Cocova – The Chocolate House

Tucked away in a tiny corner in North DuPont, this chocolate shop offers delicious chocolates and is sure to have something for everyone. From assorted truffles from around the country and vegan chocolate bars, to rich chocolates from France and local items from the DMV area, this place offers some amazing variety. Plus, they have a small tasting area for a handful of amazing milk and dark chocolates. If you’re walking by or in the are, definitely stop in.

Simply put, this is a superb chocolate shop. Yes, it is extremely expensive (chocolate bars seem to average $ 9, although there is obviously a range), but good chocolate at Whole Foods is $ 6−8/bar and you will receive absolutely no help in choosing one that suits your taste. At the Chocolate House, however, you will find some of the best customer service and knowledgable staff I have ever experienced in ANY shop in DC (whether it be clothing, antiques, books, coffee, whatever)! Special thanks to Antonio, who stayed open past closing to educate me on the best this shop has to offer. He gives spot-​on recommendations and knows the brands/​flavors inside and out! So skip Whole Foods, support a local Buisness, and be prepare to be wowed.
So why did I rate it ⁴⁄₅ stars? Because it is not wheelchair accessible and I cannot give a buisness my endorsement if it is not open to all. Plus, I wish they sold water/​milk! And gluten free brownies :)
Treat yo self to the Chocolate Shop!

Awesome selection, superb service, and a great tasting class. Be forewarned, you will learn more than you thought you could if you strike a conversation with one of the owners. Many varieties of artisan chocolate including locally produced bars. Flavored truffles, too, but the exotic dark chocolate bars should be the real reason to visit.

amaaaaazzzinngnngngngngngnngng
amazing.

I’ve walked by a million times and finally decided to go in. Beautiful chocolate, lots of options at every price point. The staff is *so* knowledgeable and friendly. A great place for chocolate novices and aficionados alike!

I promise you! you couldn’t get better choice of chocolate anywhere else in DC, this is where you go if you want to eat Art if you wanna know what passion and hard work taste like! This is a choice of going on a path towards discovery. My first time coming here i remember i didn’t like dark chocolate and hot chocolate was my last hot drink of choice. and i don’t know what made me go down those steps and walk through that glass door but i spent every dollar i had and didn’t regret my choices! After trying the one chocolate that was calling me my knees went week and my eyes and mouth watered with joy i was speechless! Please Go see them! the people are as great as the chocolates themselves!

Chocolate is to women what duct tape is to men… it fixes everything.
The Chocolate House is less of a house and more of a shrine to all things chocolate whether your fancy is cocoa nibs, chocolate bars, drinking chocolate, confectioneries, or truffles. Here you will not get the best of both worlds, you will get the best of THE world as they scour the globe and hand pick the best chocolates from the top chocolatiers in the region, country, and the world so there is literally a who’s who of chocolates that even vary depending on the season.
Alex, one of the owners, served as my guide upon stepping into this unassuming little shop in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. After waiting on him help out the lady in front of me hand pick a set of chocolates as gifts for her family, he went out of his way to express his gratitude for my patience by weighing out a little extra chocolate without charge, offering up some samples of various salted caramels to find the perfect match for a boxed set I was assembling, and introducing me to a local artist in residence who has pieces on display in the gallery in the back of the shop, which also functions as a classroom for courses for chocolate tasting/​making truffles, which one can sign up for online on their website.
Their passion for chocolate is evident due to their efforts to connect consumers with chocolate makers and even the cacao farmers sponsoring events such as the DC Chocolate Festival (this year on April 9^th) and never being complacent with their search for the best chocolates. At first I thought Alex was joking but he was probably completely serious when he told me that he would pay me in good chocolate if I had any good leads on other chocolatiers whom they could form future partnerships. A wonderful boutique with decadent bites to please any girl’s heart and the candy store of candy stores for any self-​proclaimed chocoholic.

I thought I’d found a substitute for Chocolate Chocolate, but I was wrong and I will continue to shlep all the way down there when I need a fix or a nice gift. I was really turned off by how expensive the Easter chocolates were, $ 11 for a two-​inch bunny that was hollow. The lady behind the counter was not super friendly or helpful. They had a good selection of chocolates, with global origins and varieties, but the mark-​ups were astronomical. To their credit I received a discount to one of their classes when I checked in on Unilocal

Cocova is a great place if you ever want to thank someone for their great deed, and also to give yourself a present. You can spend quite a while browsing while taking a tiny bits of samples of single-​sourced chocolates. Who says you can’t buy love? They have it here, in perfectly sized chocolate truffles.

This is hands-​down the best chocolate store in DC. Tucked away on 18^th St., the tiny boutique has a new owner — who is more passionate and knowledgeable about chocolate than I would have thought possible. The store has the city’s most unique collection of chocolates bars and truffles by far, and is a welcome reprieve from the grocery-​store and edible-​arrangement monotony. You won’t be disappointed.

My favorite chocolate shop in DC!

I only came in for hot chocolate on a cold day, but it was very worth it.
Probably the best hot chocolate I have ever had.
All of the chocolates there were beautifully crafted. I can not wait to go back and taste them!
They even offered a new DC brand called Harper Macaw, which is a fine chocolate company dedicated to Brazil’s Amazon rain forest protection!
Wins all around here.

If you are looking into getting your boyfriend’s parents a gift — this is exactly the gift to give (haha) It was my first time meeting my boyfriends’ parents and I had no idea what to expect or even give them since I barely know them. I did tons of research for best gifts and landed with chocolates. The service here is great and it was not busy when I went. These are beautiful and unique chocolates that will impress anyone!

This is a gem for chocolate fans!
This place has changed hands a couple of time but to help you find this place its where Sticky Fingers and then Biagio, then Cocova.
Place has a large variety of chocolate and chocolate pieces from all over the US and the world.
Really a fantastic place to try a vast variety.

Heavenly, magical, luscious, etc. They have a great selection of chocolates you can just grab, buy, and head out with. Then there are the beautiful chocolates on display that you can mix and match. These chocolates are little pieces of delectable art, with flavors like earl grey, lavender caramel, coconut curry, and strawberry balsamic, to name a few. They come from chocolatiers from around the country. The staff is amazing also. Can’t forget them!
If you are shopping for a chocolate lover, you cannot go wrong with Cocova.

I just had the best experience at this chocolate house. The owner Alex «I’m the least important person here», personally walked me through all the selections and as I picked my way through their incredibly enticing truffle collection, asked me how I was, what brought me here and answered the same about his life. Turns out we’re both from Texas :) I very much appreciated the time and warmth and will no doubt be a regular here. The humility is especially endearing given the caliber of chocolate they carry. I’m blown away!

I’ve been coming here for five years now. It used to be called Biagio back in the day. I’d only been living in America a few weeks, and I was wandering around DC one day when I walked by Biagio. One glimpse at the words «fine chocolate» on the sign and I sauntered right in.
The then-​owner, Biagio, had worked decades as a flight attendant and sampled chocolate from all around the world. He introduced me to some new, wonderful, and inventive flavors. Truffles are $ 2 a piece, but absolutely worth it – you only need to enjoy one or two at a time. My favorites are by Christopher Elbow: lavender caramel, bananas foster. I’ve never found them to be as fresh at other places that carry truffles (such as Dean & Deluca) as they are at Cocova /​The Chocolate House.
Also, if you ever see the milk chocolate Gavottes or Valrhona crispy chocolate pearls, grab a bag! They’re highly addictive and sell out quickly.
I’ve come back over the years to buy presents for friends or family (always well-​received), or treat myself to a piece of bananas foster chocolate.

Small place with chocolate bars and pieces along the walls and a display case for their own truffles. A friend and I got a few of the chocolate bars — some were brands you would find in Whole Foods, etc. but many weren’t.
One wall also has chocolate from around the world with little samples, but please don’t abuse this because if they take it away I will be saddened!: (All quality chocolate, and they have options for pure chocolate to more uniquely flavored/​more «sugared» chocolate.
We also got a box of Cocova’s housemade truffles, and as a vegan, I very much appreciate all the choices I had! The truffles I had were delicious, and nonvegan friend said same. Nothing in this place is «cheap» (chocolate bars maybe around $ 10 each, and truffles perhaps around $ 4?) but it’s for a higher quality dessert option. Try it as a delicious treat someday :)

This lovely little shop is sort of tucked away. It literally is tucked away. There is a wide variety of truffles and artisan chocolates to choose from. I went to the shop to pick up some chocolates that was meant to be a present. I really wish I knew what I was gifting but I had no way of knowing. I dropped over $ 50 in that one trip to Cocova. I wish samples would be offered so I could tell what I was buying. But that wasn’t the case. I should have asked the staff member for her name, but in any case — the woman behind the counter who assisted me was nice. I was picky about the ribbons. But she took her time to box the chocolates. I definitely plan to revisit. And oh — the shop is within walking distance from the DuPont Circle Metro Station. If you’re ever in the shop, you’ll have plenty of options for dining near by too. I went right before closing time and I could hear plenty of celebrations and lively chatter from the restaurants. That’s DuPont Circle, I suppose. And there’s a bookstore right next door if you’re in the mood for a good read.

I was visiting DC from out of town and found this place using Unilocal.I wanted to get a gift for my GF and since she is a chocolate monster, this seemed like a great place to shop. The store has beautiful displays of chocolates from all over. There are some local brands to choose from, as well. The owner was very helpful, thoughtful, and friendly! Would def recommend this place for gifts or to curb a chocolate craving!

I truly appreciated the chocolate display. There is only ONE chocolate of each variety on display and there are about 20 or so types. They are each respectively labeled with a title, the ingredients, and the city from which it was imported from.
Very unique flavors available from French lavender to Mexican peppers. The chocolate is very rich, so one piece goes a long way to quench your craving. They are also beautiful and artistic in appearance.
Aside from the glass display, there are various chocolate bars and items around the store from all over the world! I bet there are bars you have never heard of. I was pleased to see a lot of fair trade brands available as well. And many range in cacao content from the milky mid 30’s% to even a 100% cacao bar!

Just had a chocolate tasting and it was a very thorough 360 approach! I had never been to one before and we learned the history/​origins of chocolate. Then we primed our smelling sense through lots of different element smelling and then our tastebuds with different sips and nibbles of other ingredients. We were given the opportunity to try cocoa butter and cocoa nibs as well.
Loved Marisol — she’s so knowledgable and passionate! Then we tried the chocolate too, and it was AMAZING how different each one was. I felt really prepared to sample each different one :) I plan to go back to a truffle-​making class!

I love this place. The staff is always so kind and helpful. They carry theo chocolates which are so yummy and organic, fair trade chocolates from Seattle. They also carry a good selection of chocolates from different areas around the world.

This is a place for pastry. We went here to buy some chocolates as gift. This place carries a variety of special chocolates that you don’t find it elsewhere in the town. You choose what flavors and how many you like.
There are flavors like bourbon, raspberry, caramel mint etc., its nicely arranged in a jewel box kind if a thing. The chocolates just look like precious stones in a box. Shiny and lustrous. A must visit in metropolitan DC area.

I’m writing this review based on the quality of the chocolate. You should go in knowing that @CocovaDC uses extremely high quality ingredients from all over the world and that you’re going to be getting what you’re paying for.
The only thing that I believe is working against this small, cute chocolate shop is that it is not well advertised and hidden away. I lived about two blocks away from the shop and walked up and down the street it was on for three months and I never even knew it existed until a coworker told me about it. You have to be really conscious of where it is when you’re first trying to find it, but after the first time you’ll never be able to forget about it.
I took my coworker who was trying to find a nice and delicious gift. He made a box of eight and I made my own box of four. According to the saleswoman, the fleur de sol is the bestseller and for good reason because it is absolutely delicious but I was pretty frustrated when she couldn’t recommend any others and there were about 20 options.
I ended up going with the:
1. Fleur de Sol
2. Pomegranate
3. Butterscotch
4. Malted Milk
I didn’t have the malted milk but one of my friends did and he said it was to DIE for. Love Cocova and you can get a free class when you check in on Unilocal :]

Anything less than 5 stars for this cute little shop would truly be a crime. I have never seen such a gorgeous, unique assortment of the 5^th basic food group (chocolate, duh) in my LIFE! I adore this shop, it is perfect for any special occasion or just to treat yourself. They have bars, they have powders, they have little morsels; its chocolate in every way imaginable.
In a nutshell… Like a mini Willy Wonka Factory with way higher quality ingredients. YUM.

What a lovely surprise.
I didn’t personally go to the store, so I can’t really rate the service or ambiance. However, these pretty pieces of chocolates were delicious. I’m so grateful to have received some as a gift. They are well decorated and flavorful. Each piece was unique, light, smooth, creamy, and not too sweet.
Definitely recommended.

Ventured here for their August chocolate tasting and was surprised by the quality and how personal the shop owner is.
Yes, my 3 favorite chocolates are pictured below. They were all different, overly satisfying, and simply mind blowing.
What was even better was how knowledgeable and personable the shop owner is. All my questions were answered, I learned how to enjoy more complex chocolate, and learned more about the chocolate process.
Not the mention the whole time I was nibbling on various samples.
My new go-​to chocolate place that treats its customers like the liquid gold it sells. I hope I’ll be able to make it on Friday for their last free chocolate tasting.