Artisan Confections

The bitter sweet is my favorite! The chocolate tastes really like by hand, homemade style! It’s really really yummy!
they have the v-​day customized version, the fruit stuff chocolate is really delicious! Soft, cute-​looking, bitter, and sweet!
A little expensive though, but worth a try

Oh my goodness! I purchased four gift boxes for family this holiday, especially to highlight a local Arlington business. Unparalleled! Stunning presentation and exquisitely tasty! Everyone appreciated both their beauty and their delicious flavor.

Ignore the price and do yourself a favor and buy yourself the hot chocolate. It’s ridiculous and you will feel like you are off in Europe sipping a cup of authentic drinking chocolate!

This could easily be the best most loved item in a DC gift basket. These chocolates are phenomenal. Over the years I’ve given them as gifts. I’ve given away more than I’ve eaten them. (curses)
I needed to rectify that!!!
Picked up an assortment from the Arlington store… AND KEPT THEM. They are mine. And they are extraordinary. So far I’m most nuts for the chocolate with vanilla… but why compare they are all marvelous.
As a gift box it comes in a beautiful box and wrapping. These chocolates as a gift or for yourself are simply divine!!!

I eat a LOT of truffles and this place makes great interesting flavors. I have high standards and they were excellent. I recommend the Tahitian vanilla and peanut butter and jelly. Beautiful gifts

Jason, the chef-​owner, has mad chocolate skills. The chocolate in his creations has just the right «snap» and the interiors are delicious, flavorful yet subtle. Some of the flavors change seasonally, and there’ve been a few that were so good I asked if they’d please make them permanent (like the Lemon Almond). If you like mass-​produced chocolate like Godiva, you’ll probably be unclear what the happy fuss is about Artisan Chocolates and grumble about the price, but hey, that’s fine — just leaves more for me.

I love the fact that this place is non cluttered and just makes you focus on one thing. The delicious confections. Everything is good I mean everything!

I first heard about Artisan Confections, a micro-​chocolatier, at a small chocolate boutique in DC. Owned by Chef Jason Andelman, the chocolates are made with Valrhona chocolate, locally-​sourced ingredients, and with no preservatives. The Arlington location is their original spot/​main kitchen, but they recently opened up another location in the Mosaic District. Flavors such as Spiced Orange, Irish Coffee, Cherry-​Lemon Caramel, Apple Caramel, and Lemon Almond are some that are featured; not all flavors are available, as they make small batches. The ‘gift’ boxes come in either 4-​, 9-​, 15-​, or 30-​count. I had the 9-​piece, in which I chose the Lavender Caramel (caramel with lavender flower; definitely more on the flowery lavender end, which could be slightly overwhelming), Peanut Butter and Jelly (milk chocolate, peanut butter, and strawberry; I liked the crunchy/​chunky peanut butter), Lemon Almond (blond chocolate, almond praline, and lemon zest; my favorite of the bunch!), Malted Milk (milk chocolate, barley malt syrup, and malted milk powder; creamy, with a subtle taste of butterscotch), Apricot-​Cardamom (dark chocolate, apricot, and green cardamom; contained an apricot jelly), Fresh Mint (dark chocolate and local fresh mint; slightly ‘grassy’), Earl Grey Tea (dark chocolate and organic Earl Grey tea; more dark chocolate with extremely subtle Earl Grey tones), Yuzu (dark chocolate and fresh yuzu; this was also refreshing), and an Easter special, the Peanut-​Butter Marshmallow. Each flavor has a different design so it’s easy to distinct one from the other — the box comes with a little foldable pamphlet of most of their regular chocolates’ names and description (most, as some new flavors aren’t listed), as well as a hand-​written ‘expiration’ date in which you should consume your treats by (as they are made without any preservatives) — quite convenient! They also have packaged bars, bark, almonds, and hot chocolate powder. Anna was the chocolatier on-​site, and she was very sweet! On a side note: You can also sign-​up for their ‘Afternoon in a Chocolate Shop,’ where you can see Chef Andelman do a 2-​hour, behind-​the-​scene tour of the chocolate-​making and the process, do samplings, make your own chocolates, and even get discounts on additional purchases. Parking is extremely limited and metered.
+Lemon Almond (!!!)
+Yuzu
+micro-​chocolatier
+no preservatives!
+comes with a handwritten ‘expiration’ date
+ask for Anna, the chocolatier: D
+‘Afternoon in a Chocolate Shop’ with Chef Andelman himself (RSVP required; fee)
+extremely limited metered parking

It is nice to have a «local» candy shop in the neighborhood. I wish there were more «boutique» style businesses like this shop.

Maybe they were having an off-​day, but the chocolates did not impress in terms of taste for the price. Don’t get me wrong, they look great presentation-​wise, but were disappointing otherwise.
On top of that, spent over $ 60 in chocolate and they couldn’t throw in a box. Seriously, they put my chocolates into a plastic bag… what kind of customer service is that?

Amazing customer service and great candy! I couldn’t express more about how nice and friendly everyone is at this location.

Not worth the price. They look amazing, but they are tiny and the taste is just meh. I expected a better tasting chocolate, but I think all of the effort was put into the look. Save your money (and calories) for Godiva.

So perhaps I am that awkward person that likes to observe before I make my decisions. lucky for me the person at the counter was patient and friendly. I’m always on the search for seasonal things so the first visit I had to artisans was actually at mosaic however I didn’t actually make a purchase.
Now on this visit I decide that two flavors stuck out and infelt a bit goofy just purchasing one piece of chocolate so. i decided ed on the lemon espresso and the Arnold palmer.
The lemon espresso was interesting the chocolate had nice snap as you bit into it. Which is usually what happens with good tempered chocolate. When tasking I did notice 2 distinct layers possibly jelly like layer and a possible espresso ganache. Separately each layer had a nice bold flavor. The lemon was refreshing and the espresso really brought out the cocoa flavor.
Arnold Palmer tasted. Interesting it was a ganache filling… but I there was a hint of tea and lemonade. A very delicate flavor but not bad.
Overall… pricey chocolates with great quality and handcrafted. I will be returning to try more.

ALWAYS stop by here and see what they have.
Malted Milk quickly became my favorite. I always check for Raspberry and Mint though, and they usually have samples of my favorites at the counter.
It is pricey, but you will be hard pressed to find a nicer gift when it comes to chocolates.

I love Artisan Confections. Their chocolates are gorgeous and tasty. The small squares are full of delicious, creative flavors, such as ginger-​hazelnut, apricot-​cardamom, and my favorite, salted caramel. Definitely a great place for a gift or a treat.

WOW! I have never been to any of the locations before, but I just tried the chocolates since a co-​worker brought them to a work event. AMAZING! They are sooo beautiful and with all of the different flavors, what a treat! I’d take these chocolates anyday over the other stuff.
Chocolate goes over well for any occassion! I definitely look forward to placing an order with them soon!

When someone special presents you with a beautifully boxed 15-​count assortment of chocolates (with Valrhona, no less!), you are obligated to begin tasting them.
Salted Butter Caramel… is there anything better? Well, the Passion Fruit Caramel and the Orange-​Clove are a close #2 and #3…these have to last more than 3 days or I will have to readily admit that I do have self-​control issues surrounding Artisan Confections.
These are simply beautifully designed chocolates; they are colorful and bursting with flavors that I didn’t even know could be combined. For example: Port Wine-​Fig has dark chocolate, spiced Port wine and fig.
The picture pamphlet was a bonus, showing descriptions and images of the chocolates. I had to laugh because there is actually an expiration date hand written on the pamphlet, suggesting I consume them by the date written. In my case, 7 – 16. I’m not a betting woman; however, these will be gone before the weekend is over. No, not sharing them either. Great touch with the brochure and there are not any artificial preservatives.
So, if you are a fan of the Whitman sampler you find at CVS, you may consider elevating your chocolate IQ and going to Artisan Confections. I plan on visiting the store and purchasing some for my clients, who are also hard core chocolate fans.
From «The Rules of Chocolate»: Put «eat chocolate» at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you’ll get one thing done. Make sure that chocolate is from Artisan Confections.

Artisan Confections specializes in truffles that are carefully painted to become edible masterpieces. The truffles are absolutely beautiful with a burst of flavor (or a combination of flavors) to boot. After trying each of the 15 flavors available in my gift box (no, not in one day), I would say my favorites are the PB&J and Passionfruit Caramel. Imagine a layer of grape jelly above a layer of peanut butter inside a semi-​crunchy chocolate shell. Genius. The Passionfruit Caramel truffle is painted silver and oozes a semi-​tart, but mostly sweet caramel that is absolutely refreshing.
Very good customer service. The shop offers 15 flavors total on any given day, but there are more flavors to get you to visit frequently. Each truffle is $ 1.75, but it’s worth it to buy a set of nine or 15 as a gift (boxed with ribbon bow); the recipient will be very happy. Maybe even more so than receiving cliché birthday cupcakes. You want to be thoughtful, don’t you?

Oolala! What a wonderful place for a chocolate fix! I stopped by here after dinner at The Boulevard Woodgrill just looking for something small and sweet. I ended up with a pretty sizable bag, an empty wallet, and a few new cravings.
Salted Butter Caramel: 5 stars. My best advice is to eat this in one bite. If you don’t you’ll end up with caramel all over the front of your clothing (yes, I learned this the hard way). Other than the mess hazard, this is the best piece I’ve had at Artisan Confections.
Malted Milk: 3 stars. Although the quality of the chocolate used for this is very tasty, I was disappointed that I couldn’t detect even a slight bit of malted milk flavor or texture. The piece definitely isn’t bad, just doesn’t live up to its name.
Tahitian Vanilla Bean: 4 stars. Just like the malted milk, I felt this piece just didn’t provide enough vanilla flavor to be labelled as such. The chocolate itself is great, but I really feel A. C. needs to stop be so shy with the added flavors.
Strawberry Basil: 4 stars. I did enjoy the oddity of this piece. I had never had a chocolate and basil combination before this, so I was really surprised by it; pleasantly so at that. The flavor combination was bold and unmistakable. For some it might not be very suiting, but I really enjoyed the daring mix.
Fleur De Sel Caramels: 2 stars. I was really looking forward to these when I bought the 6 piece box of them. One of my favorite flavor combinations is salty and sweet. These just
70% Cocoa Baking Chocolate: 5 stars. If Artisan Confections did nothing else other than provide home cooks and restaurants with baking chocolate, I believe they could still be lucrative. I know I will be going back to their store in the future just for this chocolate. It’s perfect for brownies!

I have been visiting this store for a long time. I would have loved to have given this place five stars– the chocolate definitely is very very yummy!
However, it loses two stars for the following two reasons:
I feel that owners of small businesses in Arlington should be excited about their products and grateful to their regular customers. The owner of this place is incredibly rude and acts as if your presence in his store is an inconvenience to him, and that you’re just bothering him. His attitude is very off putting and odd. I don’t care how great your product is, you should always treat your customers kindly and with respect. The owner here is RUDE, simply put. He needs an attitude adjustment ASAP.
The other reason I took off another star is because it’s so expensive. But I guess if people will pay the price it doesn’t matter.
Overall– great chocolate, terrible service! The owner should hire someone who actually wants to be there and is inviting if he hates it so much.