Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker

CLOSED!!!
After seeing their space in the Ferry Bldg had been replaced by another business, I called & spoke w/​the owner who confirmed that the landlords tried to raise the rent too high, so they had to close as of June 2013
You can still find their delish packaged chocolates in other shops along the Ferry Bldg but there are no more truffles or chocolate-​dipped apricots … those were locally sourced, only-​in-​that-​shop-​delicacies & the apricots were Sis’ absolute fav dessert item of all time! :-((((
Hope you find a new space to lease & we see you again soon!!!

It’s OK.
I find the chocolates a bit too sweet for me. I blame that on my crazy ass clean eating habit and my general aversion to refined sugar overall.
I got a couple of small bags of samplers of the various chocolates that they offer. However I was only really interested in the dark bittersweet stuff. I tried it, and its on the sweet side for me. I prefer the 99% Dark Lindt. There’s only one gram of sugar in an entire Lindt dark chocolate bar. Yeah, that’s how dark I like it, just like my coffee.
My daughter seemed to like all of this stuff tho.
I’m willing to go back to try some of their other chocolates since what I had was far too small of a sample of what they have to offer.

Great resource for those that make their own chocolates at home. This is probably some of the best raw ingredients you can get. Such a convenient location!

Vogue magazine said this is one of the very top chocolates in the world. The bars are v. expensive and really the dark chocolate bar I didn’t find to be anything great at all. I actually prefer a Lindt bar at ¼ of the price.
Would return to try their hot chocolate as I heard that is delicious!

I love their chocolates and always make a stop every time I am in this area and have made it a point to take others too. However, the older gentleman who was at checkout this past Saturday seemed grumpy and surly. Is it because I only bought a small sampler? Anyways, I think I will avoid in the future. Too many other options here to put up with that.

Walk in.
Grab the Nibby Bar.
Walk out.
Oh yea… do pay for it.
…and then thank me.

Gotta love Scharffen Berger. Such a fun place to buy chocolate. Yes, Valrhona and other companies may cost more — but this domestic cocoa bliss is affordable and very good quality for both eating and baking.
Love it!
Try the hot chocolate. It cuts right through the fog! So yummy.

I miss the Scharffen Berger factory and restaurant in Berkeley. Even though it closed in 2007, I still cry inside. At least the store in the Ferry Building is still around, and I’ll make the trip out to buy items like box sets, tasting square pouches, and bulk items.
I wouldn’t buy the individual bars here. All the grocery stores in Berkeley carry them for MUCH cheaper — Berkeley Bowl, Andronico’s, even Whole Foods. Over this past Christmas holiday, the store sold them for $ 5, while Berkeley Bowl had the bars on-​sale for $ 2.79 (regular price is $ 3 something).
Still, you can find items here that can’t be found elsewhere (except at their online store).
Oh yea, I forget to comment on the chocolate itself. Scharffen Berger is AMAZING. I gave out the tasting squares as wedding favors, and will occasionally give them as gifts or package a bar with a present. When I do my grocery shopping, I will go out of my way to pick up a bar for my husband and I to enjoy together.

I’m a fan of dark chocolate. I’m a fan of extra dark chocolate. However…
Whereas I’m not a huge fan of Scharffen Berger chocolate itself, I am mostly a fan of their snarky shirts [extra] bitter, bitter[sweet], etc.
Prices = moderate.
Service = always friendly. Not pushy.

I have finally found the chocolate bar of my dreams.
Dagoba Organic Chocolate– CHAI
made with 37% cacao milk chocolate, crystallized ginger, and chai essence
I have just finished my 2oz chocolate bar, and am already craving more. I only have the wrapping paper left to smell. Sad stuff.
Can’t go back to Twix after this…

I love to bake… and while I can’t always afford to buy Sharffen Berger chocolates, I make sure to have a good supply in my cupboard when I’m baking for extra special occasions. This is because there really is a difference in the taste of the chocolate itself and thus in the finished product when you use high quality ingredients.
I tried the raspberry truffle and brought home a box of the mixed dark tasting squares… and I’m not going to share.

Another pit stop for Lovie at the Ferry Building while I was home sick with pneumonia. Again, he knows the way to my heart is through my sweet tooth, and by goodness, he done done it again folks.
Along with those chocolate wafers from Miette, he got me a 5 piece mixed truffle set — Easter edition from Scharffen. One was raspberry truffle. One milk chocolate. One dark chocolate. One plain solid dark. And one dark chocolate with walnuts. I shared these with Lovie and my parents. Each of them raved about how decadent the flavors were. I tasted the raspberry one, which had a nice, smooth feel. There seemed to be a slight hint of liquor. Brandy? Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was delish nonetheless.
I — must — come — here — again — soon…

I now have a new found love for fine chocolate. I always loved sweets but didn’t really appreciate the true taste of chocolate until recently. I like to enjoy a small piece of chocolate after a meal over eating a bar of snickers at a bus stop and feel super guilty afterwards.
While I was shopping at the farmer’s market, I saw Scharffen Berger and made my way towards the store. It was semi busy and as I walked towards the chocolates, the gentleman behind the counter greeted me with a big smile.
I got the milk Champagne and the dark chocolate with salted caramel.
After making myself a tomato and goat cheese salad I ate the Milk champagne as a dessert. Perfect in size, the chocolate was hard and creamy. I love it!
It’s probably not something you can buy everyday since it is a bit on the pricier side but I believe all fine things have their value. Chocolates are one of them, and indulging in one every once in a while will put a smile on your face.
I’ll probably go back again to try other flavors and see if I should give a higher rating.

Never heard of Scharffen Berger Chocolate but I am sure glad I now know.
I decided to try their 1 oz sampler pack for $ 14.00
Comes with
Semisweet
Bittersweet
Extra Dark
Nibby
Mocha
Milk Chocolate
You can also pick your own individual ones or buy a gigantic bar of the one you like the most.
Rich in flavor with a smooth and creamy texture.
Overall Thoughts
Looks like Ghirardelli isn’t my only chocolate place anymore

This is one of my favorite stores in the Ferry Building. There are a lot of varieties of the tasting squares so there’s always something to get for friends or yourself. They also have t-​shirts, cooking chips, full bars, as well as truffles and Dagoba chocolate.
I do miss the Joseph Schmidt chocolates, though. The price point is very fair for this higher quality chocolate. The % cocoa is even on the smaller tasting squares so you don’t need to check out the box/​package. The squares are smaller than Lindt truffles or Ghirardelli squares so you can sample a few without losing your appetite!

(3.5 stars)
This little shop in the Ferry Building offers chocolate samples upon entry though they probably could have picked better chocolates to pass out. The woman passing out the samples was nice and friendly.
I just wanted something super tiny and inexpensive. I’ve already had Scharffen Berger chocolate before so I opted for something new instead – Dagoba organic chocolate (I think I’ve seen it at Whole Foods or Cost Plus World Market).
The little chocolate square was 75 cents, but it was good – nice chocolate flavor and light with a good melt to it.
While the chocolate was good, I probably need to come back and try more of their stuff and take a closer look at their prices before giving them a higher rating. Though if you are a chocolate lover and find yourself at the Ferry Building, this is probably a must stop.

I would have to say that my favorite dark chocolate is by Scharffen Berger. It’s their 70% Cacao Bittersweet, which comes in a blue wrapper. I think I had it for the first time when I visited their chocolate factory in Berkeley a few years ago.
During my recent visit to the Ferry Building, I had to make a pitstop for some. The tasting squares are perfect for just a bite. I haven’t seen many locations sell these tasting squares. They usually sell the 1 and 3 oz bars at stores, such as Peet’s and Whole Foods. I wonder if the Extra Dark Chocolate (82% Cacao) is any good.

This dark chocolate is so good we paid $ 5 to valet so we can run in to take some with us before our flight home.
Staff is super friendly and offers you to try everything.
They also have really nifty tee shirts (wish I would have bought a few) that say Bitter Sweet, Semi Sweet and a few others.

Yum. Love the chocolate. Berkeley staple. But this branch at the Ferry building doesn’t carry truffles. They’ve only got bars and little squares. Mainly the dark, nibs, milk. How much influence does Hershey’s have on them? They also own the Dagoba organic brand too, which is very tasty with exotic mixes.
Have to say the staff was well on it. Friendly and helpful. They had some sales too, which made them so much more afforadble then Recchiuti down the way. But they have such a different selection.

MmMMmMmMmm CHOCOLATE!
I was window shopping, and the truffle display caught my eye (
). I usually don’t buy chocolate, but those truffles looked so good, and they were calling my name! *buy me… eat me!!!* I just coudln’t resist. I bought one Grand Marnier and one hazelnut truffle. The hazelnut was my favorite. The gooey filling was sinfully delicious! I’ll have to try more flavors next time around.
And if for some reason, you still need to buy Vday candy, its all on sale! =)