Van Soest

Yes, got it! I have been searching quite a long time for the ultimate Amsterdam florentine. A florentine is a French biscuit made of nuts, candied fruit, honey and chocolate. These biscuits ought to be medium thin and real crispy. It’s not the easiest cookie to bake, but the chocolate artists of Van Soest master the art of making florentines. Almonds rule in their delicate cookies and as a bonus they dip their creations in pure chocolate. We are talking about chocolate-​nut chips extraordinaire, ladies and gentlemen. Bye bye diet plans for 2016. If you love chocolates — and who doesn’t? — Van Soest is a fatally attractive place. All the chocolate creations are home-​made. You can even see the chocolatiers at work. They work with the best ingredients and according to family recipes. Get lost in a world of chocolate truffles, bonbons and chocolate bars — don’t miss the one with orange and pink pepper.

On this trip to Amsterdam, I promised my wife and my bosses wife, more chocolates. I was planning on visiting a shop I fell in love with 2 trips ago. But since I walk by this shop everyday and the choices looked amazing, I had to give them a try.
It was the best choice I made during my whole stay.
When I walked in I was instantly in love with the smell. Lovingly provided by the chocolate machines running in the rear prep area. How someone can work there without sticking their fingers into the chocolate is beyond me.
I purchased 3 smaller boxes. Milk Chocolate for my wife, dark for the bosses wife and Milk and White for me. The women were so happy with my choices. There are lots to choose from. The white chocolate lips with strawberry crème was my favorite. I wish I had bought a box of them. Boxes come in various sizes along with small bags. You can spend allot or a little.
After sampling pounds of chocolate in Italy, France, Belgium, England and The Netherlands I would have to say these are my favorites. I can’t wait for the weather to get cooler here in Phoenix, so I can order some more during the winter.
If I win the Lottery, this would be the first business I would get into.
Don’t miss the opportunity when your in Amsterdam. They are the best and very easy to get too by taking the 4 tram. There are some nice wine shops nearby to get something special to enjoy the chocolates with.

My husband gets a box of chocolate from Van Soest every year from work around Easter time. I’ve found those chocolates to be stale tasting and not so good. When I visited their shop yesterday I steered clear of the chocolate and stuck with the ice cream. It was pretty good! the only weird flavor they had was fig, and that had an interesting texture of fig mixed in with vanilla, and it tasted like a touch of alcohol. Everything else was pretty good, like in the top 15% of ice cream I’ve had here. I especially recommend the blood sinaasappel (blood orange) flavor. Delicious!
The best part is there is a park around the corner where you can sit and enjoy your ice cream. Warning: children might come up to you and try to scam a taste.

I’m passionate about chocolate. To me, chocolate is a symphony of flavours in the mouth. You can both enjoy the singular flavour of the entire orchestra at once or concentrate on enjoying each individual component.
I am not, though, a fan of the Belgian style of putting sweet cream in the middle of thick chocolate so I get goo all over my face. They also tend to be too sweet for me. Nothing against them — lots of people love Belgian chocolate. I just prefer the French style of doing things.
Upon entering this chocolate shop, you are immediately aware of a big difference between this one and others — there is a big glass wall separating the main shop with the chocolate producing area. You can watch the chocolate being made. You know the chocolates will be unique and not made elsewhere and shipped in because you can watch the magic happen. Just because you can watch the magic, doesn’t mean the result is any good.
Imagine my surprise when I liked the Belgian stylings of Van Soest chocolates in Amsterdam. They are in the Belgian style for fillings but a more French approach to the outside (no, I’m not an expert. I just notice trends and generalise a lot). The more bitter, thin outside combined beautifully with the cream inside to take the extreme sweetness out of the equation, leaving a delicious taste in my mouth.
The port chocolate was a particular delight, with a subtle but distinctive flavour.
In addition to the truffles were excellent chocolate beans, revealing the subtle distinctiveness of the chocolate as well as the fullness of the flavour.
One particular favourite were the chocolate coated almonds. Eschewing the common tendency to either make the chocolate coating too thick or caramelise them, this was a balance between roasted almonds, chocolate and cocoa powder.
I highly recommend trying the chocolates here but don’t buy too many. They are rich in flavour and as a result, you can only eat a few before being satisfied.