I knew I couldn’t do chocolate mousse month without a visit to Patrice Chapon‘s shop on the rue du Bac, because the single-origin mousse bar is pretty much the best thing to happen to chocolate mousse since, well, ever.
Four (or more!) different single-origin chocolates, whipped up into delicious mousses and scooped out into cones for on-the-go mousse consumption or in larger pots to take home and share. I just love this idea.
On my visit there yesterday, I wanted to bring home a little pot of the Equateur (described on the sign as having notes of jasmine, dried fig, and candied citrus), but sadly it was a bit too soupy to transport without fear of leaks. If nothing else, I suppose this indicates that the mousses are handmade, and as such subject to the variance of human error. So I got the Equagha (a blend of Equateur and Ghana, methinks) and was very happy with its thick, satisfying texture and rich chocolate flavor. So if you are a chocolate lover who tends to be disappointed by chocolate desserts *cough* Hannah *cough*, I do recommend giving one of these mousses a try on your next trip to Paris.
But the fun most certainly does not stop there.
The shop itself is beautiful and whimsical, the walls covered in old-fashioned metal chocolate molds accented by a colorful scarf bearing Chapon’s logo.
A display case filled with chocolate confections fills one half of the room. I have yet to try them, because I always get distracted by the mousse bar and the wall of chocolate bars.
I love the brightly colored wrappers depicting the exotic locales where the chocolate was harvested, and the map above which shows where in the world the chocolates come from and gives a few tasting notes as well. I still find it novel to see chocolate from Cuba (it’s amazing how the US embargo on Cuba that has been in effect my entire life has basically blinded me to the idea that this Caribbean nation actually produces anything besides cigars when in fact they produce all kinds of things that make perfect geographic sense: rum, chocolate, sugar, pig roasters…) but I’d be lying if I said I preferred any of these fancy single-origin bars to the one stuffed with pistachio and smoked salt praliné.
And last, but certainly not least…
REAL macarons! I’m definitely picking up a few of these on my next visit.
On this day in 2008: Gérard Mulot
Originally published on Croque-Camille.
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Croque-Camille 
A chocolate mousse bar, never heard of such a thing. Having said that, I would be a frequent visitor if I lived or worked anywhere within a reasonable distance in Paris. Chapon will definitely be on the list for my next visit. In the meantime, I am forwarding your post to my cousins who live in Paris. I don’t want them to miss out.
A chocolate mousse bar?!?! OMG paris is fabulous!
Patriciens! You found them!
AND a chocolate mousse bar?
*swoon*
Ohhhh, this place sounds dangerous!
This is one of my favorites! Ever since Meg took me here on a tour, I’ve been hooked. I will happily throw back some of those ‘real’ macarons with you!
Michel – Me neither, but as soon as I found out it existed, I HAD to go! 🙂
Marthafied – Yes, it is!
Loulou – I knew you’d like that!
Ann – Both for the waistline and the wallet…
Lindsey – I’m going to hold you to that. 😉
Aaaahahahaha! I love you Camille! I was absolutely reading this with the half-formed comment of “Camille, this makes me excited and joyful in a way that chocolate desserts normally never do” already in my mind… and then I burst out laughing. I do love you.
(Even though, for all the magic of the TUBS OF MOUSSE OH YES, it’s still your mention of pistachio and smoked salt praline that made my ears prick up even more.)
Hannah – I suspected as much. 😉
Is this heaven? Where is this located? I can’t believe such a place exists!
Needful Things – Nope, it’s Paris. 🙂
Close enough 😉
Tee hee!