Chocolate Cartel

High time I back up the already great rating my favorite local chocolatier has. The Chocolate Cartel store is inconspicuous, industrial and dimly lit but rest assured these people are serious about their craft.
At the core is Venezuela Cacao, the base for the Truffles and other flavor combinations they offer like toffee bars or covered nuts. I think this Cacao stands tall on it’s own as well. Recently I read something on the health benefits of chocolate and it was suggested that you should have 70% or more Cacao to really get much other than pleasure out of the chocolate. The Cartel sells a 73% bar that is quite smooth and a 90% bar that doesn’t have the bitterness you might expect for this level of purity. They also offer Gelato widely praised for its creative, delicious flavors and richness.
I like to swing by and get a few Truffles in the hand and make a box as a gift. The box has always been well received! Chocolate Cartel is one of those rare examples where everything offered is done to a high standard.

Wow, I really enjoyed the chocolate here — excellent quality with great flavor!
I purchased a few bars and enjoyed gelato and nothing was disappointing.
This will be a go-​to spot on all my future visits to Albuquerque.

Chocolate (cocoa with a crap ton of sugar) was the first addiction that sank its cruel hooks into my brain… …probably at the tender age of 1 or 2 (I cant remember)… …but now I like my chocolate dark… …like midnight in a mineshaft… In my old age, all my sweet ‘tooths’ have fallen out. Granted I am an American who was raised on high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and doughnuts, but now I cant stand sweetness. Real or synthetic. My sugar addiction is cured… …but Im still a junkie for chocolate… …and not the smooth creamy milky emulsified facsimile thereof… …but CHOCOLATE… …like the kind Aztec priests consumed before a busy day of ripping out the hearts of enemies and/​or whomever. This is one of the only places to find it.

Nice little store, really nice guys. The chocolates were unique & good. But I have to agree w/​some of the reviewers that you will like this shop more if you are into the more bitter or dark chocolates. I like mine a little sweeter. But my mom who is a dark chocolate lover loved everything. I will come back to try the gelatos that everyone keeps raving about. Hoping the owners read the reviews here & make a few sweeter chocolates for people like me. With all the different flavors they had, I’m surprised they didn’t have any.

Simply the best gelato!
Unique flavor can’t be found elsewhere!
They make them in small batches, freshness is a big plus!
Diary free options are very tasty, too!

My take on the «cartel» part of the name is that everything here is heavy on cocoa. If you like a strong cocoa flavor, then this is the place for you.
Personally, I’m a big fan of dark chocolate and the slightly bitter taste you get from unsweetened cocoa. Chocolate Cartel has a lot of that.
My wife prefers sugary sweet milk chocolate and she wasn’t quite as impressed with Chocolate Cartel as I was.

WOW what service! Great flavors and lots of options!!! Best gelato on town!

I have never tasted as interesting and delectable chocolate as I do from Chocolate Cartel. I’ve been bought boxes of their amazing product for all types of special occasions and you can’t go wrong. (Well you could if they don’t like chocolate, but those are few and far between) This stuff is amazing. (Yes! Try the chili truffles. They are a bit spicy, but the flavors are amazing together. I never would have thought it)
All you have to do is get over the outward appearance and go.

I didn’t believe in the powers of chocolate until I went to the Chocolate Cartel. As you walk in you see chocolate deliciously packaged as if you were in Willy Wonka’s factory, while aromas awaken your senses and instantly make you crave chocolate.
The chocolate inside is top notch and comes in a variety of different flavors. You won’t be disappointed.

The term «don’t judge a book by its cover» has never been more applicable than to this place.
Their location and outside appearance is a tad bit unconventional for a chocolate place… I felt like we were going into some drug lord /​crime place because it was dark and not very inviting.
However, upon walking in… all that changed when the chocolate maker introduced himself to us and walked us through their process… oh did I mention he was cute! I mean come on! Chocolate + chocolate maker that’s cute… that alone is a recipe for disaster!
Anyways… going back to their chocolates… I ended up buying $ 50+ worth and (Alex?) not sure of his name… boxed it up for me for easy transport.
Outcome: the people that I gave the chocolates too… loved it. I loved it. It wasn’t too sweet… creamy but not too creamy… it was just right.
Check it out folks! Sweet tasting… for the buds as well as for the eyes =)

This place is pretty unbelievable. My favorite chocolate place of them all — and I live in Virginia.
The truffles are all amazing, and the chile chocolate bars are dynamite — they’re New Mexico hot rather than, say East Coast hot, so be prepared for some serious heat. These guys don’t mess around.

As out of town guests in Albuquerque, NM, I like to sample good chocolate. So we made a trek to this place to find out more good eats. On our way to the Sandia Resort & Casino, I made a special request to stop here. We tried the sea salted dark chocolate and the coconut dark chocolates. Very good chocolate! We bought a nice 12 piece box assortment for our hosts. So, I’m waiting to see if they like the nutty flavors. I would buy this chocolate for a special occasion or for a nice gift.
We tasted many flavors of their gelato at the Los Poblanos Farm. Lemon chiffon with lavender, dark chocolate, passion fruit with mango and french vanilla. All delicious, full flavors. Much better than regular ice cream! No artificial colors or flavors… Buy their gelato in single 4 oz or the pints!

I love their small chocolates that pack a big punch of chocolate flavor. Not cheap, but not the typical over-​sugared and over-​paraffined varieties of chocolates. An odd location, but worth the trip.

I’m so glad to have found a chocolate place in Albuquerque. The gelato is also very yummy.
Well worth the trip to the out of place store front.

Hey I reviewed this place twice, when it was listed as Xocoatl and in Sante Fe and in Albuquerque. It’s the same great product from the same owners.

Oh. MAN. I am SO happy to have found this place. I’m always on the lookout for a good chocolatier, and I walked by this place one day and thought that I ought to get back and check it out. It took me a few months, but my wife and I finally made it through the door a few weeks ago. They are AWESOME. I didn’t even realize that the Xocolatl chocolate makers I knew had started in Taos had moved down here to Albuquerque. Now that I know they’re here, though, I’m doing the very best I can to get back on a regular basis. Their truffles are incredible. Good quality chocolate, inventive flavor combinations, and beautiful presentations. The Van Rixel brothers are top notch. Don’t let the nondescript storefront fool you – there’s GOOD chocolate in there. Buy their stuff at Whole Foods, if you prefer, but I’m gonna keep making the pilgrimage to their chocolate factory directly. So YUM. They never seem to last long when we bring them home…