I am eeking this out just in time for the holiday season for the chocolate lover on your list or maybe just for you, indulging in a little decadence for the end of the year. Here are my favorite places for buying chocolate in Mexico City.
La Rifa – Dinamarca 47, Colonia Juarez
La Rifa was probably the first chocolate shop in the city to take Mexican chocolate to the next level. The staff is knowledgeable, the chocolate is top quality and they even offer chocolate tastings for those who want to dig deeper into this famous national product. All the chocolate in their shop comes from Chiapas and you can find varying percentages and sweetness levels of chocolate bars, which is their biggest item for sale. They also sell chocolate ice cream bars and chocolate cookies along with mezcal, craft beer, probiotic sodas, and kombucha. One thing here that I’ve seen nowhere else is large bars of baking chocolate. A small chocolate bar sells a long list of either fermented or washed cacao bean drinks, and the outdoor tables on a little park circle in Juarez are a delightful place to enjoy them.
Cacao Para Todos – Carlos B. Zetina 82a, Colonia Escandon
The shop is the result of 10 years of organizing the Cacao Para Todos Festival held every year in November in Mexico City. The festival brings together about 60 chocolate brands and growers of cacao, and the shop has about 15 of those brands on its shelves (including Ki’neek, Recreo, Nawal, Rosita de Cacao, Luna Cacau, Feliu, Ki’xocolatl, Ranek). Along with chocolate from Tabasco, Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero, are chocolate accouterments like molinos, beautiful polished clay pottery from Puebla, along with random but lovely items like tiny drums, notebooks, and posters. There is a tiny bar at the back of the store where you can get hot chocolate in different cacao percentages and with various milk types or water, and the staff (also the owners) are extremely friendly and helpful.
Dichoso Cacao – Campeche 51, Colonia Roma Sur
This is the chocolate place I have been to most often because it’s closest to my house and where I buy all my gifts for the chocolate lovers in my life. They sell bars from several dozen rotating brands that include some of the same as Cacao Para Todos, but then they have others that you won’t see there (behooves you to visit both shops). I am always struck by the incredible knowledge of the people who work at Dichoso — they know everything about every producer on their shelves and can help you choose just the right chocolate if you have something particular in mind. I also think that the prices are very decent. They too have a tiny bar for hot chocolate, and sell some (a much smaller amount in comparison to some of the places on this list) accouterments like molinos or pitchers.
Tienda MUCHO (The Chocolate Museum) – Milan 45, Colonia Juarez
Located in one corner of the Chocolate Museum (MUCHO)’s bottom floor, the MUCHO cafe and shop sell chocolate from Tabasco and Veracruz. A small to-go bar sells hot chocolate, coffee, chocolate tamales, brownies, chocolate cake, and other snacks, while the larger inside display window has an endless selection of bonbons, chocolate-covered fruit, chocolate-covered pretzels, bars, discs, and more. They have a great space for sitting in the afternoon either just for kicks or to work for a bit. The big, family-style wooden tables are cozy and the smaller, outdoor tables are nice for when the day is sunny. I recommend a visit to the museum and the shop both.
Oscuro Puro – Guanajuato 138 L3, Colonia Roma Norte
There is a reason why all Oscuro Puro’s homemade treats are so delicious — they are made by the crew at Cachito Mio, the quiche and dessert shop next door which has been a favorite of mine for years. The front glass case has some of these made-in-house delights and I highly recommend giving them a try, especially this fruitcake-like chocolate loaf with cinnamon and fruit and all sorts of other delicious things in it. Other than these homemade treats and the hot chocolate (or coffee) bar, they also sell chocolate-covered nuts and fruits in packages, chocolate nibs, spicy dried fruit or nuts, Mexican craft beer, Mexican wine, and a collection of gorgeous molinos and pitchers for making hot chocolate at home.
Tout Chocolate – Amsterdam 154, Colonia Condesa
The most international vibe on this list, Tout has chocolate from across Latin America including Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela, along with its Mexican chocolate. A small counter in the back sells intricately designed chocolate creations (for example, I went over Christmas and they have elaborate Christmas ornaments made out of chocolate and chocolate birdhouses). Tout feels more commercial than some of the other locations, but the chocolate is of outstanding quality and you can get a mix of bonbons already packaged or choose your own. They are also making their confections in-house (the kitchen is in the back) and have a bar that serves a few dozen chocolate, coffee, and chocolate with coffee drinks. The cafe has a sunny little spot along Amsterdam and is a pleasant stop for a hot chocolate or sweet treat.
Xocolate – corner of Ignacio Esteva & Molinos del Campo, Colonia San Miguel Chapultepec
A picteresque little shop in Colonia San Miguel Chapultepec, Xocolate sells a wide variety of bonbons in particularly Mexican flavors like lechera, habanero, tequila, mazapan, horchata, arroz con leche, mezcal, gauva, and mango with vodka. All the chocolate is there their own brand. The charm of the place is the real draw, on a cute little corner in San Miguel Chapultepec with outdoor and indoor seating. If you order a single bonbon or just a couple they bring it out to on a little glass pedestal. It’s very cute.
If this list doesn’t satisfy your chocolate craving in Mexico City I don’t know what will!
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