Every day is Valentine’s Day at Two Friends Chocolates

It’s not hard to tell where you are the minute you open the door. Even if you’re not a chocoholic, you’ll recognize the aroma. And if you are one, you’ll think it’s heaven.

 A long case of interesting flavors of truffles and bonbons is at the front of the space, and the equipment for making the chocolates is visible in the back. The owner of the store, Lavanya Selvaraj, who said she goes by Lala, greets customers and is happy to talk about the business. Last Friday, Feb. 4, was the first anniversary of Two Friends Chocolates in Boxborough at 629 Mass. Ave., in the plaza with Middlesex Bank. The journey to that day has been a long one, full of love, ingenuity, and determination.

Special Valentine's Day chocolates. (Coutesy photo)

Selvaraj and Neethu Viswanath, both born in India, have been good friends for 21 years, half their lives. They met in their first year of engineering school in India. Later, they went to Scotland for graduate studies, often stressing or celebrating with chocolates from a favorite store, and after graduating, they traveled extensively in Europe. They both got married around the same time, and Viswanath moved to Canada while Selvaraj came to the U.S., settling in Boxborough in 2015.

When Viswanath, whom Selvaraj described as “addicted to truffles,” had a birthday approaching, Selvaraj wanted to send her coffee truffles, her favorite. She looked in a number of places but couldn’t find them. So she made a decision that would change both their lives—she tried making some herself. It took a lot of experimentation until she was ready to send off the birthday chocolates. But she was well rewarded for her efforts. Viswanath told her she was delighted to receive her favorite chocolates from that famous store in the UK that they had frequented. “No, they’re not from there. I made them myself,” Selvaraj told her best friend.

Starting in the basement

With Viswanath’s encouragement, Selvaraj began making truffles and bonbons in her basement and got a license to operate an online wholesale business. Two of her customers are Whole Foods and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which seasonally orders hundreds of custom chocolate bars in floral motifs. The birth of her son (who is now 4½ years old) slowed down the business, but about two years ago, when he was in preschool, Selvaraj procured space for the shop on Mass. Ave. and began spending two hours a day filling wholesale orders. Often people would look in the window or knock on the door, and she decided she would try operating as a retail store as well as selling wholesale. “I had no idea what to expect,” she said. It was not as though there was a lot of foot traffic at her location. It turns out, word spread, and she became so busy that now about half her business is retail.

Meanwhile, her friend in Canada was doing the same things, operating her Two Friends store for Canadian business. Everything is the same except for a few specialties, and they refer orders to each  another. A publicity postcard reads: “Our flavors tell stories.” They are “telling you the story of our friendship through the flavors and scent of fine chocolates.”

Selvaraj explained a bit about how she crafts the truffles and bonbons, both of which require a three-day process. The difference between them is that bonbons are made from a mold and have a fruit or other filling piped into the center and are then capped, while truffles have a center of flavored ganache (chocolate and soft cream) and are hand-rolled in chocolate and cocoa. Both are made from Belgian or French chocolate, melted and tempered. The top is then decorated in some way, with the bonbons being more elaborate. The elderflower bonbon, for example, has a hand-painted shell, while the champagne one is air-brushed. The postcard calls the chocolates “tiny canvases that bring to you a little bit of who we are.”

Owner of Two Friends Chocolates Lavanya Selvaraj displays a tray of hand-decorated, cognac-flavored chocolates. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Truffle and bonbon collections

The glass case holds four collections of truffles and bonbons. “It’s the flavors that have to stand out,” said Selvaraj. The Classic Collection comprises six different shapes and flavors like Madagascar Vanilla, House Dark, and Caramelized Fig. Lime & Ginger, Rosemary & Mint, and Cinnamon are among the six in Spices of the World Collection. The Curated Collection of bonbons includes Mocha Latte, Limoncello, and Fireball Whiskey, while The Celebrated Collection features Elderflower Liqueur, Coconut Rum, and Brandy Punch. Selvaraj said the bonbons have the actual alcohol, not just a flavoring. “If you’re a truffle, you want to become a bonbon,” she said with a laugh. On a table next to the case are an assortment of chocolate bars, with two creative wrappings. The salt chocolate bar contains not the usual single sea salt but three different kinds: Himalayan pink rock salt, Hawaiian black lava salt, and fleur de sel from the Mediterranean Sea.

There are always seasonal offerings; “We have to keep something new,” said Selvaraj. On corner shelves are special Valentine’s Day chocolates, attractively packaged. In a plastic box with a red bow, a large chocolate heart rests on pink shredded paper; inside the large heart are four smaller ones. A house-shaped box of chocolates has a different appeal. And, at any time, if you have children, it will be hard to escape the store without the chocolate “bomb” that, dropped into a cup of hot milk, makes cocoa, or the adorable chocolate Dumbo.

In addition to the website (twofriendschocolates.com), Selvaraj uses social media for advertising. But mostly, she said, it’s friends telling other friends about Two Friends.

Special hours for Valentine’s Day: Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 13 and 14, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Regular hours: Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.