I met Jason Andelman a few years ago after reading an article in the Washingtonian magazine about his new venture, Artisan Confections. He was then a young pastry chef who was making small batches of handcrafted chocolates and selling them through local gourmet food and wine shops.

By mid-December of that year, all of the shops had sold out, and I was desperate to purchase these gorgeous chocolates for family and friends. I called Jason, and he let me know that he had just made a fresh batch, and offered to meet me outside a local grocery store to complete the transaction.

I was eternally grateful. So we met. We spoke a bit, I learned a little about his venture, and he gained a loyal customer due to his willingness to go the extra mile.

In those early days, each chocolate was individually decorated with a miniature reproduction of a famous painting. They were almost too beautiful to eat. The chocolates themselves were constructed with the freshest and finest ingredients available; and each bite was pure delight.

Business grew, and it wasn’t long before Artisan Confections launched a website and opened a storefront in Arlington, VA. They added new flavors and items, and even began offering group and private classes in chocolate-making!

Their tagline is appropriately “where art is chocolate and chocolate is art;” and you can see some of their current designs here. They offer collections of 15 pieces for $25; 30 pieces for $46; and smaller boxes of nine or four pieces for $17 and $8, respectively.

I’m a big fan of supporting independent business owners, especially when they produce a superior quality product, and I’m definitely planning my annual visit to stock up on gifts before the holidays.

If you have a chocolate lover on your list who appreciates great quality (and great beauty!), Artisan Confections will definitely make them smile. Note that Jason’s website states that all holiday orders must be placed no later than December 22nd.

At the Spring Natural Products Expo this year, I was introduced to a company called sweetriot. At their booth they had samples of unique teeny “peaces” of chocolate — pieces of actual cacao beans (not coffee beans) covered in dark chocolate. Flavors range from the lighter 50, to the perfect dark 65, to the espresso-tinged ultra dark 70.

The peaces come in small tins, and are only a couple calories each – with a whole tin weighing in at a measly 140 calories!

What makes this company truly shine, in addition to their unique products, is their commitment to improving the world at large.

They use high-quality natural ingredients, promote fair trade practices, celebrate cultural diversity and showcase the works of various emerging artists on their tins. They also offer a recycling program for empties.

I usually manage to walk by the display at my local Whole Foods without succumbing to temptation, but occasionally I’ll give in. When I break open the package on the drive home, the experience borders on ecstasy; and before long, the entire tin is empty! Those few minutes of heaven are so worth the hives I know I’ll suffer afterwards.

Because I’m such a fan, the cool folks at sweetriot have offered the readers of unfown.com a 20% holiday discount on all sweetriot merchandise purchased online, excluding the riot club (already discounted), riot carbonfree, and gift certificates. Just visit www.sweetriot.com, place your order, and punch in the code unfrownriot when you check out. Pretty sweet, eh?

Once you try the peaces, let us know which flavor is your favorite by posting a comment! I’ll do an informal tally of results and will post the stats on a mid-December blog page.

Peace out for now.