY: (not currently available)

Virtual Chocolate Talk, Taste & Tour Event - Available with or without wine pairings - Minimum Group Size is 8. A 75 - 90 minute overview of craft chocolate. Learn about where chocolate comes from, how it's made and what's similar and different between craft and industrial chocolate, take a virtual tour of our factory and enjoy tasting from your home or office! Click here to read a Phoenix New Times review of a recent event. Contact us at info@zakschocolate.com for details and to book your private tasting event. Not available during "Chocolate Holiday" periods (two weeks before Valentine's Day, Easter and Mother's Day; Thanksgiving through Christmas).
Click here to join our email list and be the first to know about what's new!
Contact us at info@zakschocolate.com for more details and to book your private group virtual event.

How is Zak's chocolate actually made?
(it starts with a bean)

The story starts on small farms in the tropics where cacao (ka-kow) trees grow colorful pods. Each pod contains 30-40 cocoa beans. It takes just over one full pod to make each Zak's CHOCOLATE bar. The farmers harvest, ferment and dry the beans. The farmers' work is a critical first step in developing fine chocolate flavors. Zak's acquires only premium cacao via Direct Trade with farmers/cooperatives.

Here is an overview of all the steps we take to make Zak's CHOCOLATE from these magical cocoa beans.

Just imagine smelling the warm liquid chocolate!