Located at 2606 SW Eighth St., Exquisito Chocolates offers Little Havana a selection of single-origin chocolates born out of the inspiration of founder and “Chocolate Empress” Carolina Quijano.
The brand was conceived during a business trip to Paris, when Quijano “tasted a delicious life-changing chocolate and spent the next two years trying to re-create it in her tiny NYC studio apartment, while still working her demanding job on Madison Ave,” says the Exquisito website’s About Us page. “Hundreds of recipe trials later, in 2014, she took a leap and moved to Miami to start a chocolate factory and make her dreams come true.”
That dream is continuing to develop as, according to recent coverage by Miami New Times, Exquisito Chocolates is currently in the process of moving to a new factory, located at 1900 SW Eighth St. The new location will double Exquisito’s size, and will feature a cafe.
“We produce a lot of chocolate in a rather small space,” Quijano says in the Miami New Times coverage. “It’s not just about a bigger space, but we are expanding into a proper cafe. We’re bean-to-bar, so we make everything in-house, and we roast the cacao in-house from the different farms we work with; we have full control over the process.”
In addition to coffee drinks, beer and wine, fresh pastries, and hot chocolate, the new location will offer ice cream. It’s just one of the advantages of the increased space: ice cream made with Exquisito Chocolate is about to be born.
The new factory will also offer tours and chocolate-making classes, the New Times coverage says.
What Now reached out to Carolina Quijano on Tuesday morning to inquire about the details regarding the opening. Quijano was not immediately available for comment.
You can keep up with all things Exquisito Chocolates by following @exquisitochocolates on Instagram.
