Election Section

Bittersweet, the new chocolate café on College Avenue, has a small sign but you can’t miss it. The smell of dark, rich chocolate emanates from its front door. 

“I think it is absolutely fabulous,” said Nancy Duff, a real estate broker from North Berkeley, who has trekked to the store three times since it opened in late January. “I want them to open one on Solano Avenue immediately. The chocolate chip cookies are great.” 

Duff and her companion drank two hot chocolates, “The American” and the “White Chocolate Dream.” The café makes five types of hot chocolate including a spiced version with “a kick of pasilla pepper and a hint of rose.” 

Bittersweet’s owner, Penelope Finnie, said she and her partners wanted to create a welcoming place where customers could learn about the flavors of chocolate in various forms. The cafe does not make its own chocolate but sells fine chocolate from a wide variety of purveyors and also uses such chocolate along with organic milk and other ingredients to make its beverages and baked goods. 

The café, decorated in bright orange, lime green, and chocolate brown, has a hip, upbeat feel. Five large rough wood tables are often shared by strangers and a paper mache mural by artist Sabrina Ward-Harrison decorates the walls. The atmosphere shares more with Europe’s bars than it does with its candy boutiques. 

“All the (chocolate) shops in France have a very clinical feel, with everyone in white coats. They even call the kitchen a laboratory,” said Finnie. “We wanted to create a less daunting space.” 

The only thing daunting about Bittersweet is the sheer volume of chocolate contained within its walls. Where to begin? Valrhona, Pralus, Dagoba, Lindt, Dolfin, Vosges, Callebaut, Michel Cluizel and E. Guittard are all represented among the many chocolate bars for sale. You’ll also find cocoa powder, chocolate sauce from Fran’s of Seattle and Berkeley’s own Scharffen Berger, and even chocolate cosmetics including a chocolate sugar body scrub and chocolate saffron body oil made by Mandy Aftel of Berkeley, perfumer to Madonna and other stars. 

“We’ve been waiting for this place to open,” said Melissa Sachs, a 19-year-old California College of Arts and Crafts student who lives in nearby dormitories. “I come every week. Even if I don’t have a lot of money, I can just get something here to eat. If you went to Starbucks it would cost just as much and not even be special.”  

Bittersweet offers a bread and cheese plate (helpful if you bump up against your chocolate limit and require something savory) as well as Irish steel-cut oatmeal. They also serve a variety of fine teas such as dragon pearl jasmine and Earl Gray, and coffee and espresso drinks made from a blend of organic coffee created by Blue Bottle roastery of Oakland just for Bittersweet. 

Finnie’s business partners, Seneca Klassen and sisters Bonnie and Beth Rostan, each contribute their gifts to the cafe. Bonnie Rostan bakes the pastries and chocolate treats, including excellent, crisp croissant and pain au chocolate. She also makes chocolate and vanilla macaron, French almond macaroons with creamy fillings. 

“All the French people in the neighborhood are coming to us,” said Finnie, as a smile of pride broke open on her face. Finnie and partner Beth Rostan used to work together at Askjeeves.com. 

“We were in the Internet business,” said Finnie. “We couldn’t see the customers. Here we get to interact with the customers and see their reactions.” 

Finnie said that one of her goals is educating the public about methods of chocolate production and how they impact its flavor. Each month the café offers a tasting plate designed to highlight a particular aspect of chocolate. 

Partner Seneca Klassen is well versed in chocolate history and helps decide which confections to put in the café’s glass case. 

“The case is our seasonal, fun space where we can explore the different flavors of chocolate,” said Klassen. The work of up to three different chocolate makers is shown in the case at any one time. Right now the candies are from Garrison Confections, Chuao, and Chocolat Moderne. These confections, which cost $2 a piece, are infused with natural flavors from tea, nuts, fruit, coffee and caramel. 

In one of Bittersweet’s educational efforts, Klassen recently hosted a group of sophomores from Bentley School. 

“We tasted different chocolate and learned how chocolate is made,” said Klassen. “The kids were really interested.” 

Chocolate seems to enrapture children of all ages. On a recent Friday afternoon, a small herd of schoolboys burst through the café’s doors, followed a moment later by their mothers. The boys ran to the counter, their eyes scanning the pastry case wildly. 

Then one boy cried out: “Mom, I want hot chocolate with marshmallows and a piece of cake!” He’d come to the right place. 

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