"Merchants want everyone else here to be successful," says Mary Loomas, the enthused new owner of Saratoga Chocolates, which opened on Big Basin Way in late October. It's a small shop with light blue walls and hardwood floors and the special aroma that goes with creating handmade chocolates on the premises.

"I love this little village!" Loomas says. The supportive atmosphere is one of the reasons she chose to locate her store in Saratoga. She points to Uncorked, the wine shop down the street, which has gone out of its way to boost her business. Uncorked owner Sherry Keogh says that the dark chocolates Loomas makes go well with the fuller bodied and richly textured zinfandels and cabernets she carries. For that reason she is thrilled to refer her customers to Loomas for a chocolate pairing.

Merchants and customers alike have spread the word. The result is a steady stream of walk-ins who are delighted when Loomas offers them a sample from a plate containing a dark chocolate caramelized coconut, a lemon cranberry or a peanut butter milk chocolate. She uses visually flawed pieces--perhaps there's an air bubble--for a sampling plate that changes every day. After a taste, customers are eager to place an order.

They may choose the pieces to fill a box of six for $10.50, 12 for $21 or 24 pieces for $42. The 71 percent cacao bean dark chocolate and the 41 percent milk chocolate confections may be chosen by name from a counter display. The pieces are placed in an elegant dark brown box, each morsel cradled in gold trim. "We include a 'cheat sheet' with pictures so that each piece and its contents can be recognized," Loomas says with a smile. "That way, it's not necessary to bite into it to find out what it is." The custom boxes then are tied with an orange satin ribbon and nestled in a profusion of light brown tissue in a bag with Saratoga Chocolates written in lime green and accented with an orange poppy.

"The poppy symbolizes that all of our ingredients are from California." No preservatives are used, so Loomas suggests that all goods should be consumed within 10 days of purchase.

A staff of four may be observed through a large picture window at the back of the 750 square-foot store, filling and shaping the white, dark and milk chocolate pieces.

On an induction burner, the chocolate is heated to 108 degrees, then smeared on a marble slab where it is agitated until it cools to 82 degrees. "When it is slightly warmed again, it gets a sheen and snap. Otherwise it melts in your hands," Loomas explains.

Pertinent to the season, five-tiered milk chocolate Christmas trees standing about three to four inches high ($10) along with three-inch diameter, round tree ornaments made of solid milk chocolate ($9.50) are decorative as well as edible. "We actually haven't figured out how to eat the ornaments yet, but some kid will figure it out," Loomas says.

For events such as weddings, corporate dinners or graduations, table gifts for the guests of two pieces of chocolate may be contained in boxes ordered from a catalog in party theme colors.

Loomas has been working with chocolate for several years. It started as a hobby but became serious enough for her to seek training at the Ecole Chocolat in Vancouver, Canada, and Valrohna's Ecole Grand Chocolat in France.

Saratoga Chocolates, 14572-B Big Basin Way, is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Call 408.872.1431 or visit www.saratogachocolates.com.