I can't believe this will be the first review of Neuhaus. I will try to do it justice! I wandering in for a latte my first day on the job. I now wander in at least once a week. I'll start with the coffee...it is the best in town. Seriously. I think the little stand says Vivace espresso, but I think the real talent is the barista. She's there from when they open to the early afternoon. I don't know how she does it, but she consistently produces the best lattes I have ever had. She's helped me wean off the syrups because the flavor of the espresso is amazing. And it is not just the beans, etc. I've had other people at Neuhaus make my coffee and it doesn't compare. I thought I was crazy at first, but my coworkers agree. This woman is gifted at what she does and as nice as can be. I've tried to tell her that she is the best in town, but she just laughs at me. I don't even think about going to Starbucks while I'm downtown. On top of all this, you get free chocolate with your beverage. And not just any chocolate...
Neuhaus chocolate is blown-your-mind incredible. It is Belgian chocolate and holds itself to the highest standards. You can check out their website at http://www.neuhauschocolate.com/ They use the best cocoa, the best ingredients and it is extremely fresh with no fillers at all. The chocolate starts to melt as soon as you touch it. Be careful, I left a box in the car for an hour in April and it was very melted when I returned. I love their version of the buttercream. I always hated Sees' version, but this is very very different. It tastes like fresh cream wrapped in the finest chocolate. The chocolate seashells are great for purists and they have some fun flavors, like violet. It is much more expensive than Sees and certainly more than Russell Stover, etc. but worth every penny. 4 pieces of Neuhaus is better than a pound of anything else. Even better than Godiva, which is a distant 2nd in my mind. They also do a ton with marzipan, which I'm not a fan of, but I know lots of people like.
There's a stand at the bottom of the Pacific Place mall, but you should really check out the main store on University (Across from the Fairmont). They have a huge assortment of wrapped boxes before each holiday, or you can put together a custom box of your favorites.
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