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Artisan Confections - Chocolatier Jason Andelman in Clarendon and Mosaic District


Andelman

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Just picked up the latest copy of Chocolatier Magazine and the "Inside Story" on the last page is a short article about Artisan Confections, including descriptions of the 12 chocolates shown. Lovely photo of the 12-piece assortment Jason :angry: You'll need to purchase the magazine to read it as the website doesn't contain the articles. I think it's time for a trip to Arlington.

For you chocoholics, the magazine also has an ad for the upcoming Chocolate Show in NYC in November.

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I believe Scott had asked for some more information regarding Artisan Confections, so here you go.

For those of you that have not been here, we are located at 4815-B Lee highway in Arlington. We are very close to the intersection of Glebe Rd. and Lee Hwy. Our normal hours are 10-6 Mon-Fri and 11-5 on Saturday. We are closed Sundays. I am always here much earlier than 10, and often much later than 6, so if you can not make it during those times, please call to see if I am here.

As for holiday orders, we are now starting to take them. You are welcome to place an order over the phone and pick it up at anytime. We also ship. Shipping rates obviously vary, but for most locations on the East Coast the shipping is $10.00. If you need any sort of client gifts, corporate holiday stuff, etc. please contact us sooner than later so we can get the order processed and your chocolates guaranteed.

We are relaunching our updated website early next week, so most of the information can be found there. If anyone has any questions, please PM me.

One final thing, we are also in the need of some seasonal P/T help. We are basically looking for help from the 1st week of December until X-Mas. Preferably in the afternoon, but we are flexible. Again, please PM me if you know of anyone that is interested in a little extra cash over the holidays (and lots of free chocolate, we do make mistakes....)

Thanks,

Jason

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I hope everyone is enjoying the snowy day. Just an FYI, we will be staying open late (until 8 PM) on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting next week for all of you holiday shoppers. So, for the holidays, we are open from 10-6 on Mon, Wed., and Fri. and from 10-8 on Tues and Thurs. We are also open on Saturday from 11-5. and, we will be open on Christmas Eve from 10-4. So please try and stop by if you are in the area. We always have chocolates available for tasting and it would be nice to meet all of you.

Happy Holidays,

Jason

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I hope everyone is enjoying the snowy day. Just an FYI, we will be staying open late (until 8 PM) on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting next week for all of you holiday shoppers. So, for the holidays, we are open from 10-6 on Mon, Wed., and Fri. and from 10-8 on Tues and Thurs. We are also open on Saturday from 11-5. and, we will be open on Christmas Eve from 10-4. So please try and stop by if you are in the area. We always have chocolates available for tasting and it would be nice to meet all of you.

Happy Holidays,

Jason

I am glad to see you are selling at Grape Juice. It reminds me that you sell retail. I bought some items, at grape jucie and will be in your store to by more.

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I am glad to see you are selling at Grape Juice. It reminds me that you sell retail. I bought some items, at grape jucie and will be in your store to by more.

Baccala is referring to a wine/chocolate tasting we will be doing at Grape Juice Wine Shop on 12/14 from 5-8 PM. They are located at 5707 Lee Highway in Arlington, in the same shopping center as Restaurant Vero. We normally do not sell chocolates at their store (as our shop is right down the street), so this is just a special one-time gig for the holidays. Definitely try and stop by.

Thanks,

Jason

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There's a nice mention of Jason's Hot Chocolate mix on Daily Candy. Extended shopping hours for the holidays! wink.gif

No dusty powder here. The bittersweet cocoa is made with flaked chocolate chunks. You add hot milk (water's not good enough) and whisk until smooth. Any flakes that haven't melted sink to the bottom of your mug, making for a chocolicious, Nutty Buddy-like last sip.

The mix is a combination of super-premium Valrhona chocolate, cocoa powder made in France's Rhone Valley, and fresh organic Tahitian vanilla beans.
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In Jason's January email he dropped this enticing little morsel:

starting January 12th, we will be converted into a veritable brownie factory. Well, part-time, anyway. Every Saturday, our not too cakey, not too fudgy, perfectly chewy brownies will be on sale at our shop. You can't find these babies anywhere else, and they're sure to be a hot commodity. So, scurry in on a Saturday for your weekly dose of moist, chewy, chocolatey divinity

Since I work all day on Saturdays, today was the only opportunity I had to drop by and get some, and they did NOT disappoint! I should have stopped by the grocery store and picked up some vanilla ice cream, because these brownies, even 4 days old (as opposed to "hot-right-out-of-the-oven") were still PFG. :mellow: If you have time on a Saturday, this is a wonderful excuse to drop by Jason's place this month. You'll be ruined for Duncan Hines brownies henceforth.

Oh, and his experiment with a pistachio nut confection is a clear success - yum!

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I just ordered a box of the caramels for my mother-in-law for Mothers' Day. I agree with the liquid crack comments ;) A student of mine gave me a sampler box for Christmas and I just fell in love. Truly the best chocolates I've ever had!

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Thanks to Jason for making me look awesome on Mother's Day. Gave my mom a box of the assorted and a box as well to my wife along with the surprise hit--roasted almonds dusted with cocoa powder. A delicacy I thought my wife would not like is already gone--those are some good god damn nuts! The chocolates were met with choruses of "they're too pretty to eat" which lasted only until the first one was tasted. Soon after there was total carnage, and I basked in the glory.

I owe you, man.

Grabbed a couple of the brownies as well, but those didn't make it back to the house.

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Just a quick message, we will be having a 10% off sale for the ENTIRE month of August. The discount is good for purchases of $15.00 for any item(s) in our retail shop (it is not valid with other discounts, gift certificates, or for classes). We do have some new items we have been working on as well, so please stop by for a taste. We are open from 10-6 (Mon-Fri) and 11-5 (Sat). Hope to see some of you during these dog days of summer.

Regards,

-J

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Saturday special melt-in-your mouth brownies, fleur-de-sel caramels, and pecan buttercrunches!! Not to mention chocolate samples. All wrapped in beautiful ribbon or in great reusable tin boxes. Always too pretty to eat. :lol:

Thanks for making my week Jason! Go visit!! Buy! Take advantage of the special Andelman is offering!!

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Picked up some fleur-de-sel caramels to satisfy my expectant-friend's chocolate cravings, but she approved more of the Snap Crackle Poppers Jason was selling!! :lol: The combination of crispy rice, chocolate, with a surprise taste of sweet-n-sour dried cherries outshined the caramels. Proved to be a worthy extra purchase.

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Stopped by the open house on Saturday. The hot chocolate mix is AMAZING, dark and rich without being too sweet. There were a few new flavors - figs and chocolate are an excellent combination!!!!

They now have a "card-carrying chocoholic" card - once you hit 10 stamps (a stamp for each purchase exceeding $10), you get an extra treat! Thanks, guys! I can't wait to collect more stamps...

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How to save the the Artisan chocolates from the toddler:

"No dear, put the art down!! Musn't break the pretty art!"

And, despite the seductively, definitively chocolate aroma, she looked down and saw that, lo! it was beautiful art, and gently put the box down with the contents unharmed.

The "art" was mysteriously stolen shortly thereafter...

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Just an FYI for those of you that don't get our monthly newsletter. We are having a 10% off sale all items this week ($10 purchase or more, in-store only) from Mon-Sat (we are closed on Thanksgiving day). Keep in mind that our chocolates only have a shelf-life of approximately 2-3 weeks, so this probably won't work for Christmas shopping, but still.....

Also, on Fri (11/28) and Sat (11/29) we will be offering free samples of our hot chocolate and few other items all day long. So if you are out and about with the family, please stop in for s'more (get it)free chocolate!

We will be open our normal hours all week (10-6, Mon-Fri) and (11-5, Sat.)

Thanks and have a happy holidays.

-J

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For those of you that can not get here during our normal weekday business hours, we will be staying open until 8 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays up until X-Mas. Come by, say hello, enjoy some free samples, and stock up on your holidays gifts.....

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and stock up on your holidays gifts.....

Artisan Confections gift boxes were a big hit at my office this year. Several commented that they looked so good they wanted to display them on their coffee tables. I assured them that as good as they are to look at, they are even better to eat. :P Thanks for making holiday shopping so easy. Enjoy.

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Dear Ann Landers -

I think Jason's chewy "Fleur de Sel caramel" chocolates are even better than his original dome-shaped salted caramel chocolates, but my wife disagrees, and says I'm a butthead as she clings to her liquidy-center favorites. How can I build an assortment box without looking selfish? Will our household ever know peace again? And...what about Naomi?

- Theo in Broma

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Dear Ann Landers -

I think Jason's chewy "Fleur de Sel caramel" chocolates are even better than his original dome-shaped salted caramel chocolates, but my wife disagrees, and says I'm a butthead as she clings to her liquidy-center favorites. How can I build an assortment box without looking selfish? Will our household ever know peace again? And...what about Naomi?

- Theo in Broma

Dear Mr Stomach-

If you come in the shop, i'll make you a nice boxed assortment of both caramels. I am the peacemaker.

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I sent my in-laws some Artisan Confections chocolates for Christmas and they both enjoyed them. They were wondering how the designs are imprinted on the top. I should have bought some caramels for myself when I was there, though :P

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They were wondering how the designs are imprinted on the top. I should have bought some caramels for myself when I was there, though :P

Transfer sheets imprinted with custom designs. For an example of ones you could order online: http://www.americanchocolatedesigns.com/

I took a class Artisan Confections and got to make my own transfer sheet, by painting colored cocoa butter on blank sheets. It was a lot of fun! But much like other painting, sometimes it's surprising what colors and designs work and which don't.

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I sent my in-laws some Artisan Confections chocolates for Christmas and they both enjoyed them. They were wondering how the designs are imprinted on the top. I should have bought some caramels for myself when I was there, though :P

Yeah, Jen summed it up pretty well. Colored cocoa butter is silk-screened onto a sheet of clear acetate to make a transfer sheet. The transfer sheets are applied to the chocolates right after they are enrobed. When the chocolate crystallizes, the image is left on the surface of the chocolate. It is a nice way to add some color and design to the chocoaltes w/o altering the flavor in anyway. And yes, if you take one of our classes your will get to do this process all by yourself....

-J

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My brother's fiancee went there today to procure chocolates for their wedding.

She loved it, and loved the service she got. The chocolates she brought back - at least, the ones I got to try - were awesome. She's already called dibs on any uneaten ones from the wedding. :P

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My brother's fiancee went there today to procure chocolates for their wedding.

She loved it, and loved the service she got. The chocolates she brought back - at least, the ones I got to try - were awesome. She's already called dibs on any uneaten ones from the wedding. :D

Jason's chocolates make THE BEST wedding favors, don't they?? I think we made some new fans - most were eaten on the spot. Gluttons!

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A few administrative announcements...

First and foremost, the big news of the day is that we are moving our shop to a new location in Clarendon. We will be in the Zoso Flats building which is at 1025 N. Fillmore St. It is about 1 1/2 blocks off of Clarendon Blvd, just down the street from Harrys Tap Room and Le Pain Quotidien. It is turning out to be a great building with American Flatbread and Bakeshop DC as neighbors. There may also be another food/drink establishment in the building as well. We are really excited for the move, as this gives us an opportunity to build out a shop from the ground up and to be in a much better retail/pedestrian location. The other bonus is that there are about 50 FREE parking spots in the building for the retail tenants and we are only 2 blocks from the Clarendon metro. We hired a great architect/designer in Griz Dwight, who was responsible for such restaurants as Proof, PS7, Blacksalt, Redwood, and many others. Our space is still somewhat small, but we will have a larger retail area than we currently have. We are building a nice case to house our chocolates and will be added a bunch of other chocolate items as well. Also, we will maintain more "retail" hours, in that we will be open until 8 PM (Tues-Sat) and open for most of the day on Sundays. Anyway, there will more info to come in the future. We are hoping (knock on wood) to be open in early November, just in time for the holidays.

Also, we are having our annual August sale again this year. Everything in the shop is 10% off (in-store sales only) for the whole month, as long as your purchase is $10 or more. So please come in and say hello. We have been using our summer to experiment with new products and bon-bons, so yu never know what we moght have when you come in.

And finally, we just signed up on TWITTER. You can follow us at ArtisanShop. We will be providing updates about the new space, new flavors, and general chocolate related nonsense.

So, I think that is officially the longest post I have ever written. Many thanks for your support over the years and we are really excited for our next step.

-Jason

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Woo hoo! The new shop location sounds good! Add in more parking and near Metro...nice!

And you are tempting me with the new experiments, might have to drop by. Though I really wish it was open house day. I still have dreams about the open house.

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Tweeting about what you're making is going to be disastrous for the rest of us. After seeing a tweet about chocolate and coconut covered cashews this afternoon, I threw the kids in the car and ran out for a couple of bags.

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Wasn't there a post somewhere here about malted chocolate? I was wondering if it was still available. (At this point, I guess I'll wait until the new place, which sounds great.)

I might have to wait until the new place opens too. I've heard great things about Artisan Confections' fleur de sel caramels. The new shop near the Clarendon metro will be TOO convenient. I hope someone will post about the official opening date!

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Artisan Confections has a big 50% off clearance sale going on right now through Friday, their last day in this location. 50% off boxed chocolates and loose pieces. I went yesterday and they were seeing brisk business with the sale. For those who are a huge fan of the alcoholic flavors (like me!), scotch bon bons are available as part of the 50% off clearance.

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Artisan Confections has a big 50% off clearance sale going on right now through Friday, their last day in this location. 50% off boxed chocolates and loose pieces. I went yesterday and they were seeing brisk business with the sale. For those who are a huge fan of the alcoholic flavors (like me!), scotch bon bons are available as part of the 50% off clearance.

We sold out of everything this afternoon, so we will be officially closed for good at the Lee Highway location on Friday 11/6.

Just FYI, we are in the process of relocating our shop to Clarendon this week (starting tomorrow). We will reopen at 1025 N. Fillmore St on Saturday 11/14 with an all day (11-8) open house/tasting. Please check out our website for directions. I will send more details about the open house later next week.

Thanks,

Jason

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According to the website, November 14 is the grand opening at the new Zoso Flats location in Clarendon. With a bakery and a winebar soon to open, this is going to be one great block.

http://www.artisanconfections.com/

TSchaad

Yup. November 14th is the big grand (re)-opening of our new shop in Clarendon. We will be having a free tasting all day (11-8 PM) so please come by and check out the new store. We will be sampling some of our new flavors (Orange-Cardamom, Malted Milk, Blood Orange w/ Star Anise, Raspberry-Tea, Dark Rum) and some of our old standbys as well (Fleur de Sel Caramels, Crispy Peanut Butter Bars, Pecan Caramels, Brownies, etc...) We are really happy with the way the new place shaped up and hope you will be too. Hope to see you on Saturday!

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It's been far too long since I looked into this, and the website isn't very telling at the moment but...Jason, are you still offering classes?

I hope Jason doesn't mind me answering this, but yes, he will be in the new location. He may have had his last class already due to moving and the holidays, but I know he will be starting in January, as I already asked about it. :(
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Yup. November 14th is the big grand (re)-opening of our new shop in Clarendon. We will be having a free tasting all day (11-8 PM) so please come by and check out the new store. We will be sampling some of our new flavors (Orange-Cardamom, Malted Milk, Blood Orange w/ Star Anise, Raspberry-Tea, Dark Rum) and some of our old standbys as well (Fleur de Sel Caramels, Crispy Peanut Butter Bars, Pecan Caramels, Brownies, etc...) We are really happy with the way the new place shaped up and hope you will be too. Hope to see you on Saturday!

Nooooooooooo! The one business trip I take this year and it's this weekend! I was so hoping to make all my friends jealous with another Open House picture set on Flickr!

Ah well. Have some chocolate for me, friends.

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Thanks to all that made it out to our grand re-opening on Saturday. It was nice to finally open for business to such a large crowd of folks. I hope everyone likes the new shop and new chocolate flavors. We are very happy in our new location and are looking forward to some good synergy when Bakeshop (cupcakes and other baked goods) and Screwtop (wine bar, cheese, charcuterie) open next month. If you are in the hood', please stop in and say hello.

Best,

Jason

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If you are in the hood', please stop in and say hello.

I must say that the new space looks wonderful. Spacious, modern, and tastefully decorated. The chocolates are as tasty as ever. When Screwtop opens you might want to try some chocolate and wine pairing events. I can see Zoso Flats becoming quite the destination block.

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