Roberta’s Chocolates, Candies, and Nuts

Chocolatier: “A maker or seller of chocolate candy” (from Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary)

Roberta’s Chocolates, Candies, and Nuts is a full-service chocolate shop, offering a selection like that of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I have to admit my prejudice: all I really care about are the truffles. But if you’ve got a hankering for chocolate-covered nuts or raisins or gummy bears in milk chocolate (?!) or aspen bark or nonpareils, then Roberta’s Chocolates is the place to go. Or if you need customized chocolate favors for your party or business gathering, they have 10,000 molds (some unique to the store).

A case full of colored truffles greeted me after I walked in the door and scooted sideways to avoid setting off the doorbell again. Roberta’s offers twenty-four varieties, plus holiday flavors. My six-pack of truffles featured blueberry, pineapple, key lime, coconut, lemon, and pomegranate—definitely a more unusual selection than you’d find at RMCF, but the truffles I tried had about the same level of sweetness.

Like most of the chocolates shops I’ve visited in Denver (five so far), Roberta’s doesn’t offer a lot of space to sit down and enjoy your treat. The location features two rooms, one with chocolates and one with gifts, plus the kitchen where the chocolates are made. Each of the two rooms has a table and chairs, but there’s not much room between the tables and the displays. There are two benches outside, where I sat when I visited and enjoyed two of the truffles. It was a pleasant spot to rest on a Saturday afternoon in the summer.

While I was outside, Roberta came out with another customer. She saw me sitting there, invited me in, and told me to let her know if I had any questions. Although the shop was busy and, when I went back in, she was doing work on the computer, she took the time to answer my questions.

I started with the pomegranate in dark chocolate and decided the ganache was to die for. It had the loveliest texture, and the mold was delicate (they’re all shaped like cones rounded at the top). The blueberry and pineapple truffles didn’t do too much for me, but I liked the lemon. (My husband got to try the lime after I got home. He approved, which I didn’t expect, because he usually prefers less sweet chocolates.) My favorite by far, however, was the coconut, which smelled wonderful and had just a little bit of coconut crunch, followed by creamy white chocolate.

The location is off the main drag of Highlands, in a mostly residential neighborhood, but 32nd Street is only a few blocks north. Roberta said she wished she had foot traffic, but she’s been in business since 1995, and her milk chocolate mint just won best truffle at the 2008 Colorado Chocolate Fest (on Mother’s Day at the Merchandise Mart).