WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Gourmet Valentine's gifts

Vergennes, Vermont - February 11, 2011

The Daily Chocolate shop is a small operation with big flavor. Jen Roberts worked at the shop in the early 2000s and when it went up for sale she and her husband took over the chocolate reins.

"I happened to come in here seven months pregnant with my second child and owning a chocolate shop sounded like a great idea!" Roberts said.

While she does have a bit of a sweet tooth, her real passion is art. She says she found a happy medium.

"Everybody is happy if they get chocolate, so it is a benefit to me basically everyone that comes in here is happy," Roberts said.

Everything they make starts in the chocolate temper which looks like something right out of the Willy Wonka Factory.

"We get our chocolate in discs and use a 71 percent dark chocolate," Roberts explained.

Chocolate withdrawal is known to make people temperamental, but chocolate itself can also be temperamental. First it needs to be heated up to 119 degrees then dropped down to 91 degrees to maintain that soft, dark, glossy texture.

Roberts enjoys experimenting and she finds her customers enjoy the alternative flavors.

"Black rum caramel with sea salt, toffee almond bark and lemon lavender white chocolate bark," she listed.

Toffee Almond Bark is also a fan favorite. Once it is cooked to the right consistency it is smoothed over on the Vermont Granite counter to cool down and harden. Then it is broken into pieces and mixed with their homemade dark chocolate; a smooth, soft flavor they are proud to call their own.

"It is a little more palatable to people who are not into dark chocolate or do not necessarily think they are into dark chocolate," Roberts said.

Cacao beans can only be grown within 20 degrees of the equator, but Roberts says she sources as many of her ingredients as locally as she can.

"I use Monument Farm dairy products, Cabot butter, and local maple syrup when I do use it," she said. "If I do not do it, I want people to buy my product and I am local so I should do the same. Reciprocate."

Christmas is their busiest season, but Valentine's Day is a close second.

"The next two days will be the craziest. Valentine's Day is the last-minute holiday," Roberts said.

Roberts said she did feel the pinch of the economy, but she finds her customers are willing to pay for their artisan product.

"We feel that people value our quality and are willing to spend a little more on themselves to treat themselves," Roberts said.

A sweet treat great for any day of the week made right here in Vermont.

Molly Smith - WCAX News - Made in Vermont