Hanna's Chocolates produces artisanal, hand-crafted bonbons with the highest quality ingredients available. This investment in quality includes fresh cream, imported French purees, European butter, and chocolate from high-end brands, such as Valrhona, Felchin, and Cacao Barry. The shop also makes delicious handmade chocolate bars in several flavors, a variety of macarons, and unique candy bars. Hanna’s Chocolates often creates custom flavors or color schemes for special events. It also offers a popular Middle Eastern-inspired Pistachio Knafeh Bar, often known as a Dubai Bar, which has become one of the shop’s most requested items.

The company’s mission is to make people's lives a little bit sweeter with chocolate, according to General Manager Tarek Sultani, who is married to the company’s chef and namesake Hanna Jueng-Sultani. Hanna’s Chocolates opened in Hacienda in June 2023. Before that, Jueng-Sultani received professional training at the Chicago French Pastry School, training under World Champions and winners of Meilleur Ouvrier de France or MOF, a prestigious French craftsmanship competition. The chef has created chocolates and pastries at a number of top-tier establishments, including the Peninsula Hotel, Patisserie Coralie, Alexander’s Patisserie, and Facebook.

“We craft our chocolates the old-fashioned way — carefully, in small batches, with a lot of technique and attention to detail. It is truly handmade,” says Sultani. “We focus on clean, vivid flavors and chocolate that’s rich but not overly sweet by using premium ingredients and striving for balanced flavor. And we strive to produce a five-star experience. Whether someone buys one piece or a full gift box, we want them to feel welcomed, taken care of, and excited to come back.” Hanna’s Chocolates frequently features seasonal and limited-run flavor rotations, as well as curated gift options for both personal and corporate gifting. Demand for the shop’s custom work for celebrations and corporate gifting has increased, thanks to its delicious, artisanal custom assortments, branded and curated gift boxes, and special-request flavor selections.

The company’s products are special because of the quality ingredients they contain, the time and technique employed in making them, and the balanced flavors, according to Sultani. “Premium chocolate and fresh ingredients make the flavors cleaner, brighter, and more satisfying. Great chocolate is technical–the texture, flavor, and finish depend on careful production and precision. We aim for richness without heaviness, and sweetness with refinement. People are also often surprised by how much craftsmanship goes into a single bonbon, which looks simple, but can be a multi-day process, and by the range of inspirations we bring into chocolate.”

The shop owners plan to continue offering seasonal collections and rotating flavors throughout the year. They are also expanding curated gifting options to make it easier for customers to choose something special quickly, and for businesses to send premium gifts with a personal touch. Chef Hanna is developing additional limited-run, surprise flavors, and gearing up for the Easter rush while continuing to offer the perfect gifts for birthdays, showers, and graduations.

“Diablo Magazine called Hanna the ‘Wonka of the East Bay,’ which captures the creativity behind what we do–the imagination, the flavor play, and the sense of discovery people feel when they walk in,” notes Sultani. “We’re also proud of the community support we’ve received, including being named the number eight Chocolate Shop in the Bay Area in Yelp Elites’ Top 50. We’re a small, local family business and everything is made in-house in limited batches by Hanna. That’s part of what makes it special, but it also means that popular items can sell out, and larger or custom orders are best placed early so we can do them right.”

For more information about Hanna’s Chocolates, please visit www.hannaschocolates.com, www.facebook.com/hannaschocolates or www.instagram.com/hannaschocolates.