SCOTTSDALE, AZ — What started as a hobby...has landed Scottsdale's Maureen Elitzak among the country's top chocolatiers. 

Read the stories by cicking the links below:

Scottsdale's Zak's Chocolate Among Best Chocolate Shops

Scottsdale's Zak's Chocolate A Sweet Success Story

READ THE FOOD & WINE STORY BY CLICKING HERE

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Our small batches come & go, so if we are out of any requested flavors we will substitute for something we hope you will enjoy trying.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR ONLINE STORE

If you have any other questions, just email or call us.

Like coffee and wine, each cocoa bean comes from a unique terroir that impacts its flavor. Zak's Chocolate is giving patrons a taste of true chocolate.

We hope you enjoy this short video of our chocolate story, filmed by James Beard Award Winning videographer, Andrew Gooi. Filmmaker & Creator of Food Talkies

DESIGNED FOR COFFEE (BUT AWESOME IN SO MUCH MORE)

A local collaboration with Iconic Cocktail of Phoenix, Salted Cocoa Nib Mixer is made with Zak's custom roasted cocoa nibs.

This mixer has a smooth and velvety body. Hand harvested fleur de sel accentuates the robust cocoa. The custom roasted Haitian cocoa nib add a flavor profile of mild cocoa & lightly roasted nuts.

Use this mixer to flavor coffee or to enhance your next craft cocktail. It's also great to drizzle over some Zak's Chocolate Ice Cream.

Available on our online store.

"This is a serious chocolate pastry that will make you rethink all previous brownie experiences.

Tasting single origin chocolate in its bar form is a great way to develop a deeper appreciation for chocolate as an artisan product, but tasting it in brownie form was a totally different experience, which somehow highlighting the subtle, and not-so-subtle differences even better."

Click here to see the full article

Click the heading above to read the review...

"Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies." - John Q. Tullius

"Make a list of important things to do today. At the top of your list, put ‘eat chocolate’. 

Now, you'll get at least one thing done today." - Gina Hayes

"Chocolate is nature’s way of making up for Mondays." – Anonymous

These videos are a great introduction to all the magic and really, really hard work done by so many amazing people in the tropics.

Learn what has to happen before cocoa beans arrive at Zak's so we can turn them into chocolate for you to enjoy.

These awesome, short videos were produced by our primary partner in transparent trade, Uncommon Cacao

"Perhaps it was the surplus chocolate that her candy box maker grandfather brought home from the shop.

Or, it may have been the family fudge recipe grandpa passed down to her father.

“That was always a special treat,” certified chocolatier Maureen Elitzak recalls..."

Read our story HERE

"Zak’s is just one of a growing number of chocolate shops across the U.S. that both make 100 percent of their own chocolate and all of the cocoa beans used are ethically sourced. Its products range from vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free single-origin dark chocolate bars to bonbons, truffles, and even a cocoa grilling rub." 

Read our story in Garden & Health by clicking HERE

           Zak's Chocolate featured on the Fox10 Made in Arizona series.

Cinnamon Plum Bonbon - Zak's Chocolate (Scottsdale, Arizona)

"Have you ever had a cinnamon plum bonbon?

If you're near the Scottsdale area in Arizona, look no further, as this happens to be one of Zak's Chocolate's specialties."

Cinnamon Plum bonbon (l) together with Earl Grey Lavender bonbon (r), a lovely couple.

"Some of these foods are farmed — and can be provided predictably in large quantities. Because the foraging climate shifts with the hours, days, weeks, and years, wild foods are more volatile. Some ingredients appear for just a few days a year." Click HERE to read the whole story.

"Barel Cactus: Stout and pumpkin-shaped, barrel cactus sprouts waxy yellow fruit in early spring. These oblong fruits cluster at the top, each looking like a skinless pineapple. 

Where to taste: Try the seeds at Zak’s Chocolate in Scottsdale, where Jim and Maureen Elitzak deploy them for texture in a 70 percent cacao bar. Tamara Stanger of Cotton & Copper has used the fruit in desserts like semifreddo and lemon meringue pie."

As you may know, especially if you've attended one of our events or engaged us in conversation at our shop, we pride ourselves on using only ethically-sourced cacao to craft our chocolate. 

Ethical sourcing encompasses many things, including certain environmental, economic and social standards relating to the farming activities and the people we buy cocoa beans from and through. 

But basically, ethical sourcing is about knowing where your food (in this case, chocolate) comes from, how it's made, how the land is treated and how all the people involved in the process handle mutual responsibilities.

Our longest-standing trade relationship, and one we are most proud of, is with a small group called Uncommon Cacao, a Ceritfied B Corporation. Each year, Uncommon Cacao publishes a Transparency Report that is full of great insights and information, yet is also a pretty easy read. Here is a link to the 2019 report. We hope you will take some time to check it out. We'd love to hear what you learned and what you think.

We had a blast sharing an overview of what is unique about Zak's Chocolate

with AZ Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame Member, Pat McMahon

Click HERE to see the segment, which also shows some of our local wine &

spirits friends from Pillsbury Wine, Carlson Creek Wine and Adventurous Stills distillery.

We love pairing our chocolates with these amazing Arizona products

We are excited to finally be able to share these two short, behind-the-scenes videos

with you from a Golf Chanel feature that originally aired in the Fall of 2018.

Click Image above to view Part 1                          Click Image above to view Part 2

  We are excited to announce that we took home THREE Awards this year, and that our Belize 70% Dark Chocolate was named a finalist.

 *Silver for our Coffee Break Bar, a dark chocolate bar with milk & locally roasted coffee, blended together for the perfect Coffee Break

 *Silver for our Belize Single-Origin White Chocolate Bar

 *Bronze for our Peru Maranon Single-Origin White Chocolate Bar

  Yes, two different White Chocolates!

  White Chocoolate IS REAL Chocolate AND each origin offers different natural flavor profiles. Our Belize White is slightly fruity and our Peru is mild and soooo creamy

We are proud to represent craft chocolate in Trip Savvy's list of best shopping experiences across the Country. Click HERE to see the full list.