Chocolate Myracles finds a new home

Master chocolatier Julia Balassa-Myracle has a new home for her chocolate-making business – away from home.

For the past six years, Balassa-Myracle has been crafting her poured chocolates and signature truffles in a manufacturing plant built in the basement of her Spokane Valley home. Now, she’ll have to commute.

The new Chocolate Myracles’ Chocolate Shop and factory is located in the Montgomery East Commercial Center, 11616 E. Montgomery Ave., Suite 23. The commercial center is east of Pines Road and north of Interstate 90 adjacent to the traffic circle on Montgomery Avenue. Her neighbors in the complex include Twelve String Brewing Co. and Nodland Cellars winery.

Balassa-Myracle became a master chocolatier in 2006 through the Ecole Chocolate Academy in British Columbia. She is a former Spokane juvenile corrections officer. She studies each year with prestigious chocolate-makers to continue to hone her knowledge of chocolate and chocolate-making.

The new shop more than doubles her manufacturing space and will allow her to add a third tempering machine to help increase production. She has space for a separate truffle decorating and cocoa butter spraying station and a climate-controlled room to keep chocolate cool.

“We really had to expand because of increased interest in our wholesale chocolates,” Balassa-Myracle said, including Whole Foods Market, which is considering carrying her fair trade, single-origin chocolates.

Balassa-Myracle is making chocolates primarily from the Criollo bean, which is known for its intensely earthy and dense chocolate flavor. The bean accounts for just 3 percent of the cacao grown in the world, Balassa-Myracle said. She said she seeks out the grand cru, single origin, fair trade beans grown in Venezuela, Ecuador and the Indonesian island of Java.

In addition to expanding her manufacturing space, the facility includes a small retail space where Chocolate Myracles chocolate barks, chocolate bears and truffles are sold. For Valentine’s Day, Chocolate Myracles sells a signature red heart truffle, which is hand-painted with Venezuelan red cocoa butter.

The store will also sell bulk chocolates, cacao nibs and gourmet cocoa powder for those who like to make their own chocolates at home. Balassa-Myracle also sells mini chocolate cups that can be filled to make desserts. Latah Creek winery uses the cups for wine tastings. A package of 20 little chocolate cups sells for $7.95. Chocolate truffles made from the grand cru chocolates are $1.90 per piece. Other chocolates are $1.60 per piece.

Chocolate Myracles also makes chocolate bars, including the Palenque – Ecuadorian dark chocolate with Mexican cinnamon – and the San Cristobol, made from Venezuelan chocolate made from the Criollo bean and cocoa nibs. The cocoa nibs are caramelized with chipotle and pasilla chilies.

Balassa-Myracle teaches occasional chocolate-making classes at The Kitchen Engine in Spokane and plans to offer more classes at her new facility in the future, she said. In the past, she has taught classes about truffle-making, chocolate tamales, rubs with chilies and cocoa and mole. She said she’s looking forward to having more classes with hands-on work for students.

The new Chocolate Myracles’ shop and factory is open Tuesday through Friday, 1 to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. It will have extended hours during First Friday events to complement the microbrewery and winery offerings in the same complex.

Reach the store at (509) 922-6353.