The Original Velatis

Featuring classic Italian caramels and chocolates that will melt in your mouth and will bring you to a state of happiness! They are known for their European sugary-​style caramels and their American chewy-​style caramels. My favorite are the traditional sugary-​style but you’ll just have to stop in and experience their varied selection with chocolate and a selection of nuts and other styles.
I’ve been frequenting Velatis for the last five years and always enjoy stopping in. That pales in comparison to their long history of existence since 1860! I doubt that not many businesses have been operating in the DC area for that long! It’s a Washington, DC institution and every Washingtonian should experience it!

I made a second trip Velatis this weekend. My first impression was so positive, but by my second visit, it definitely went down a smidgen. I asked for two 1-​lb of assorted sugar caramels. And the wait time from when I ordered to when I left from the shop may have been approximately ¹⁵⁄₂₀ minutes, if not longer. Service was slow and only two other people had come in while I was there. There were four employees. Service shouldn’t be nearly as slow. I ordered four pieces of the chewy caramels too. I almost walked out with someone else’s order because an employee accidentally charged me for what I wanted and handed over what someone ordered. I felt a lot more enthusiasm the first time but my experience from this weekend was far from pleasant. It’s a local business and I definitely support local business. When I drop $ 65/​$ 75 per visit to the shop, I think it’s only fair to expect a positive experience. I can only hope by my next visit, I’ll be back on track to feeling positive and enthused.

We’ve been here a couple of times, and the service has always been great. They offer a wide selection of caramels and other sweets. I really like their chewy caramels — they taste fresh and have a nice chewy texture. My favorite is the chocolate with marshmallow caramel. If you don’t want a caramel that sticks to your teeth, you can also get the sugary caramels. I’m less of a fan of those though because I don’t like how sweet they are. They also fall apart real quick in your mouth. I’ve also tried their brittle, which I love. Great buttery and sweet taste and crunchy.
The reason I’m not giving this place 5 stars though is because of their hot chocolate. Don’t ever get it if you’re someone who likes chocolate. It was way to sweet, so sweet that I couldn’t really taste the chocolate anymore.

Best freakin cookies EVER!!! The cookie/​candy master is amazing and you can tell He loves his craft! Every time I have friends or family come in town, we always go to Velatis because they are delicious! Incredible customer service and quaint little shop. The prices are comparable to the amazing caramels, chocolates, and cookies they have. I HIGHLY recommend you visit if you are in the DC/​Maryland area. They are TOTALLY worth it! And by the way, even if you’re not in the DMV area, they will ship their boxes of awesomeness to you! Whatttt!!! Luvz Velatis!!!

My favorite candy is Zours by Mike and likes, second favorite, Sour Patch Kids, third Sour Punch Straws. Get the trend. I don’t really like sweet things but I love cake. I entered the store thinking they’d have cupcakes galore to choose, but it was mostly truffles and caramels. The woman who was very helpful and friendly gave me a tour of the glass cases and a sample of their. Vanilla sugary caramel. As I do not care for chocolate.
I tried it, ate half and immediately realized I couldn’t eat more than one. I felt the cavity growing. Now saying that, it was delicious. just too sweet for my taste. I got a strawberry cheesecake truffle and a caramelized cupcake, which was all they sold. The owner and the woman clerk were both very friendly.
The prices are ok I suppose, as I do not enter enough candy stores to give an accurate judgement. I haven’t eaten the truffle, but the cupcake felt heavy, as in weight, but lucky for me I love heavy feeling things. The cake is a bit dense but Tastey, but after eating it I can tell why. Under the icing is some of the sugary caramel and regular caramel. The icing is very flavored with caramel but it’s light so the sweetness is not over powering. I don’t really do sweets, but I definitely would say try them out and I would come again for truffles as gifts. But the cupcakes are delicious and I will come again for those for myself. I love cake! And these are really good!

The good old times… never tasted so good!
This modest storefront on Georgia Avenue, next to the historic Silver Spring Post Office is a gem by its own rights and one of the best hidden candy secrets in the DC! I’m talking way before «It’s Sugar» and… even «Godiva Chocolatier!»…there was Velatis!

Velatis, known for its caramels, has a long history of making an assortment of confectionery goods… the old fashioned way. This store has business origins and a lineage of operations dating back to 1866! Located across the street from my barber shop, I have always seen this store and wanted to try them. So after getting a fresh cut and «swag» maintenance last Saturday, I decided to finally venture into Velatis and sample their caramels. Even before I walked through the door, I got a big whiff of the pleasant aroma of butter, fudge, sugar, and sensory-​overload from their candy confections. I mean, my mouth was watering and I was salivating over just seeing all the choices. You could have ringed a bell and made me Pavlov’s dog any olé day in this place! The smells from the goods being made in-​house were contagious! Upon entering, I was greeted by a very nice lady who introduced herself as the owner; named Amy I believe. She walked me through the store’s selection and gave me a bit of history on the stores’ origin. There were over twenty varieties of «chewy» and «sugary» styles of caramel candies made from Old European recipes. But not only did Velatis sell caramels, they also sold a variety of truffles, fudge, toffee and other sweets. For such a small space, I was in awe of the store’s selections, history and felt like a kid taking a tour at the Wonka Factory for the first time… except for I was in a 500 square feet box. So it was more of a spin-​around tour as oppose to walking sight-​see. She also shared a few samples… which was the dang trap that got me hooked! LOL. One taste and I knew I could not leave without buying anything.
So I narrowed my choices to: The Vanilla Chewy Pecan Caramel, Chocolate Sea Salt Turtle, and the highlight of the visit… something called «Amy’s Toffee Cookie!» EVERYTHING WAS HELLALICIOUS… and I am sure if I could eat everything in the store I would! The Amy Toffee Cookie was a standout on its own and a must try. It was a rich, buttery crisp-​moist cookie (similar to a chocolate chip cookie) with bits and pieces of caramel & toffee cracked throughout the cookie. Each bite was a crunchy explosion of heavenly, gluttony pleasure. I was ready to «Tap Out!» and wave the white flag because this cookie was just that good!
Admittedly, my experience with caramels do not extend far beyond the occasional pack of Rolos, so it’s a bit hard for me to benchmark their quality, but I will say that their merchandise is indeed of good quality and quite tasty. I definitely would recommend those with a sweet tooth giving Velatis a try.
Tip: They generate a lot of their business via mail-​order online; which is good for anyone not near the DC/​Silver Spring, MD borders. Cool gift tins too!

So I finally stopped into Velatis after eyeing them for years. I hate to say it, but I wasn’t terribly impressed. I got a small assortment of the chewy caramels, including the original, marshmallow, and caramel macchiato. While they have a satisfying chewiness and texture, they are just too sweet and lack depth of flavor. I love caramel — really, really love it — and I wanted more vanilla and butter.

Don’t go ANYPLACE else for caramels. This is a bona fide DC institution, that (like too many others) disappeared. Miraculously it returned to Silver Spring a few years back. It isn’t just a cute storefront either, the caramels are actually made right there, not in some far away factory with questionable ingredients. Doesn’t get any fresher than this folks.
If you have a lot of «restored» teeth like I do, or dental work that gets pulled off by chewy caramels, the Velati’s «sugary» caramels are just what you need. Great flavor, and not overtly sweet tasting. Even the plain vanilla are wonderful. These make for a nice low fat/​cholesterol dessert. Unique texture, these little gems are to be savored.
I’m in Silver Spring often, and find Velati’s a welcome option to the other chain restaurants/​fast food enterprises there. Get a box to keep at home. Storing them in a zip-​loc bags prevents them from getting hard or stale.

Nice people & good stuff, but space was small and I feel a bit judged every time I go in.

I could never come here since I would only pass by during the weekend, whereas they only seem to be open weekdays during normal business hours. Thankfully I had a few weekday errands in Silver Spring so I decided to finally check it out.
I bought some of the chewy caramels: chocolate, vanilla, caramel macchiato, and chocolate marshmallow. I thought the price was fair, given that they specialized in caramels and you could tell that they were high quality (you can see them hand-​make the caramel and pour it into molds in the back of the store). They were all delicious! My favorite was the chocolate marshmallow. I loved the texture and the extra sweetness from the marshmallow. They last for two months in the fridge, but they’ll need to thaw for a good number of hours before they’re ready to eat.
The most surprising treat that day, though, was the caramel cupcake. There were several were arrayed in the middle of the store under a glass dome. I couldn’t resist. I know the cupcake craze is no more, and now DC has artisan doughnuts (and now, muffins). But sometimes a nice cupcake can really hit the spot when you’re looking for a reliably sugary pastry.
I hate cupcakes when the crumb is crumbly and dry. This is quite the opposite. The cake holds up because it is dense, chewy, and moist. There is a well of caramel in the center, as well as a huge mound of vanilla icing drizzled with more caramel. Definite sugar rush and well worth it.
The caramel cupcake is definitely not something you would (or should) eat every day. Neither are the caramels, but they make for great gifts– locally made for 150 years and counting. I’d rather come here than head towards the ends of the earth in Georgetown, or brave the unfriendliness of Bakeshop and other new popups on U Street, for what I know are reliable, tasty sweets.

Great for the American sweet tooth! A friend and I visited on a Saturday afternoon, and were offered a freshly made sugary caramel. It was even still warm! While I could not eat many of them and would prefer a strong cup of coffee to go along with it, I did enjoy this unique treat.
For later consumption I picked up a few of the smaller truffles. The espresso one ended up being my favorite.
Cute local business with a lengthy history, Velati’s is the perfect place to pop in to satisfy your sweet tooth or find a gift.

My fiancé and I stopped in here the other day. The individuals who work in the store are incredibly nice and helpful. We tried some caramels and were immediately sold! If you are in the area you should definitely check this place out!

Not a place I want to visit often, but not for bad reasons either. Sampled several of the caramels, traditional and sugary, all were excellent. A great place to go for a treat or a special gift. The staff was very welcoming, very knowledgeable about the history of the store, this just added to the experience. If your in the mood for a caramel treat, definitely try Velatis.

The absolute best caramels anywhere! This is an uniquely Washington institution that has been around forever, started in D.C., and recently moved to its present Silver Spring location. My personal favorite is the Vanilla Caramels, but I have also tried the Black Cherry Brandy, Egg Nog and Pumpkin. I always send a box to my Aunt in Florida, who is from D. C, and remembers this place as a kid like I do. Some of my friends who have tried the Caramels for the first time, just love them!
I know live in Frederick, but I make the trip to the present Silver Spring location several times a year.
The employees are extremely friendly and helpful. Keep up the great work!

Always tried to go on «drink’n» nights… but they run regular business hours, lame.
Got to sample all the caramels i was interested, and they were great. Two general categories of caramel — the chewy and the sugary (or something like that). Chewy is what you’d expect while the sugary was reminiscent of Maple Candy, and darn good.
The flavors aren’t «inventive» by any means, by why push it when you make great «standard» varieties?
Also, it looks like they have killer gift boxes.
Oh ya, it’s pretty cheap too.

I didn’t know the history of the shop so I went in because I have a sweet tooth! After learning about the history of Velatis in the region it just made the Carmels that much more delicious!

Yum! I was pleasantly surprised to find this place next to my new office building. The cookies are outstanding! I didn’t try the caramels, but will next time. And the lady who works here is very nice and friendly. Can’t wait to go back.

Whew, finally got around to trying these puppies. I was getting my oil changed at a nearby meineke and remembered reading about these on some food blog. Like the previous reviewers noted the joint is tiny. I think they’re more in the distribution side of things and the store front is for bonus revenue. The kitchen in the back is long and fully staffed while the front has just a few displays of the candies. They also sell some truffles made by another vendor but I didn’t try any of them. I went straight for their bread and butter.
I ordered a ½ lb assortment of the crumbly kind and the original type of caramel. It came out to a little over $ 21 for about 24 pieces… yea PRICEY. So far I tried a plane original one and a crumbly chocolate one. I’m a big fan of caramels and I have to admit this is probably one of the better original old school types of caramels I’ve ever had. It’s got an incredibly milky flavor so you can enjoy it while you suck on it for the first few moments and then when you chomp down on it it’ll get stuck all over your teeth. Awesome. The crumbly kind was some sort of chocolate flavored variety, and although it tasted fine, when I eat caramels I want that smooth texture and stick to your teeth goodness. I don’t quite understand Patrica B’s review because what she describes as bad is what I consider good qualities in caramel candies. Most of the stuff you get a the local convenience store’s use some sort of corn syrup and add some sort of powder to lessen the «laffy taffy“ness of the caramel candy.
I think caramels just one of those candies that will never be universally loved as chocolate. They do lose a star for being so pricey, but everyone should consider the companies been around for over a 100 years and won a few awards, they must be doing something right. I’d definitely recommend everyone try it at least once and it’s also a good alternative to chocolates as a gift.

I may have to come back and try these one more time before I give up on them because I love caramels and chocolate and would like to keep a good shop in the neighborhood. However, we bought an assortment of a dozen different kinds of caramels, and to a one they were stale and hard, and tough to chew – think Laffy Taffy that gets stuck on your teeth. The flavor was great though. Maybe I need to try another type?

These goodies are a luxury. I love the history of Velatis caramels. The original opened at 9^th and G St. in 1866! Now Silver Spring can claim them as their own.
The store front is tiny. I believe this was formerly an Army recruiting center, but had been vacant for many years. They have a huge kitchen in back that you can peer into from the front counter.
I bought a little bag (¼ #) of chocolate chewy almond caramels. They cost me $ 8 for about 14. A wee bit pricey, but oh so good! They are very sweet not like the soft caramels that get stuck in your teeth. I tried a piece of fudge, which was OK, but not memorable. Stick with the caramels. It’s what they’ve been doing for over 144 years.