The Beginning….

For more than 50 years, three generations of the Krautheim family have been crafting the finest quality premium artisan chocolates. It all began on the island of Oahu, Hawaii with Gertie Han. As a young girl growing up on Oahu, Gertie Han worked for a wealthy Austrian family where she learned to create delectable European desserts. She discovered her passion for baking and cooking. However, a burning question stirred within her, “how do I make chocolate candy?” and she set out to teach herself.

After she met and married Karl Krautheim, she discovered he was a chocoholic. They were a perfect match for each other.

Living in Honolulu, Gertie was making chocolates in their garage for family and friends. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Gertie shared her chocolates during the black out to help people calm down. Carl, a military man and a non-smoker, traded his cigarettes for chocolate bars.

Gertie called her kitchen her “laboratory” and would often cook late into the night perfecting many of her recipes. Carl and Gertie tested a variety of the world’s finest chocolate in order to produce the perfect dark, velvety truffle. They both enjoyed chocolate made in the French tradition, with a strong, rich chocolate ‘bite.’

Gertie also developed rich, buttery caramels as well as delightful creams, all drenched in French chocolate. Carl and Gertie’s success in producing the finest, world-class chocolates is due to their unwavering insistence on using only the highest quality ingredients. Gertie was determined to create the perfect confection that would make a chocolate lover sigh “Ohhhhh! Chocolate!”

Eventually, Carl and Gertie moved to the mainland, opening a chocolate shop on Mercer Island. That shop has been open for 26 years and is now a family icon on Mercer Island. While Gertie was creating chocolates, Carl managed the store. A second location was opened in Bellevue. Customers described Carl as an “extremely likeable man” and he was well known for handing out samples to everyone who came to one of the stores. This tradition continues today. If you have a particular preference for a type of chocolate, you can try out some samples before deciding what to take home. There is an atmosphere reminiscent of times gone by when each person is treated as special.

Where did the name Oh! Chocolate originate from?

The inspiration behind the name came from the exclamations made by customers on first tasting the chocolates. “Oh!” is what would be heard when they were describing the effect of the chocolate on their senses. Gertie realized this was a repeated exclamation and hence the name “Oh! Chocolate” was born.

The business spans three generations of the Krautheim family with Carl and Gertie’s daughters, Margo Masaoka and Nola Wyse now running the business.

Nick Masaoka, Margo’s son is the creative Director and Connor Wyse, Nola’s son is Director of retail operations. The on-going involvement of the family is assured and is key to the success of this business. They are able to combine their family traditions with the shifts in the premium chocolate market that best serve their loyal customers while attracting thousands of new customers in stores and online.

What makes us famous?

Oh! Chocolate is famous for our delicious French-styled chocolate that delights chocolate lovers everywhere and even turns non-chocolate eaters into chocovangelists. However what makes us most proud is the experience that we offer every customer coming into our stores or online. We hope to create a friendly, happy and memorable experience for you. Our chocolates are hand-crafted in small batches and we still work in 5 pound batches. In a fast-paced world of technology and machine processing, we offer a service reminiscent of times gone by when people had time to stop and chat and enjoy a shopping experience.

Nick is the creative force behind the flavors. “It’s good to get feedback,” he says. “If no one tells you the truth, you don’t end up with the best product.” Oh! Chocolate offers so many different flavors that you could taste one every day for three months without repeating. “Sometimes we have to pull a flavor because we don’t have enough case space,” says Nick. They also do seasonal items like a pink champagne truffle for Valentine’s and a Guinness truffle for St. Patrick’s. “We make candy like you’d make at home. We make it in small batches using the freshest ingredients and try new flavors all the time. The family joke is to taste and say, wow, we really do make good candy!” says Margo.

So whether you are a seasoned chocoholic or just want to treat someone else to a gift box, we look forward to helping you Experience Oh!