Pour on the romance: A local chocolatier makes getting a unique gift even easier

Photo by Ken Ruinard

Chocolate lollipops at CocoBon in Anderson.

Photo by Ken Ruinard

CocoBon owner David Saidat of Anderson shows chocolate lollipops.

Photo by Ken Ruinard

Chocolate makers Mark Aumann, left, and Alec Saidat, right, make chocolate lollipops at CocoBon in Anderson.

Photo by Ken Ruinard

A display of products offered from local chocolatier CocoBon in Anderson.

Photo by Ken Ruinard

The CocoBon Double Shot Latte, made with goat milk from Split Creek Goat Farm in Pendleton, was a national Gold Medal winner by the American Dairy Association.

Valentine’s Day, six years ago.

David Saidat has lost one of his first, great loves: the chocolates he grew up eating. The company has gone out of business, and there is no way he would consider buying anything else.

His wife, Cathy, is sympathetic to her husband’s grief. So much so that she buys him the basics to allow David to make his own chocolate.

Two years later, with practice and patience, Mr. Saidat was getting the hang of this chocolatiering thing. As his own Valentine’s Day gift to his wife, the couple took a trip to Anderson from their home in Washington, D.C. They fell in love with the place, and just a few months later, they planned a move to the Upstate and a whole new life.

Fitting that David Saidat would celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2008 with his first Sweetheart Collection of chocolates from his newly established CocoBon Chocolatier business. For the past year-and-a-half, Mr. Saidat has worked with his wife, son, Alec, and son-in-law, Mark Aumann, to get the CocoBon Chocolatier off the ground.

Now, the Anderson-based business is taking off and giving customers a chance to wow their sweeties with handmade chocolates that are unique to the Upstate.

“Valentine’s Day was how I got started,” Mr. Saidat said. “So it makes sense that I would choose chocolates to express myself.”

Mr. Saidat’s chocolates are just the kind of thoughtful gift that last-minute Valentine’s shoppers are looking for. They are handmade and infuse flavors unlike anything you get out of standard heart-shaped boxes filled with mystery desserts.

His creations are about infusing a multitude of flavors with a base of chocolate. And since Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the same without a chocolate assortment, business is looking good at CocoBon.

“This is an intimate gift for a loved one,” Mr. Saidat said. “Chocolate gives a warm, fuzzy feeling to most everyone and does it simply and effectively.”

Flavor infusions such as passion fruit, espresso beans, goat’s milk, pecan and even Key lime have made customers fall in love with CocoBon products since the business opened last year. Now, it sells locally at the AnMed Health gift shop, Kitchen Emporium, Split Creek Farms, Village Shoppe and Good Bye, Good Buy while operating a Web site (www.cocobonchocolatier.com) and gearing up national sales.

But the point of this business, he said, is to bring a tiny bit of joy to customers on Valentine’s Day and all year long.

“The point of the holiday is not to spoil anyone or jump through hoops,” Mrs. Saidat said. “It’s about getting something sweet for your sweetie without mortgaging the house to do it.”