Indulge at Missionary Chocolates

Getting prescribed candy for one’s aliments seems like something out of a fiction novel, but in Oregon, it’s just part of the chocolate scene.

Meet Missionary Chocolates, the resulting business of an aspiring naturopath’s experiment with homemade truffles. In 2008, while owner Melissa Berry was wrapping up her last year of medical school, she made a batch of truffles for her vegan mother. But no ordinary gift was this: These chocolates were so amazing they won first place at Portland’s Northwest Chocolate Festival a few months later.

Now with a storefront on NE Glisan Street in Portland, Missionary Chocolates continues to deliver heavenly morsels of chocolate, just as the doctor orders. At this location visitors can see how the truffles are made in small batches--and sample them. They can also choose from a selection of up to a dozen truffle varieties. And there are chocolate-covered pretzels and jars of caramel sauce to tempt you.

Not only does the company make fabulous chocolate, but they have a special mission. Melissa Berry hopes to open a holistic healing center in downtown PDX via funding raises by chocolate sales. So Missionary Chocolates is a place for a small, delicious indulgence, and a way to invest in the Portland community.

Hours: Mon – Thur, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Fri: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Sun: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.