Bring Holiday Cheer Through Locally Produced Chocolate from Bitzel's Chocolate
For chocolate lovers on holiday lists, there’s only one place to shop: Bitzel’s Chocolate. From stocking stuffers to showstopping gifts, Bitzel’s crafts organic artisanal chocolate creations made with all-natural ingredients in its factory in Suwanee, Georgia. Among the specialties are double-dipped truffles, perfectly molded bonbons and smooth caramels.
In addition to the classic milk, dark and white chocolates, Bitzel’s also features rare varieties of ruby and gold chocolate. Ruby chocolate is made from the ruby cacao bean, which has a natural reddish-pink color, and gold chocolate is crafted by carefully caramelizing white chocolate for a deeper flavor.
Here are some of the ways to incorporate some of Bitzel’s gourmet confections into the holidays:
Gift Boxes
A sampling of four (or more) truffles, bonbons or caramels is a perfect stocking stuffer for anyone with a sweet tooth. Opt for seasonal flavors of gingerbread, pumpkin spice, peppermint or eggnog combined with decadent chocolate or apple or tiramisu caramels.
Guests can shop local with the Georgia Collection, a selection of four flavors inspired by Bitzel’s home state. The four-piece gift box includes a maple bacon truffle, a white chocolate blueberry truffle, a bourbon pecan bonbon and the signature Georgia peach truffle.
Gift boxes are available in quantities of four, nine, 16 and 25-pieces.
Bars, Bark and Bags
Bitzel’s takes chocolate back to its roots with Origin Bars, which has four varieties of dark and milk chocolate sourced from Ecuador and Uganda. The chocolatier also plays with combinations of fruit and chocolate like chocolate-covered blueberries, cherries and orange peels—all sold in three-ounce bags.
For a festive treat, shoppers can try a tin of the best peppermint bark they’ll eat all year, made with Belgian white chocolate infused with real peppermint oil, then combined with a Belgian 52% semi-sweet dark chocolate topped with crushed peppermint.
Gift Sets
Curated gift sets showcase the best of Bitzel’s Chocolate. The Perfect Pairing is crafted for the person who loves both coffee and chocolate, featuring the best of both worlds. It includes Volcanica Coffee samples sourced from around the world alongside Bitzel’s Origin Bar Collection, a butter caramel sauce, Italian lemon sugar rimmer and assorted chocolate confections.
For those who love the combination of nuts and chocolate, the Nutty Perfection gift set includes pralines, chocolate-covered cashews, cinnamon-glazed pecans, pistachio paste and Schnappers—Bitzel’s twist on turtles featuring rich caramel and butter-roasted pecans covered in Belgian chocolate.
The Full Experience
For those within driving distance of Suwanee, the Bitzel’s Chocolate factory is worth the visit. Private tours are available for guests to get a glimpse behind the scenes of the Southeast’s only working chocolate factory. Visitors can book a romantic date night making truffles alongside a Bitzel’s chocolatier, become a connoisseur with a gourmet chocolate tasting experience or learn about the production process from bean to bar in Chocolate 101.
About Bitzel’s Chocolate
Bitzel’s Chocolate is a 7,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, located in Suwanee, Georgia. The factory is the brainchild of chocolatier and entrepreneur Ray Bitzel and his business partner and co-founder Dave Rose. Bitzel’s Chocolate features a line of affordable, chef-crafted delicacies prepared while guests move through the production process in a true Willy Wonka-style experience. This year, Bitzel’s Chocolate was named “Manufacturer of the Year – Small” by Partnership Gwinnett. Bitzel’s Chocolate is located at 453 Northolt Parkway Suwanee, GA 30024 and is open Tuesday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Learn more at bitzelschocolate.com.