Araya Artisan Chocolate

It’s a rare occasion to drop by here because I’m more into savoury not sweet, but the combos this place cranks out are second to none.
In general truffles are overly sweet to me, which proves how prolific the flavours are for me to get past the stark richness. Pretty much any of them are great, but I always gravitate towards alcoholic infused morsels; can’t go wrong there!
But I’m a huge sucker for hype I guess because I find myself sifting through their photographic menu reading all the details as I consider which work of art to destroy next. Without this, they would probably be average chocolates, but the descriptions and their ingredients combined make a powerful salivating agent in my mind. And that’s all part of the show, it all looks, smells and feels so perfect, so it works.

I got a box of truffles for my anniversary and each delicate little cube was a flavor explosion of pure enjoyment! I couldn’t get enough of them and the box only lasted 2 days. Needless to say I can’t wait to go to the store myself and indulge in various creations! Deliciousness, quality ingredients, heaven!

I am in love with these chocolate. They are delicious. My favorite is mango habanero. Very friendly and clean. Totally recommend.

Came here the other day. I been wanting to go since it had some pretty good reviews and it was great. They specialize in chocolate. But also make some delicious good macaroons.
They had in house ice cream they make themselves. Which k wanted to try but was in a hurry. If you are in the area stop on by! You won’t regret it!

Pretty legit chocolate, in my chocoholic opinion. The «café café» dark truffle is my favorite.
About once a month, ahem, I’m quite partial to dark truffle truffles. «Quite partial» = must have or else I go Michael Jackson-​thriller on whoever’s closest. On just such an occasion I relied on my Sancho Panza, aka Unilocal,to guide me to this spot. I used my 15% Unilocal check-​in discount to stock up on various truffles.
The key lime flavored truffle was no bueno. Although I only like dark truffles… My finger was already beginning to point erratically à la Thriller! The motherfreaking café café truffle was right on, sister. I believe it was Venezuelan chocolate. I didn’t even have time to ask about cacao %.
I usually enjoy Mexican dark choc, but the round ball of Mexican chocolate tasted like it was made with goat milk. Which some people love but I really effing do not.
When I got outside, the café café was the first one in my mouth. My husband thanks his sweet beejeesus that that was so bc as the truffle melted in my mouth, I slowly and happily became a nice, undead woman again.

I’ve only had good experiences! I’ve tried the s’mores bar, gourmet marshmallows, bacon chocolate bar, macaroons, and artisan chocolates. I gave some chocolates as a gift, which was really fun to have them try each flavor and read with the guidebook about each one. They are a bit on the expensive side, but they have cheaper items. I think the marshmallows are one of the cheaper things and most delicious available. The macaroons were very small and expensive, but a really great texture. The chocolates are almost too pretty to eat. Almost ;)

I shouldn’t tell, but the chocolate and bourbon concoction is delicious. I think I am addicted.
I decided to go by here to buy some chocolate dipped Oreos as a Christmas gift. I couldn’t resist trying some of their other hand made chocolates — and that was my first mistake. I tried the 40%, the 70% Venezuelan and the salted caramel on top of the bourbon concoction. They were all gone by the end of the day and I had decided that I was paying them another visit before Christmas.
I really would like to bring this next box with me when I visit my family, but I cannot guarantee that the contents of the box will still be intact by then! I can definitely see why everyone loves this place and will have to exhibit some self control with it so close to home.

Went here via a Groupon special for their macarons. The lady up front was exceptionally speedy in terms of getting the product up front.
That’s when I noticed their seasonal offering of a giant artisan egg with smaller chocolate eggs filling it. Apparently it’s the only place in Katy/​Houston doing this.
At this time, I’ve not yet tried the chocolate for Easter, but I did give the macarons a go. I honestly found them rather bland and not at all flavorful — then again, as others have stated, these are flown in and are previously frozen. Perhaps freezer burn is affecting them somewhat. The only one in my batch that seemed to have flavor was the lemon.
I did pick up a raspberry dark choco and a sea salt choco separately. Those were –fabulous-​. You can honestly taste the difference in terms of mass produced versus handcrafted here, a huge plus.
Pros: knowledgable staff, unique gifts, exceptionally flavorful choco, nice store hours, clean storefront
Cons: awkward location to get in and out of (if you miss it, it’s a good mile to the u-​turn), pricey (to be expected from small business artisans, but some people consider this a con)

100% Venezuelan chocoalte made in Katy, TX .what more a Katy-​zuelan with italian roots can ask! simply delicious and so are the macaroons!

Their macarons are shipped in & frozen. You’ll have to wait about 15 minutes before you can eat it, BUT ITS AMAZING! Most macarons loses it’s flavor and is just sweet. BUT these keeps the actual flavor very well and is not as sweet as other macaron’s shop in houston.
As i was waiting, another guest asked about diabetic. The artisan was very helpful and knowledgeable. She suggest agave over honey, which you can just preorder. She was also very sweet and patience to help us find the type of chocolates that we like.
I would totally come back :)

The macarons here are wonderful. They are on the pricey side and a little small but they are flawless. I love all of the flavors but the vanilla is my favorite. I also like the white chocolate barberry and the artisan milk chocolate bars. Once you try their chocolate, you’ll be like, «Godiva who??» It’s that good. Again it is expensive, but they only sell quality stuff so it’s worth the splurge from time to time. The man who helped me was very polite and told me how to keep my macarons so that they were fresh. I’ve now developed a macaron habit thanks to Araya.

Araya chocolate tastes very poor and similar to Hershey’s. It tastes much worse than Milka, Nestle, Godiva, Guittard, even Cadbury. By European standards, Araya probably does not even qualify as chocolate. I consider Araya products being marketed as artisan and priced at a premium as fraud.

Araya is a combination of art and deliciously different chocolate combinations, I love this place! Although it puts a dent in my pocket, the chocolate is absolutely excellent, and there are so many choices. I will forever be a customer!

I like this location better than the other one on West Gray. But they’re both good! I’m just a suburbs gal and prefer the Katy location.
Really tasty chocolates. If you get anything with alcohol in it, you will taste it. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on how much you like your booze. But in general, all their chocolates are intensely flavored, and very delicious. I like any that has pâtes de fruit in it. Their chocolates are also decorated really beautifully. Would make a great gift.
I’ve also tried their macarons, but they seem pretty run of the mill — not bad, and they taste fine, but I don’t know if I would pick any up again.
Bargain buys: chocolate dipped mango pieces — you get a lot for $ 4.00.
Sometimes they have samples set out!

I had seen ads for Araya in the local magazines and knew i wanted to stop by to see their lovely chocolates. The place itself was difficult to find because it didn’t have the big letters on the brick like the neighboring Nail salon. It does say «Araya» and «chocolate» in big white letters down the window, but the visibility is blocked by a brick column.
The store front is rather small, but they don’t need much space since the chocolates are displayed at the counter. The working area in the back looks huge!
Their macaroons are about half the size of typical macaroons, but i actually like these better because it allows me to eat more different flavors! The lady working there (the artisan?) said the pistachio and raspberry macaroons were the most popular, but unfortunately she ran out the day I went. But fortunately I know where the place is located now so i can try again another day!
The chocolates and macaroons here make great gifts, especially with the unique artwork on the packaging (some of them are local artists). Anyone who receives a box of treats from here should consider themselves very special!

This little shop tucked in a corner off Grand Pkwy is so delightful. The handmade chocolates are both lovely and delicious. Don’t expect the ordinary, the flavors have depth and smoothness, they offer both milk and dark chocolates, hand rolled truffles, and bars. These little gems gifted tell the recipient they’re special. I love the chipolte chocolate with its hint of heat contrasting the rich dark cream. The strawberry balsamic is also delicious, they have liquor flavored chocolates as well. Average price about 2 bucks each, so If you’ve been good and you need a little reward, stop by and give yourself the very best you are so worth it!