Why autumn is when chocolate comes into its own
There's a shift that happens in September that's hard to argue with. The evenings shorten. The instinct toward comfort food returns. The things that felt too heavy in July — a mug of proper hot chocolate, a box of dark truffles, something rich and unhurried — start to feel exactly right.
Chocolate is one of those things that suits the season genuinely rather than just seasonally. The flavours — roasted nuts, dark cocoa, caramel, spice — are warm flavours. They belong in the half-light of an autumn evening in a way they simply don't belong on a hot July afternoon.
At Chez Emily we notice it every year. The shift in what people are buying, and why, happens around the same time the leaves start to turn. This is what we'd recommend reaching for as the season changes.
Start with hot chocolate
The most immediate pleasure of autumn is the return of hot chocolate as something you actually want rather than something you're drinking out of habit. The difference between a good hot chocolate and a bad one is almost entirely the chocolate you use.
Chez Emily's hot chocolate swirls are made from Belgian couverture at our workshop in Coolquay, Co. Dublin. Stir one into hot whole milk, add marshmallows if you like, and the result is something considerably better than anything made from powder. The dark chocolate swirls — made with 70.4% cocoa Belgian couverture — are vegan friendly and particularly good on a cold evening when you want something with depth rather than sweetness.
Available as a single swirl to try, a box of 24 for the household, or as a gift set presented and ready to give.
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Dark chocolate — the flavour of the season
If there's one thing worth seeking out in autumn it's good dark chocolate. The bitterness that can feel sharp in summer becomes something else entirely when the air is cold — it rounds out, warms up, and carries the kind of complexity that milk chocolate doesn't quite reach.
Chez Emily's dark chocolate range is made with 70.4% cocoa Belgian couverture — high enough to have genuine depth, low enough to remain approachable. The dark truffles in particular are worth trying: ganache centres made from the original Belgian family recipes, finished by hand at Coolquay.
The full dark chocolate range is vegan friendly and made to gluten free recipes. Browse the chocolate collection here.
Autumn gifting — the occasions that creep up
September to November is when the gifting calendar starts to fill up again after the summer lull. A few occasions worth planning ahead for:
- Halloween — a box of handmade chocolates is a better option than a bag of supermarket sweets for anyone hosting or visiting
- Birthdays — autumn birthdays often get lost in the back-to-routine chaos of September. A personalised slab with someone's name on it takes five minutes to order and arrives looking considered
- Thank you gifts — for childminders, tutors, coaches, or anyone who helped over the summer. The window between September and October is the natural moment
- Early Christmas — for anyone who prefers to avoid the December rush, October onwards is not too early to start thinking about gift boxes
For any occasion where you want to give something personal, a personalised chocolate slab with a name or message is the most straightforward option we offer.
Dubai chocolate — still worth trying
If you haven't tried Dubai chocolate yet, autumn is as good a time as any. The combination of Belgian milk chocolate, pistachio cream, and crispy kataifi pastry is richer and more interesting than the viral moment that introduced it to most people might suggest.
Chez Emily's Dubai chocolate is made by hand at Coolquay using Belgian couverture. It's available in bars and as part of our gift box range — a good option if you're putting together something for someone who has tried most things and wants something different. Browse the Dubai chocolate range here.
Gift boxes — the easy answer to most autumn gifting questions
When in doubt, a well-chosen gift box covers most occasions. Chez Emily's gift boxes are curated selections of handmade chocolates — truffles, pralines, caramels, and seasonal pieces — made at Coolquay from Belgian couverture and original family recipes.
They're available in different sizes, ship across Ireland, and require no refrigeration. For anyone who wants to give something genuinely good without overthinking it, a gift box is the answer. Browse gift boxes here.
The quiet pleasure of buying good chocolate for yourself
Not every chocolate purchase needs an occasion or a recipient. One of the things autumn does is give you permission to indulge slightly — the season itself is reason enough.
A box of dark truffles for the house. A hot chocolate swirl on a Tuesday evening when the rain is coming in sideways. A Dubai chocolate bar eaten slowly over two nights. These are not extravagances. They are small, considered pleasures that cost very little and deliver considerably more than their price suggests.
Chez Emily has been making handmade Belgian chocolate in Ireland since 1996. The recipes are original, the couverture is Belgian, and the workshop is in Coolquay, Co. Dublin. We ship across Ireland.
