Aroa Fine Chocolate

After my recent tasty trek to Chocolee Chocolates, I was curious how another new chocolate store would measure up. Aroa Fine Chocolate is also located in the South End of Boston but is on Washington Street. They have been open for less than three months.

The owner of Aroa is Alejandro Luna who was born in Venezuela. He has worked in the culinary world for some time, last as the executive pastry chef at Langham's. He wanted to open a European-style café and now his dream has come to fruition. To make his chocolate creations, Alejandro uses single-bean chocolate from Venezuela. The store has a large glass wall where you can see the bakers work. Alejandro employs mainly culinary students, making this a teaching environment as well.
Aroa has a larger selection of items than does Chocolee. First, like Chocolee, Aroa has an extensive selection of filled chocolates, which you can see in the first picture above. Besides the chocolates, Aroa has macaroon cookies, marshmallows, jelly candies, and baked goods. Prices are about comparable to Chocolee.

I bought some assorted chocolates to try, including a chocolate filled with salted caramel. Some of the chocolates had more Latin America flavors, such as Mexican vanilla. I enjoyed the chocolates I tried but I preferred those of Chocolee. It was not an issue of quality, but of personal preference. The Aroa chocolates had their own richness but I think I prefer the Belgian chocolate more. The Aroa salted caramel had a firmer caramel rather than the gooey caramel at Chocolee, and I prefer the gooey variety. You are getting a good product at Aroa, but it is not my top preference.

I did not have the opportunity to try their macaroon cookies, marshmallows, and jelly candies. I will return another time to taste those goodies. I did though try a few of their baked goods, including Brioche, Chocolate Financiers and Madeline cookies. The Brioche was very good with just the right touch of sweetness to its fluffy interior. The Financiers, though small, were excellent, with a touch of melted chocolate atop them and a rich, moist chocolate cake within. They would be perfect topped with ice cream. I did not care for the Madeline though as it had an almost lemon flavor to me.

It is worth checking out Aroa. They have a nice variety of goodies, from chocolates to baked goods, and you are likely to find something you will enjoy.

Aroa Fine Chocolate
1651 Washington St.
Boston, MA
Phone: 617-425-4988