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Hot chocolates

Just in time for Valentines

There's chocolate. And then there's chocolate—the rich, dreamy, sinful, artisinal, handmade Belgian kind. 

The Little Chocolate Company, which just opened a store in western Greenwich, specializes in the latter. All of the chocolate at this new sweets shop is made by hand, right on the premises. Martine Coscia has been selling fine chocolates online and by special order since 2008. But last week—just in time for Valentine's Day—she opened the doors to her new shop, where she's offering a wide variety of handcrafted chocolates as well as biscotti, coffee and rich, homemade hot chocolate. 

Martine gave me a mini tour of the kitchen and I got to watch her cutting a fresh batch of fudge. She also whipped up some hot chocolates for us in a special machine that heats the milk and melts the premium Mexican chocolate she uses for the warm beverage. A real indulgence.

"I remember the hand-rolled truffles from growing up in Belgium and I wanted to recreate that," Marine said. Martine, who is a mother of four, trained at the Culinary Institute of America but she also developed her chocolate-making talents by trial and error. "You learn the skill and then you have to make it your own. It has to be a passion for sure. You have to be a perfectionist."

I could taste the evidence of her perfectionist tendencies in the semi-sweet chocolate Critters I sampled, which contain bing cherries and pistachios - quite a combination. The Critters are also available in white and milk chocolate with a variety of fruits and nuts mixed into the clusters. From her popular line of House of Bark, the peanut crunch made with carmelized peanuts, salt and milk chocolate is a particular favorite. (I love sweet and salty blends.)

What to choose for your valentine? The heart-shaped truffles are beautiful looking (see top photo, but they're even better in person) and come in boxes of five. There are also heart-shaped lollipops and an old-fashioned heart box that's made out of chocolate. The hand-rolled truffles include toasted coconut white, hazelnut milk, and many other varieties. For the connoisseur, Martine creates single-origin chocolates (most chocolates come from a blend of cocoas), from Ghana, Madagascar, Equador and Mexico. The chocolates pick up a hint of the flavors of what's grown in those the regions—vanilla in Madagascar, berries in Ghana. For those with an adventurous palate, there's a hot chili chocolate bar.

The Little Chocolate Company is at 99 Mill Street in Greenwich and is open late (until 8) on Fridays and Saturdays. Hint: Valentine's Day is on Sunday!

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