Zak’s Chocolate

These guys know their stuff! A great mix of single origin chocolate as well as beautiful and delicious flavored truffles and other confections.
Impressive hospitality and a clean space.
If you are looking for a truly local, handcrafted product, this is where to look.

3.5 stars.
I’ve tried Zak’s chocolates in a couple of coffee offerings at Peixoto Coffee in downtown Chandler (just yesterday, I tried the Mocha w/​Zak’s chocolate, instead of the usual chocolate from Chocolade van Brugge), so I thought I’d visit the actual shop today. Checking out Zak’s location w/​Yelp’s GPS yesterday afternoon, I was surprised to find that Zak’s is very close to where I live! While chatting with Jim, the husband in the husband/​wife team that owns Zak’s, I wondered out loud how surprised I was to learn of the store’s proximity to where I live and why I haven’t visited sooner, and he told me that Zak’s has only been in business for nine months, which could be why. I mentioned that I’d first tried their chocolates at Peixoto’s around three months ago, and wouldn’t you know it– Zak’s and Peixoto’s partnership is three months’ old! Another interesting fact (well, to me, anyway) is that Zak’s Shea location was The Herb Box’s original location, Jim told me, about ten years ago. The topic of THB came up when Jim mentioned that Zak’s chocolates are also sold in downtown Scottsdale at Super Chunk Sweets & Treats on Stetson and 6^th. I said I am familiar with the area, as I like The Herb Box and Cartel Coffee there. I noticed from flyers at the shop that Zak’s is one of twelve food vendors at tomorrow’s sold out Chocolate & Wine Experience at the fabulous Musical Instrument Museum. [1] If it weren’t for the fact that I work on Fridays, I would be at this festival!
I originally planned to just look around the shop and possibly sample the chocolate buttons on hand with a cup of Starbucks coffee I’d brought with me since Zak’s only offers hot chocolate beverages right now (there is a plan to offer Peixoto Coffee here in the future!), but as Jim and I chatted about his and his wife’s business, and how they strive to offer organic chocolates utilizing organically-​sourced cacao beans [2], which are roasted in-​house, and processed with milk from Laveen’s Danzeisen Dairy, and organic cane sugar, I was hooked!
Even the marshmallows are made in-​house, and not with traditional corn syrup, either! As I sampled chocolate buttons of the four single-​origin chocolate bars sold here, Jim went into the kitchen to check on something. He returned a few minutes later to tell me that he went to double-​check what they used in place of corn syrup in their mallows, and it is agave syrup. After all of these years, I may finally enjoy s’mores in the very near future! Thanks to Jim for actually looking up the info even though I didn’t ask for specifics– I was so excited to begin sampling a few of the chocolate buttons– hehe!
Have I mentioned that Zak’s does not use preservatives in their bars and beautiful truffles?
Zak’s offers a $ 10 one-​hour tour of the store and workshop, with many samples of whatever truffles are made on the day of the tour (specific Wednesdays; max of seven people in a group), as well as a $ 75 three-​hour chocolate clinic where chocolate fans learn how to make a few of these lovely truffle creations. [3] I have a certain Wednesday in the very near future in mind– anyone up to joining me for a tour, or perhaps participate in the chocolate-​making clinic? PM me and let’s discuss the possibilities!
Tip: 10% off discount on your first purchase! Bought two chocolate bars (the earthy and slightly-​smoky Papua New Guinea and earthy cinammon-​y Peru) and ten truffles!
I’ve only tasted half of the Raspberry-​Green Tea truffle, and while it is delicious (loved the snap of the bittersweet dark chocolate casing, the colorful and whimsical design print, and luxurious truffle texture), I was looking forward to more of the green tea flavor. Raspberry is definitely the dominant flavor profile here, and I admit to being disappointed in finding fingerprints on this truffle, as well as on one or two others. In the future, I will make sure to inspect each one for smudges, esp. when gifting.
Regular truffles are $ 2.25 each, and those containing nuts are $ 2.75 each. Zak’s also bakes and sells mini-​brownies! I think they’re $ 2.25 each, and 3/​$ 6. Brownie flights are offered in-​store, as well.
[1]
[2] Three of the four chocolate bar varieties are made with certified-​organic chocolate beans, while the fourth is organic, but hasn’t received its certification as of yet.
[3] There will be sampling!

Love the chocolate, but I love the chocolatiers (couple who own the shop) even more! They have so much knowledge on the matter and it shows in their different types of chocolate they produce. I usually get some type of truffle to eat right there and a couple bars of chocolate to take home. It is dark chocolate made of only three ingredients. There are bars from different beans around the world. There is a smokey tasting chocolate bar which has an interesting story! Ask about it:)

The owner is awesome. You get to try chocolate from all over the world. You never realize how different chocolate can be until you visit a place like this. Chocolate bars are the way to go here. It’s just really really good chocolate. Definitely a place to take someone to watch them be amazed and see how the chocolate is made from bean, to roast, to bar

Oh My!!! I just returned from a «Chocolate Factory Tour» at Zak’s … can I say FAN BLOODY TASTIC!!! Soooooo glad I went!
So I work at «SORSO» Wine Room at the Scottsdale Quarter, and last week we started to carry Zak’s chocolate … the whole idea being to «pair» their chocolate with our wines and/​or cheese’s. Wanting to know more about this «new» product, I checked out their webpage/​FB etc. To my delight… they offered a tour of their facility … for only $ 20. Off course I booked one there and then!
The facility/​business is run by Jim and his wife Maureen, who absolutely LOVE what they do! And love showing it to you! You get to taste a fair number of chocolates, in various stages of the process, and you learn soooo much!
I will just sign off here, and highly recommend you take a tour!

Excellent chocolate! I went to a Factory Tour and Jim and Maureen explained us every the chocolate making process. We got to taste the chocolate in different stages, roasted, 100% without sugar, etc. It was a great experience! The chocolate is fantastic! Must do in Scottsdale!

I had never heard of Zak’s before and then my boyfriend’s sister signed us up for a chocolate making class there. I was initially a little skeptical and wasn’t quite sure what I was in for but it ended up being a great experience.
Maureen and Jim walk you through every step of the chocolate making process. We were taken into the kitchen and shown how the cacao beans are stored, roasted, separated, ground and any other steps that I am forgetting. It’s a really neat experience for anyone.
Throughout the entire experience they encourage you to taste the chocolate at different stages. By the time the class was ending, I couldn’t even think about eating any more chocolate. We did end up buying some of their gourmet chocolates for later and I would highly recommend the peanut butter cups. Yum.
It’s not very often that you find anyone that has as much passion for what they do as Maureen and Jim. I would definitely recommend taking a chocolate making class or just picking up some chocolates from their store.

I am not a chocolate lover but, ZAKS can serve me anytime. Their product us undoubtedly the absolute best chocolate I’ve ever had.