Valentine’s Day is right behind you, and while chocolate is certainly not the only gift worth giving to a loved one, child, friend or yourself, it’s a classic choice for a reason. The literal gesture of sweetness, chocolate is about going the extra mile to make life a little richer.
To this end, we wanted to share the best chocolate bars for Valentine’s Day (and every day) that we eat at the moment. They range from greasy, deep milk chocolate to pleasantly bitter-sweet or even floral notes. We like a lot of texture and crunchiness, singing fillings and aromas that surprise in our craft bars, but most brands also make pure chocolate with varying degrees of intensity and cocoa content.
From a satisfying and rich aroma to the slow melting of the tongue, these favorite milk, dark, white and ruby chocolate bars are the ones we continue to eat – and yes, we have obediently tasted them all.
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET
Chuao’s chocolatier bars exploded on stage in the same way that his distinctive Firecracker bar exploded in the mouth – unquestionably gourmet and relentlessly entertaining. The candy release of this particular bar deftly deviates from the realm of ingenious children’s cakes with its intoxicating hits of chipotle and sea salt scattered across the ocean of dark chocolate. Just perfect.
Rich chocolate, dotted with clever, unique and often bizarre elements, is what distinguishes Chuao chocolate bars and we are obsessed. Baconluxious, Potato Chip and Salted Chocolate Crunch play with sweet and spicy flavors, but we also looked for the shocking carrot cake (made with caramelized white chocolate, tastes just like cream cheese cake), crunchy Mintfully Brownie and Totally Tangy Mango. Cheeky Churro and Pretzel Toffee Twirl also became instant favorites.
Available at Whole Foods, Amazon and a number of other retail and online stores, Chuao chocolate bars are available in whole bars, packages and smaller bites. Full-size bars range from about $ 5.50 to $ 7 apiece, and sometimes there are sales.
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET
When Vosges Haut Chocolate appeared in 1998, its global flavors of smoked almonds, turmeric, matcha, ginger and coconut shook the chocolate world. Vosges helped redefine how ambitious, creative and exciting a chocolate bar can be. No candy, chocolate. (At the time, Lindt dark chocolate with almonds was one of the highest-grade chocolate bars easily available.)
Mo’s Bacon Bar in dark (72% cocoa) and rich milk chocolate (45% cocoa) may have caused the most excitement when the brand first started, but its founder, Katrina Marcoff, developed tempting flavors, flawless texture and fearless combinations of taste that make the Vosges an extravagance every day. Its shops are a worthy destination every time you are in Chicago.
You’ll find flavors from flawless pink caramel salt, a full bar, to the more adventurous walnut and chanterelle or black raspberry with fermented black tea.
These premium chocolate bars are available at Whole Foods, Walmart (beware of exorbitant prices for single bars), boutique grocery stores, Amazon and of course the Vosges online store. Chocolate usually costs between $ 9 and $ 13 for a full-size block.
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET
Mirzam Chocolate Makers is nothing but a revelation. For the first time we came across this gourmet bean dress to a bar from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in a luxury market on the rugged, windy coast of Northern California. We found the label again at a specialty store in Salt Lake City and loaded the cart. We can say that we are addicted.
It starts with a beautiful work of art that envelops every milk, white and dark chocolate as if it were a precious gift. (Ships in inky night skies, sand dunes stretching as far as he can see – Mirzam consciously engages regional artists.) Edible artistry continues to a hard, thin strip with a sharp click and balanced, multi-layered flavors that slowly unfold as chocolate melts. your language.
White chocolate saturated with saffron is warm, soothing, rich and refined. Orange blossom and roasted almonds still haunt our dreams. Rose and pistachios; coffee and cardamom; figs, star anise and cinnamon: Each Mirzam chocolate bar leaves us hungry for more. Mirzam bars range from $ 10 to $ 13. Some varieties are available on Amazon, but Caputo’s, linked below, has the widest selection in the United States we’ve seen so far.
Chocolove
This is one of our favorite brands of all time because of the pure range of flavors of Chocolove and its simply delicious chocolate. There is something for everyone: the milk chocolate fan who wants to play it safe with simple mixes like hazelnuts; a dark chocolate lover who wants to boost their taste buds with something like chili mall; the ruby chocolate fan who wants to add a hint of passion fruit or pink grapefruit to his bar. While ruby chocolate doesn’t get as much love as milk or dark chocolate, Chocolove’s silky and affordable offerings will make you think twice.
In fact, all smooth chocolate varieties and flavors offer equally creamy and satisfying fillings. One of our favorites is salted almond oil in dark chocolate. This is the perfect balance between salty and sweet, with the consistency of almond oil placed in a shell of dark chocolate. (The cups of dark chocolate almond oil are also amazing.) As a bonus, there’s poetry written inside the packaging of each bar that makes a double-sweet gesture if you’re giving away.
Prices usually range between $ 3 and $ 4 per bar. You can find Chocolove in grocery stores such as Walmart and Whole Foods, as well as on Amazon and the Chocolove website.
Ritter Sports
Ritter Sport is another brand that offers a variety of delicious and unique flavors, including surprisingly amazing cornflakes and spicy biscuits. There is also the perfect in every way dark chocolate with marzipan. The marzipan filling stands out enough from the surrounding chocolate to achieve complete balance; nothing has been overcome.
In fact, it makes Ritter Sport so popular with fans. Its bars balance crunchy chocolate with fragrant, fun fillings. Other notable flavors include milk chocolate with butter biscuit and dark chocolate with whole hazelnuts.
You can find Ritter Sport in grocery stores like Walmart, Whole Foods and Target, as well as on Amazon. They usually cost just under $ 3. In addition, if you find yourself in a Ritter Sport retail store, you can also make a personalized bar.
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET
Made in Berkeley, California, Tcho Chocolate has a fascinating origins that include NASA’s “technology wizard”, the founders of Wired Magazine, and a mission to produce premium fair trade chocolate bars from cocoa producers.
The chocolate bars themselves, square and nicely lumpy, are delicious. Toffee + Sea Salt features toasted cornflakes, moccasins, banana nuts and almond sea salt. Tcho also makes a range of plain and stuffed bars from producers of the same origin, including a fluffy truffle made from Ghanaian cocoa beans and a “fruit” chocolate block made in Peru. There are even vegan bars made with oat milk.
Tcho chocolate has been embraced by Michelin-starred chefs and is available at grocery stores such as Whole Foods and other luxury stores, in addition to online retailers, including Amazon and Tcho’s own website.
Amazon
If we talk about marzipan, we can’t help but talk about Niederegger. Marzipan lovers can choose from the classic bar (made with bitter chocolate), bar with milk chocolate or other bars with orange and ginger.
This is probably one of the most delicious marzipans we have tried. The creamy, delicate nut of the filling will make you go back for square after square (you are warned), and the rich chocolate also deserves attention in itself.
You can find Niederegger in stores like World Market or Amazon and each bar costs around $ 5 to $ 6.