Cacao and Cardamom

chocolates: Amazing and beautiful
prices: pretty pricey
service: sucks
Cacao and Cardamom has been a place I’ve been dreaming of for ages. (I literally had a dream about it one time, but that’s besides the point). The pictures of the beautifully crafted chocolates had me drooling and imagining the succulent tastes of the exotic, melt in your mouth chocolates. So when the day came where I got the opportunity to go, I couldn’t contain my excitement or wait to bite into the little pieces of heaven and savor the tastes.
Let me tell you, the chocolates did not disappoint. Walking into the store, you see the beautifully lit room, with the perfectly displayed chocolates in the counter. In person, the chocolates looked even more beautiful, with their shiny chocolate exterior, and the vibrantly colored decorations. Each flavor with it’s own design and shape. They had so many different and exotic flavors to choose from, including szechuan peppercorn, chipotle, guava tamarind, passion fruit, lychee basil, blueberry lime, and so much more!
One of my favorites was the chipotle because the inside was very smooth, and there was a really nice, smoky flavor to it. I’ve also heard the mango caramel was really good too, but didn’t get to try it this time.
The BEST thing to get there, which is also probably something that’s a very reasonable price was the frozen chocolate drink. It’s essentially a chocolate frappacino mixed with a smoothie? But the cool thing is you get to pick how dark you want your chocolate, and they use real chocolate in it, and not just chocolate syrup. The better part is, it’s only like $ 5 for a cup!
Each piece of chocolate is $ 2.25, but we decided to get a box of 8 pieces for $ 20. If you want to pay the extra $ 2 for the box, go for it; especially if it’s for a present. But… if i were to go back, I would just buy them separately, because it saves you money.
They also have plenty of chocolate from around the world that would satisfy any chocoholic’s heart.
My biggest complaint about this place would be the service. They had a seemingly very nice young lady working the front, but she didn’t really notice or recognize us the whole time we were there. (we were the only customers at the time too!). I wish she would have greeted us, or maybe ask if we had been there before and had given us some recommendations, but she just went about doing her own thing the whole time, until we called her for our order. It also did take her a while to finish our order, although, all we did ask for was a drink and a box of chocolates. Hopefully, next time, the service will be better.

How have I not been here!!! the chocolates here are so special, not only are they gorgeous to look at, but the flavors are so unique and delicious. New combinations that I have not seen before and the the quality of the chocolate products you get here is amazing, esp when you consider the price!
I highly recommend this place, if you cant make it here they also sell online. the packaging is also gorg, and very high end looking. my new go to for gifts. very unique everyone will love it!

I have been here several times since the event last winter, and each time I am extremely impressed. The shop is very chic yet still welcoming, and every single thing I’ve put into my mouth has been amazing, from truffles to drinking chocolate. My favorites are the mango caramels and the guava chocolates!

This chocolate is truly something special. I had been wanting to come since I saw they had a Unilocal event that my fellow Elite friends had been raving about. I had been begging my boyfriend to go, and we finally made it out here on a rainy Sunday.
Upon walking in, I could tell my boyfriend was impressed, and I was so excited. Their main table had a lot of interesting offerings, but I immediately gravitated toward the seasonal offerings. I was SO excited, as so many places in Houston don’t have many, if any, seasonal options, and I miss the Northeast this time of year more than any other.
I checked-​in and got the free truffle (DO THIS!!) and made a few selections as well:
— Sweet Potato Pie
— Pumpkin Caramel
— Caffe Late
— 85% Columbian
I really enjoyed all of them, and they completely hit my need for a holiday treat. My boyfriend very much enjoyed the Cardamom truffle and the 85% Columbian.
We really liked the different wines they had and the whole look and feel of the store. The only thing that was a little off was the woman working behind the counter didn’t seem nearly as knowledgable as I would’ve expected. Luckily, the owner and chocolatier was there to answer my questions, but when I asked more about the caffe late, the woman behind the counter simply recited its name, which was clearly written on the side. I was asking for more detail, but the owner was obviously extremely knowledgable and super friendly.
I will happily be returning, and I’d recommend this place to anyone!

The chocolate is so beautiful!
Great collection of chocolate of different sources. I LOVE it here.
The drinking chocolate is the best hot chocolate I have had in 2015. The chocolate concierge was friendly. I wanted my got chocolate with extra foam and she happily accommodated me.
The owner, super pretty. I like her.
I am definitely coming back again. Say hi if you see me. I’ll buy you a hot chocolate.
Oh, and the Gelato. I didn’t get a chance to try but looks legit.
Oh, oh, and they have the chocolate hazelnut sauce. Think of it as fancy Nutella. It was tasty!!!

So pretty & yum, great for a gift. If you want to get a certain number you have to work in the confines of the boxes they have so that’s a little odd.

Beautiful chocolate. Like gems. Too pretty to eat. Been here once and tried a box of different kinds. The staff is extremely friendly and the place is very chic! Love love love it here. Not your typical flavors. they infused spices and chocolate to let you experience a very different kind of chocolate. I can’t standdd white chocolate but I put up with it because one of the flavors is so rich and delicious.
Only thing I don’t like is. So many of their flavors is all covered in white chocolate :(Can you say sweet tooth attack? I hateeee white chocolate. but their fillings are amazingly wonderful. Makes me sad that I can’t fully enjoy their chocolate!

I was randomly driving around the area today for lunch and I happened to spot this little gem tucked away. I was swept away by the high end feel of the place and the artistic work of each piece of chocolate. They were colorful and delicious. The 85% cacao truffle was true perfection! It was beautiful on the outside and wonderfully dense and decident on the inside. The only downfall to this place is the price. I believe its over $ 2.00 for one piece of chocolate. WOW! No matter how wonderful the place is, I can’t see myself spending that kind of money on a singular piece of chocolate too often. Btw, the owner is very nice.

Way better than The Chocolate Bar, Dessert Gallery, etc.
Cheaper than Godiva. I appreciate that Annie keeps her prices affordable.
The chocolates are fabulous.
We come here every week for the café mocha (I would like to come every day but my waistline and wallet won’t have it). Hubby and I order the café mocha — latte with milk chocolate and hazelnut (guanduja), and we ask for macadamia milk.
Friends, if you haven’t tried macadamia milk, make sure you stop here and get some with your coffee! So much better than soy, almond, or coconut milk.
Annie (the owner) is very friendly and welcoming.
Great place for a date spot. Stop in after a long day of shopping at Old Navy, Marshall’s, and Nordstrom Rack next door.

Love this place! It’s in the shopping plaza on Westheimer and San Felipe, near Grand Luxe Café so there’s tons of parking. I’ve been to Araya in Uptown which boasts similar concepts but at C&C you can taste better quality and see care for what they do. Annie is always helpful and fun to talk to, her stories of chocolate exploration and discovery are great!
The chocolate bon bons are awesome, they have exotic ones like Szechuan Peppercorn, Coco Curry, and my favorite, Guava Tamarind. But then there’s the traditional options like Smores, PB&J and Dulche De Leche.
They have chocolate bars for retail purchase from around the world too! So many options.
And don’t forget to add a frozen hot chocolate to your order. You won’t regret it.
I have to stop in to try some of their newer items like Lychee Basil. YUM.

This place is amazing!!! Annie is a wealth of knowledge and knows everything there is to know about Cacao and the chocolate process. She is engaging and friendly, she made me feel very welcome.
I will be back when I’m in Houston

Probably the most beautifully-​presented chocolates I’ve ever seen in this city, and they taste just as good as they look! Thank goodness for the free truffle you get by checking in on Unilocal,because I never knew that cardamom and chocolate paired together so well! I got the dulce de leche and the nutella nut chocolates, and they were delicious! The $ 2.50 price is pretty competitive with similar places, especially the macaron shops. When I saw that they also carried gelato from my favorite place SweetCup, I knew this place was legit! I definitely intend to come back and maybe even try some of their wine pairings.

I didn’t know what I expected but I was thoroughly surprised when I came in and a beautiful glass case full of lined chocolates welcomed me. It was interesting to look at the chocolates from around the world on the wall and sweet girl working there was very informative about how the bonbons were made and decorated. At $ 2.50−2.75 a piece, they are not cheap but it was definitely a different dessert from the usual fare. PSA the free Unilocal check in piece does not taste good.

This place is amazing. I love chocolate but this place takes chocolate to another level called Heaven.
Don’t expect boring chocolate here! No basic chocolate with nuts and by the pound. You can find gourmet chocolate with lycée, 95% coco truffles, international chocolates that are hand painted.
My favorite is the s’mores towers and the café latte.
Each piece is from $ 2.25-$ 2.5 each. The gift box packaging is beautiful so it makes great gifts.
They even have a chocolate description card to remind you of all the yummy chocolates that you have selected.
One of my favorites is the chocolate lipstick that is red and edible.
Just a secret to all the new people check in and great a free truffle. OMG so good!
Ask the owner for the newest flavor because she is so talented there is always something new if you want to be adventurous.
My first experience there today was just magical.
I will be going more often!

My wife and I took a valentines chocolate class. Annie was awesome. I will say the class was more on the expensive side, but a lot of fun. We learned a lot about chocolate making, mostly that it should be left to the professionals who have all of the equipment.
We left with a lot of really good chocolate. It was a fun way to spend valentines day without the hustle and bustle of a restaurant.

Very very cool chocolate bonbon shop.
Came here for the first time for a Unilocal event early February and was impressed by how beautiful all the bonbons were! The chocolate boxes here are so unique too. This place makes for a great gift for any occasion! My favorite bonbons were the mango and rose ones. I’m so glad this place is in my part of town in Houston. I’ll definitely be visiting here again.

Not being a huge chocolate buff I wasn’t sure what to expect when I visited. My perspective totally changed when I walked in and saw all of the beautifully presented chocolates. They are so tasty and unique that even the biggest chocolate cynic can mind something to leave with.
The chocolates are hand made and come in flavors like Garam Masala Pistachio and Chipotle! These are not your average chocolates, Hershey’s and Milky Way are a thing of past welcome Cacao & Cardamom to the neighborhood!
They also have chocolate bars from around the world, cooking chocolate, wine, coffee, espresso and tea! A great place to shop, enjoy a cup of coffee and a chocolate or a date night. Great prices for the box sets of chocolate ranging from $ 12 — $ 40 dollars depending on the number of chocolates purchased.
Cacao and Cardamom is located next door to Grand Lux Across the street from the Galleria. Go tell Annie and her staff Hello! — bring me a salted macadamia chocolate please!

LOOOOVE this place. Tried 4 truffles and each one was a piece of art. Genius flavor combinations in the fillings are delicately balanced, lightly wrapped in fine chocolate, and molded so beautifully you hardly want to eat them.
In addition to the truffles, there’s a great selection of chocolate bars from international craft chocolatiers — Hungary, Slovenia, Mexico and more. They also carry a selection of wines that pair beautifully with chocolates. The sherry we sampled was wonderfully complex.
Will definitely be back before V-​Day!

I’ve had a couple different artisan chocolatiers, this was by far the best!
This is not something I could eat everyday since they are around $ 2.50 a piece (which is the average among good places like this). This would definitely be a place I would return to when I want to indulge in a treat like this.
The owner, from what I read, is a former Miss Pakistan. Young, ambitious, and apparently very talented in this business. Since this was my first time here my choice for my box of 5 was a difficult one. Not because there were so many to choose from, which is good when you are trying to do a specialty product, but because they all looked so good. The décor of the shop is open and simple but elegant and not too pompy like others.
These chocolates were absolutely amazing! It was the perfect mix of chocolate to spice, nothing overwhelming no matter what the flavor. Its easy to see that most of the flavor are geared toward a Middle Eastern cuisine. I was worried about this at first since I know how these spices taste in food and didn’t know how they would transition to a chocolate. They are cute designs (I had never seen the Buddha before) with colorful painting on each.
I was very impressed by the candies that had crushed items inside them, like the five spice praline. You could feel the crunch of the praline but all the particles were consistent in size with no large chunks to deal with. I saw on the website that they offer items for weddings and this would be a place great for a gift, in my opinion.
I would consider these a VERY high quality product and will definitely be back to try some more. You have to stop by here if you are in Galleria area and like this type of guilty pleasure. Pricey, but well worth the money.

I am tired of domestic commercialized Forasterio cocoa bean made dark chocolate bars and decide to do some exploration at this fantastic store, and it was mind blown!
First of all, they have so many selections of imported dark chocolates from all over the world, and most of them are made from Crollo or Trinitario beans, if you are a true dark chocolate junkie like me, you would know how difficult to find these kind of bars in Houston — in SAME place.
Secondly, I am so happy to talked to Annie, she is extremely knowledgable about her chocolates, and she knows how different flavors been formed based on soils, tempering.etc. I learned a lot of new things about chocolates tasting from her in just 5 minutes!
Lastly, thanks to Unilocal,they gave me a free truffle to try out. The Ganache inside of truffle is soft and semi-​sweet, leaves my favorite back taste of fruity acid. Yum.
I will definitely go back to shop more, and hopefully learn more about chocolates! :)