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8:02 pm
October 12, 2003
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vtheory
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Cambridge, USA
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New Member
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posts 2
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My experience finding good chocolate in the US has been a difficult one. In Texas, where I am originally from, there is a great supermarket called “Central Market” which is essentially a huge specialty shop. They tend to carry Valrhona and some other European brands which are ok. However, I have not been able to find any places that carry anything like Cluizel or Domori etc. Also, I spoke with the people at Amedei, and they told me that they do not have a distributor in the US, although they are working to set a network up soon.
Recently, I’ve moved to the Boston area and found a shop called Cardulo’s that carries some very good chocolates including El Rey, Valrhona, Galler, and Dolfin. However, they also seem more geared towards American chocolates or those with more mass appeal.
I did find a website in the US called chocosphere.com which carries some excellent selections, but unfortunately, shipping tends to be fairly pricey because of melting concerns.
Has anyone been able to find specialty shops which carry a wide range of excellent chocolates in their area? Also, are there any other internet chocolate retailers that have great selection and are located in the US? There seem to be some great European websites, but I’m not sure I can justify spending $30+ on shipping.
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1:47 am
October 13, 2003
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bobvilax2000
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Seville, USA
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posts 128
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I go to a specialty shop that carries fresh foods from European countries, including cheese, meats, wine, etc. In chocolates, they carry Cluizel, Valrhona, El Rey, and Lindt. At least those are the only ones that really appeal to me. I wish that they would carry Amedei or Domori, but I can’t complain with what I have. I’m the same way, though, on shipping charges. It just gets way too pricey for me to order online.
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3:01 pm
October 13, 2003
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Hans-Peter Rot
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USA
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posts 1462
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In my area (Richmond, VA), there’s a fine store called For the Love of Chocolate that sells all the good chocolates, such as Cluizel, Domori, Valrhona, Dagoba, Chocolove, Vosges, Dolfin, and many more. Just look in the phone book or do a search online for stores in your area. Look under “confection,” “candy,” or “chocolate.” One reason shipping prices might be so high right now is that parts of the country are still experiencing warm weather. Once temperatures drop some more, shipping prices will decrease as well, so buying chocolate online will be much more affordable. There are quite a few internet sites that sell chocolate, such as http://www.chefshop.com and http://www.chefswarehouse.com. Also, go to a search engine and type in the brand of chocolate you wish to purchase. Several reliable stores should appear.
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9:45 am
January 8, 2004
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lucky_dog
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posts 5
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prices are also high because of weak dollar vs. euro.
in nyc, the cheapest retail price for Cluizel used to be $3.99 early-mid 2003, now the cheapest is $4.29.
Amedei and Slitti (there’s two places i’ve seen that sell them) sell the stuff for nearly $7.00.
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3:34 pm
January 8, 2004
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bobvilax2000
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Seville, USA
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posts 128
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You see, as much as I love chocolate, I just can’t justify paying that much for a bar.
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