CocoVaa Chocolatier

09/20/2026

We closed early yesterday to celebrate someone who has been part of the heart of CocoVaa since we opened in 2016.

Natasha has been a business consultant, confidante and sister - and an aunt to Solomon edari and Emayu . She has stood beside us with unwavering love and loyalty through every season. You probably saw her at our grand opening behind the counter or at one of our popup shops over the years.

Few people are fortunate enough to have a friend like her, and we are so proud that she has found someone to stand beside her, too.

Nate is incredibly lucky. He married a brilliant, beautiful and deeply loving woman whose loyalty is one of the greatest gifts anyone could receive.

Congratulations, Natasha and Nate. We love you both. ❤️💐🍫

We’re open as usual today from noon to 5 p.m.

09/11/2026

ADENI CHAI CARAMEL ☕️✨

Growing up, the warm, fragrant steam of spiced milk tea paired with fresh mahamri was a regular feature at our breakfast table.

My father grew up in Mombasa, a coastal Kenyan city on the Indian Ocean. Long before colonial borders redrew those maps, the monsoon winds dictated a natural, thriving corridor of maritime trade between Mombasa, the Swahili coast, and the port of Aden in Yemen.

Piecing together that precolonial history today is challenging. Colonial and post-colonial eras fragmented records, superimposed boundaries, and obscured much of the self-sustaining exchange that existed before European arrival. Yet what was stripped from archives has survived in kitchens like ours and through oral accounts of our elders.

As lifelong beneficiaries of that shared history and trade-route heritage, we decided to create a bonbon that honors and preserves it.

At the heart of Adeni chai is an alchemy of beautiful medicinal spices. For this caramel, we infused whole clove, sweet bark cinnamon, and green cardamom into browned butter. We used Assam tea because of its ability to stand up to caramelization and because of its rich history.

To capture its full strength we cold infused the tea into the cream base and also bloomed the Assam leaves in hot water to concentrate the flavor even more so its deep, tannic notes hold their structure. We then blended in the spice infused browned butter into the finished caramel.

This piece is a tribute to trade routes so powerful that they remain at the center of much geopolitical strife. Routes traveled by our ancestors and that still feed how we taste the world.

09/09/2026

Introducing Black Sesame - the latest addition to our growing vegan collection. We layered a toasted sesame infused syrup on top of a crunchy caramelized black sesame praliné all encased in a dark chocolate shell decorated with natural colors that match the flavors within.

Stop by this weekend and try one!!! OR, place an order online and we’ll ship you a box featuring our latest creations!

Factory Store Hours:

Friday · 12–6pm
Saturday · 12–6pm
Sunday · 12–5pm

09/09/2026

BANANA PUDDING TRUFFLES 🍌🍌✨✨

Our ode to a Southern classic: caramelized banana purée folded into vanilla bean–infused white chocolate ganache, rolled in spiced speculoos for a nostalgic wafer crunch.

In the case this month!

09/08/2026

INTRODUCING OUR BLACK FOREST BONBON

One of our super powers is shrinking entire desserts into a single bonbon bite. A lot of architectural thought goes into this process. So when the The Charmant Hotel asked us if we could create a Black Forest bonbon, we started a lengthy design process.

Should cherry be blended into a dark chocolate ganache, or separate? Should the shell be dark or white? How do we honor this classic dessert experience with the limited real estate afforded in a 10 gram piece?

After much careful thought, I think our efforts were a success.

Underneath a crisp, dark 70% shell sits a caramelized tart cherry on top of a rich creamy vanilla infused white chocolate ganache to mimic the Chantilly cream layer of a traditional Black Forest cake. We omitted the alcohol in this one so more people can enjoy it. 🍒✨

In the case this month! This might become a regular, it’s so good!

09/07/2026

⚖️🍫

And I maintain my license to practice to fight for your right to enjoy our amazing chocolate!!!

09/07/2026

☺️☺️☺️

Not just ANY lawyer…a criminal defense trial lawyer!!! ⚖️⚖️⚖️

Madison, WI 📍

09/05/2026

Today we officially reopened for our 10th fall & winter season at CocoVaa! ✨

And look what’s here for season ten - our gorgeous 10th Anniversary Advent Calendar. It’s big, beautiful, and designed to hold 25 days of chocolate - enough for about 4 people. We’ve put an incredible amount of thought into this one, and quantities will be limited, so get your Advent Calendar order in early by going to: cocovaa.com

We’re also back to our regular weekend hours:

Friday · 12–6pm
Saturday · 12–6pm
Sunday · 12–5pm

The cases are fully stocked with old favorites and some amazing new creations we’ve been working on. Our flavors change with the seasons, so there’s always something new to discover.

Come see us this weekend, fill a box, and help us kick off our tenth season. 💙

08/09/2026

Our 10th Anniversary Advent Calendar is one of the most special things we’ve ever created. We’re only creating 600.

Pre-orders are open now.

🕊️🍫✨

To commemorate ten years of CocoVaa, we wanted to create something more enduring than a traditional box of chocolates. Something that could be experienced in the present and revisited in the future. Something that invites reflection. Inspired by The Conference of the Birds, Farid ud-Din Attar’s ti...