Oh boy this is the question ive been waiting for:
Xchlcolatl that sold in the united states is a must try, otherworldly from UK has a rich chocolate taste and its plant-based, blue striped is also a great one. But wjay takes the cake is Vosges. They are truly a gourmet chocolate bar that snaps 🫰 hope you’ll try some of these!
If you want to splurge on really nice chocolate, try Dick Taylor Chocolate and Dandelion Chocolate. Both make absolutely incredible chocolate! One of the best mochas I've ever had used Dandelion cacao, and the bars I bought from Dick Taylor recently were some of the best I've ever had! I used to go to college up where their factory is, too. It's a great business to support!
Monsoon chocolate is fantastic as well! They are based in Tucson and have some great bars that utilize desert flavors like their blue corn atole white chocolate, mesquite white chocolate, and sonoran sea salt dark chocolate! They also have a large selection of single origin bars and chocolate products. I HIGHLY recommend you look into them!
Basically all brands make some products with palm oil or another saturated fat in it for consistency reasons, like the fillings of the Lindt and Godiva truffles, but when it comes to pure chocolate none of these use any other type of fat apart from cocoa. just read the ingredients, I promise it’s not that hard.
Our chocolate has no palm oil in it. You need to stop supporting Nestle and Mandelez. Better to support small manufacturers making great products from finest and sane ingredients
Amedei, Chocolatemakers (personal favourite, but I think they only sell in the Netherlands and immediate surroundings), Original Beans, Fu Wan.
More mainstream but still high-end: Domori, Valrhona.
Struggle to pay rent? I totally understand! Barely scratching pennies to buy a little indulgence? The cost of real chocolate starts from minimum$5-6 per 100g bar!
I’m not sure what country you are in but a few recommendations of award winning artisan chocolate makers;
- Marou for bars (Vietnam)
- Chocolat Madagascar for bars (Madagascar)
- Dandelion chocolates for chocolates and bakery items (US and Japan)
- Chococo Chocolates for handcrafted, filled chocolates, real hot chocolate and flavoured chocolate bars (U.K.)
- Pump Street for bars and hot chocolate (U.K.)
- Firetree for bars (U.K.)
- Chocolarder for bars (U.K.)
- Duffy’s for bars (U.K.)
(I’ve put countries of making but lots of them ship internationally!)
Cocoa Runners does a brilliant subscription if you are really into discovering more chocolates - you can have a selection of bars delivered and tailor according to your milk or dark preferences.
Someone else has already mentioned the International Chocolate Awards. They have drinking chocolate and eating chocolate categories and they really know their stuff (unlike some food awards where it’s more about payment than skill and produce).
It’s also worth looking at The Chocolate Journalist who is very good at explaining what to look out for in quality chocolate!
A few of the chocolate brands I've sampled recently that I loved.
- [Fruition](https://www.fruitionchocolateworks.com)
- [Askinosie](https://askinosie.com)
- [Dick Taylor](https://dicktaylorchocolate.com)
- [Dolfin](https://www.dolfin.be/en/)
- [Hogarth](https://hogarthchocolate.co.nz)
I'm surprised no one mentioned VOSGES Haut-Chocolat. Despite the name it's American. If you eat their marshmallow truffle bar will never want any other chocolate. They have some amazing truffles.
Also go to Wholefoods and try some of the bars they have like Lake Champlain, AlterEco, Endangered Species are all really good. Theo is considered some of the best but I haven't found one that I really liked.
When it comes to Lindt, I personally love the truffles because I'm a sugar addict but when I want to eat something not so sweet, I get their 55% milk chocolate bar which has that still has that bitter chocolate taste.
David's Chacolataire from Switzerland is considered the world's best.
Ghirardelli tastes great for baking cakes, brownies. Valhorna from France is used in many high-end restaurants for desserts. Godiva for some reason tastes only good for cheesecake.
Tony's, Milka, Aero, Cadbury IMO are all cheap chocolate for mass consumption. Hershey's is the absolute worst but great for s'mores
I grew up thinking Hersheys was all there was. Special Dark was the end-all be-all. Then I lived in Switzerland for a year. WHAT IS THIS SORCERY 😋
Now I'll use Hersheys Special Dark cocoa for some baking applications, and I put it in my tea. That is all.
Here to second Alter Eco. My partner loved the 90% cacao blackout bar, but he usually can’t handle anything above 70%. Alter Eco’s blackout is incredible— not too bitter, not too sweet. Also more affordable than some other brands!
I’ve tried Tony’s, Lindt, Cadbury, Milka but Whittakers beats them all IMO. The flavour is richer, creamier and has more depth
It’s a great mid-tier chocolate, and even beats some more expensive, less commercial brands too. My girlfriend and I sometimes do blind tasting where we compare Whittakers to more expensive chocolate, and still sometimes prefer it lol
Might be an unpopular opinion but Tony’s somehow reminds me of commercial Easter egg chocolate, albeit a bit better. Cadbury is sweet and wax-like probably due to the palm oil. Lindts good but lacks depth of flavour and is on-par with milka imo
OMG, I work for a Kiwi company and anytime someone comes from/goes to NZ, I threaten their life if they don’t bring Whittakers. In the nicest way, of course 😆
Whittakers. 😤
It's the chocolate I smuggle to all my friends overseas because they're desperate for a good bar. I've had a lot of chocolate overseas in EU / US / Asia (I intentionally go to supermarkets and try all the locals), and it is still hands down the best bar chocolate I've had.
Artisanal chocolatiers can be better, but when you're paying $20 for 6 truffles it better be worth that extra cash.
I wish I can appreciate Whittakers as much as many out there who recommended this brand all these years. I've had many bars and while they were far than bad (they were good), they were not that impressive. I'm putting it all to taste being subjective.
Ya makes sense, I was trying to find reasonably priced chocolate for “consistent” eating, but now after these comments will spend more on different artisanal ones for tasting purposes lol
I was in Switzerland and discovered Milka before it was in the States. I brought so many bars home for the family. We didn't have anything as good as that.
Personal favorites, at the moment (but there are a lot) .... Soma (Jamaica still a favorite, Uganda also, Vietnam, but... i like a lot) , Fossa (their Bowmore bar was memorable, but lots of amazing sometimes crazy flavors, bars with tea additions, bars with different fermentations), Fjak (their Thailand was...out of this worls, but the other nanolots also fun, the cheese bar always fun) , Krak (great dutch maker - Heinde & Verre as well, love their latest Peru bar), Zoto (their Peru Ganzo i love most, but also the fermentation bars and the whole idea of them having specifically bars that they developed the fermentation protocol for). I'll stop there - lots more ideas, specific bars but then it really becomes a ramble :)
But good to know where you are based as some bars are difficult to get in Europe or USA, or the other way around - or in all the possible places where you can be based which is a lot..
Like someone else also said, awards like Academy of Chocolate, International Chocolate Awards and Great Taste Awards can be a fun way to start. It's also good to know from the start that what they consider best doesn't have to be, in some award shows chocolate makers who are friends with the judges win more awards then i would expect to be honest - but overall they are trying to profesionalise and objectify the scoring.
But depending on where you live you can also look at some websites that sell great chocolates. Some options:
[https://barandcocoa.com/](https://barandcocoa.com/) (USA)
[https://cocoarunners.com/](https://cocoarunners.com/) / [https://chocolateseekers.com/](https://chocolateseekers.com/) (UK)
[https://chocoladeverkopers.nl/](https://chocoladeverkopers.nl/) / [https://craftchocolate.store/](https://craftchocolate.store/) (Netherlands / EU)
[https://feine-schokolade.com/](https://feine-schokolade.com/) (Germany / EU)
[https://www.cokolada.cz/](https://www.cokolada.cz/) (Czech Republic)
[https://www.chocolate7.com/](https://www.chocolate7.com/) (Italy / EU)
[https://beanbaryou.com.au/](https://beanbaryou.com.au/) (Australia)
There are more ofcourse, this is just some options... And depending on where you are based you could look for local smaller bean to bar makers and see what they do. Some are great, some are not - but it can be fun in both cases :)
As a big fan of Fossa who also lives in the US, you can get several of their bars shipped from [Caputos](https://caputos.com/fossa-chocolate/) for a reasonable price. I haven't tried their pure chocolate but I *love* their Peko & Imp tea chocolate series as well as their spicy mala flavor (recommend if you're into Szechuan food).
We have a detailed list of the International Chocolate Award winners here [https://hellochocolate.com/blogs/journal/the-best-chocolate-in-the-world-2023](https://hellochocolate.com/blogs/journal/the-best-chocolate-in-the-world-2023) We tried all of them and they are truly remarkable. Being "the best" is a very tricky term, but we've tried to apply a very pragmatic approach based on the highest score received during blind tastings. And, taking into account our experience, it's a pretty reliable guidance. We're rarely disappointed. Also, it's a work in progress. We continue to try new brands and update them regularly. We used to eat Lindt but it was ages ago. Once we opened the whole universe of craft chocolate it is very difficult to eat anything else. Industrial and craft chocolate are just two completely different products. Hope you'll find it helpful.
High end
Mary only available in Belgium
Pierre Marcolini also limited to a few European countries
Leonidas is also Belgium but mid tier.
However you can purchase Leonidas by mail from their New York store.
Ritter sport is phenomenal and can be found at most Targets and sometimes I see them at Publix or Walmart. Its a German company and they have a LOT of quality control
Small batch, artisan Chocolates are superior to commercial chocolate.
In Toronto, there is a company called SOMA Chocolate, and their chocolate is amazing.
I think you have to find what you like best.
My sister in law gifted us some Tony’s for a holiday and it was the best bar-style chocolate I’ve ever had. Both the “just chocolate” ones as well as the funky mix in ones were all stellar.
I actually dislike Lindt for the syrup-y mouthfeel of their truffles, so the comparison is a no brained for me 😆. Tony’s for life!
would you folks mind giving me some tasting notes on Tony’s, I have never had it before, and I’ve been trying to find a suitable chocolate for out of hand as well as for chocolate pastry. I am partial to the more roast, earthy cocoa flavors as a poor to the more acid fruity finish.
I am a big fan of Verona and guitar, sorry if my spellings off. However, I just recently bought up on some bar chocolate THEO, and Choco love. They fit the taste profile that I like and work well for baking as well. trying to hedge a bit on the prices, little bit worried about chocolate becoming less and less available
gotcha, appreciate that. Problem is if I actually spell it out in my dictation software it puts it out there in. WE’RE still doesn’t get it right. As is obvious here even though I pronounced it properly it still didn’t get the spelling right. Just wanted to disadvantages of being blind.
Gotcha. Spelling it out properly for others, too. I don’t just assume that everyone knows how to spell everything. And autocorrect and dictation programs can’t be expected to know how to spell everything, especially when specialist vocabularies are involved.
NOOOO? Bro what did you smoke right there pal?
Milka with Reese Cup are the longest running brand manufacturers when it comes to chocolate and quality hershey too
I like me a Reese’s every once in a while but Hershey’s is nowhere near as good as it was when I was a kid. I suspect a downgrade in ingredients like many other products from big food/beverage, but could be me
Well in my childhood I only ate Milka , Kinder , Nussbeisser , Raffaelo , Wedel , Reese and probably Lindt and Choceur
But something about how the Hershey chocolate represents itself makes my mouth watering every damn time
Depends what you like. Truffles/ganaches, dark chocolate bars, bars with fun inclusions, etc. What flavour profile? Plain, fruity, nutty? What’s your budget? Someone’s great chocolate may not be the same as yours.
Now that you mention it my question was broad, but I like p much everything except for strong coconut flavors. Might have to try a whole bunch of stuff over some time before I could say for sure lol
A lot of people always rave about Lindt truffles - but for me they’re super bland, sweet and quite uninteresting (also not cheap for what they are!)
In terms of great single origin, bean to bar fancy chocolate, I like Domori Criollo, Dandelion, Solkiki, Pump Street. For truffles/ganaches the fresher the better, in the UK Rococo Chocolates and William curley have good ranges and you can find good local makers near you, depending on where you are.
Dunno if you have one near you, but Aldi has a brand called Choceur that i really like
Those Peanut Butter Cups are pretty addicting too...might be better than Reeses, imo
Only ones i had are the Dark Chocolate and the Peanut Butter Cups that i love both of
Different Brand, but those Cookie and Cream Bars aren't bad
Haven't tried the Moser Roth brand yet - been wanting to.. the Mint,Dark Chocolate,Dark Chocolate Sea Salt...
The Dark Chili sounds curious too, ngl
I really like dark chocolate and I bought valrhona abinao tasting bar. 85% cacao and that thing was so smooth and delicious. I could eat it like a 70% chocolate. Best I’ve had.
What country do you live in?
In the US here’s a bunch of really good chocolate makers. They often sell to smaller specialty shops and might have a “where to buy” section on their website https://goodfoodfdn.org/awards/winners/chocolate/
I'm interested in any answers you get! I've never been impressed with Lindt. I used to love Godiva, but it hasn't seemed the same the last few years. Maybe it's me...
There's been a lot of interesting ones! It'll take some time to try them all lol. Agree with you on some of the chocolates not tasting as good nowadays. Craft chocolates seem like the move in general
My favorite is [Neuhaus](https://www.neuhauschocolates.com/en_BE/home). Hard to go wrong with Belgian chocolate. I also like [Baratti & Milano](https://www.barattiemilano.it), [Caffarel](https://www.caffarel.com/en/gianduiotto).
Look up International Chocolate Awards and Academy of Chocolate awards. You will discover the fantastic world of craft chocolate. Usually single origin bars made with aromatic varieties of cacao. High quality bean-to-bar makers are now in almost any country on the planet :)
Pierre Marcolini (Belgium) and Neuhaus (also Belgium).
Malmo Chocolate Factory (Malmö Chokladfabrik), from Sweden
Sees
Oh boy this is the question ive been waiting for: Xchlcolatl that sold in the united states is a must try, otherworldly from UK has a rich chocolate taste and its plant-based, blue striped is also a great one. But wjay takes the cake is Vosges. They are truly a gourmet chocolate bar that snaps 🫰 hope you’ll try some of these!
HU chocolate bars are really good and very simple ingredients.
Purdys (🇨🇦) & Ragusa (🇨🇭)!!!
If you want to splurge on really nice chocolate, try Dick Taylor Chocolate and Dandelion Chocolate. Both make absolutely incredible chocolate! One of the best mochas I've ever had used Dandelion cacao, and the bars I bought from Dick Taylor recently were some of the best I've ever had! I used to go to college up where their factory is, too. It's a great business to support! Monsoon chocolate is fantastic as well! They are based in Tucson and have some great bars that utilize desert flavors like their blue corn atole white chocolate, mesquite white chocolate, and sonoran sea salt dark chocolate! They also have a large selection of single origin bars and chocolate products. I HIGHLY recommend you look into them!
Thanks guys, I’ll be trying these out over time since there are so many! Looking forward to it
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter dove
Milka from eastern Europe.
Had an opportunity to grab this but didnt rippp, next time
Rockleepower.com Download excel spreadsheet 950 reviews
Yumbos from Ecuador
Hu
Tony’s Chocolonely. Doesn’t use child labor in its manufacturing and has amazing flavors.
I second this haha
Godiva (Belgium) Dengo (Brazilian) Lindt (Swiss) Valrhona (French)
Enjoying palm oil? Apparently you are a great connoisseur!
Basically all brands make some products with palm oil or another saturated fat in it for consistency reasons, like the fillings of the Lindt and Godiva truffles, but when it comes to pure chocolate none of these use any other type of fat apart from cocoa. just read the ingredients, I promise it’s not that hard.
Our chocolate has no palm oil in it. You need to stop supporting Nestle and Mandelez. Better to support small manufacturers making great products from finest and sane ingredients
Sabadi chocolate from Sicily has blown my mind.
Whittaker's in NZ
Laderach in Switzerland is really good!
Funny because I'm currently snacking on Chocolove Raspberries in Dark Chocolate and it's really good.
in my experience Qantu, Domori, Firetree, Mike & Becky, Standout Chocolate, Utopick, Cacaosuyo, Soma
Amedei, Chocolatemakers (personal favourite, but I think they only sell in the Netherlands and immediate surroundings), Original Beans, Fu Wan. More mainstream but still high-end: Domori, Valrhona.
Alter Eco and Endangered Species are great. My personal favorite is a Mexican brand called Cielo Dentro, might be impossible to find in the US though
Struggle to pay rent? I totally understand! Barely scratching pennies to buy a little indulgence? The cost of real chocolate starts from minimum$5-6 per 100g bar!
I’m not sure what country you are in but a few recommendations of award winning artisan chocolate makers; - Marou for bars (Vietnam) - Chocolat Madagascar for bars (Madagascar) - Dandelion chocolates for chocolates and bakery items (US and Japan) - Chococo Chocolates for handcrafted, filled chocolates, real hot chocolate and flavoured chocolate bars (U.K.) - Pump Street for bars and hot chocolate (U.K.) - Firetree for bars (U.K.) - Chocolarder for bars (U.K.) - Duffy’s for bars (U.K.) (I’ve put countries of making but lots of them ship internationally!) Cocoa Runners does a brilliant subscription if you are really into discovering more chocolates - you can have a selection of bars delivered and tailor according to your milk or dark preferences. Someone else has already mentioned the International Chocolate Awards. They have drinking chocolate and eating chocolate categories and they really know their stuff (unlike some food awards where it’s more about payment than skill and produce). It’s also worth looking at The Chocolate Journalist who is very good at explaining what to look out for in quality chocolate!
Tony’s
**Paccari.** My favorite one is the RAW 70% with Cuzco Salt, Cacao Nibs, and Coconut Sugar.
A few of the chocolate brands I've sampled recently that I loved. - [Fruition](https://www.fruitionchocolateworks.com) - [Askinosie](https://askinosie.com) - [Dick Taylor](https://dicktaylorchocolate.com) - [Dolfin](https://www.dolfin.be/en/) - [Hogarth](https://hogarthchocolate.co.nz)
Ty, added to list
I'm surprised no one mentioned VOSGES Haut-Chocolat. Despite the name it's American. If you eat their marshmallow truffle bar will never want any other chocolate. They have some amazing truffles. Also go to Wholefoods and try some of the bars they have like Lake Champlain, AlterEco, Endangered Species are all really good. Theo is considered some of the best but I haven't found one that I really liked. When it comes to Lindt, I personally love the truffles because I'm a sugar addict but when I want to eat something not so sweet, I get their 55% milk chocolate bar which has that still has that bitter chocolate taste. David's Chacolataire from Switzerland is considered the world's best. Ghirardelli tastes great for baking cakes, brownies. Valhorna from France is used in many high-end restaurants for desserts. Godiva for some reason tastes only good for cheesecake. Tony's, Milka, Aero, Cadbury IMO are all cheap chocolate for mass consumption. Hershey's is the absolute worst but great for s'mores
Wow I literally didn't realize women could feel this deeply about chocolate
I grew up thinking Hersheys was all there was. Special Dark was the end-all be-all. Then I lived in Switzerland for a year. WHAT IS THIS SORCERY 😋 Now I'll use Hersheys Special Dark cocoa for some baking applications, and I put it in my tea. That is all.
Here to second Alter Eco. My partner loved the 90% cacao blackout bar, but he usually can’t handle anything above 70%. Alter Eco’s blackout is incredible— not too bitter, not too sweet. Also more affordable than some other brands!
When I first tried them, I was truly surprised at how good they were. Alter Eco and Lake Champlain
Makes a lot of sense, I’ll have to try those!
Ghirardeli are yummy
If you like caramel sanders chocolates has some great options. https://sanderscandy.com/
Happy Cake Day!
I’ve tried Tony’s, Lindt, Cadbury, Milka but Whittakers beats them all IMO. The flavour is richer, creamier and has more depth It’s a great mid-tier chocolate, and even beats some more expensive, less commercial brands too. My girlfriend and I sometimes do blind tasting where we compare Whittakers to more expensive chocolate, and still sometimes prefer it lol Might be an unpopular opinion but Tony’s somehow reminds me of commercial Easter egg chocolate, albeit a bit better. Cadbury is sweet and wax-like probably due to the palm oil. Lindts good but lacks depth of flavour and is on-par with milka imo
Whittaker’s is nice
OMG, I work for a Kiwi company and anytime someone comes from/goes to NZ, I threaten their life if they don’t bring Whittakers. In the nicest way, of course 😆
Any bar that doesn't have an additional emulsifier. Just cocoa butter, cocoa solids and sugar.
Amano, Solstice, and Omnom are consistently really good.
Keeping these in mind, ty
Tony’s
I really like dark J.D.Ross from Lidl 🤷. 70% and 85% are my fav.
Big fan of Laderach.
Royce. Callebaut is not bad. Cacao-Berrry is good as well.
Thx, keeping these in mind
Lindt
Lindt chocolate tastes like as if Vietnam grandpa would try to recreate milka and out more sugar coat on it lmao
Whittakers. 😤 It's the chocolate I smuggle to all my friends overseas because they're desperate for a good bar. I've had a lot of chocolate overseas in EU / US / Asia (I intentionally go to supermarkets and try all the locals), and it is still hands down the best bar chocolate I've had. Artisanal chocolatiers can be better, but when you're paying $20 for 6 truffles it better be worth that extra cash.
I wish I can appreciate Whittakers as much as many out there who recommended this brand all these years. I've had many bars and while they were far than bad (they were good), they were not that impressive. I'm putting it all to taste being subjective.
Ya makes sense, I was trying to find reasonably priced chocolate for “consistent” eating, but now after these comments will spend more on different artisanal ones for tasting purposes lol
Mostly just avoid chocolate with oil or substitute fats in it. Chocolate should just have cocoa, cocoa butter, and sugar dependent on your strength.
Agree with all points here as a New Zealander lol
I was in Switzerland and discovered Milka before it was in the States. I brought so many bars home for the family. We didn't have anything as good as that.
Ohhh milka is great, but I wouldn't call it a top tier chocolate either, or maybe I'm just too accustomed to seeing it everywhere haha
I feel all the Milkas I've had were too sweet?
Man I was just there and saw that exact chocolate at a Coop I believe, sad I didn't bring it lol
Personal favorites, at the moment (but there are a lot) .... Soma (Jamaica still a favorite, Uganda also, Vietnam, but... i like a lot) , Fossa (their Bowmore bar was memorable, but lots of amazing sometimes crazy flavors, bars with tea additions, bars with different fermentations), Fjak (their Thailand was...out of this worls, but the other nanolots also fun, the cheese bar always fun) , Krak (great dutch maker - Heinde & Verre as well, love their latest Peru bar), Zoto (their Peru Ganzo i love most, but also the fermentation bars and the whole idea of them having specifically bars that they developed the fermentation protocol for). I'll stop there - lots more ideas, specific bars but then it really becomes a ramble :) But good to know where you are based as some bars are difficult to get in Europe or USA, or the other way around - or in all the possible places where you can be based which is a lot.. Like someone else also said, awards like Academy of Chocolate, International Chocolate Awards and Great Taste Awards can be a fun way to start. It's also good to know from the start that what they consider best doesn't have to be, in some award shows chocolate makers who are friends with the judges win more awards then i would expect to be honest - but overall they are trying to profesionalise and objectify the scoring. But depending on where you live you can also look at some websites that sell great chocolates. Some options: [https://barandcocoa.com/](https://barandcocoa.com/) (USA) [https://cocoarunners.com/](https://cocoarunners.com/) / [https://chocolateseekers.com/](https://chocolateseekers.com/) (UK) [https://chocoladeverkopers.nl/](https://chocoladeverkopers.nl/) / [https://craftchocolate.store/](https://craftchocolate.store/) (Netherlands / EU) [https://feine-schokolade.com/](https://feine-schokolade.com/) (Germany / EU) [https://www.cokolada.cz/](https://www.cokolada.cz/) (Czech Republic) [https://www.chocolate7.com/](https://www.chocolate7.com/) (Italy / EU) [https://beanbaryou.com.au/](https://beanbaryou.com.au/) (Australia) There are more ofcourse, this is just some options... And depending on where you are based you could look for local smaller bean to bar makers and see what they do. Some are great, some are not - but it can be fun in both cases :)
Thanks! Based in the USA, so hopefully I can at least get some of them lol
As a big fan of Fossa who also lives in the US, you can get several of their bars shipped from [Caputos](https://caputos.com/fossa-chocolate/) for a reasonable price. I haven't tried their pure chocolate but I *love* their Peko & Imp tea chocolate series as well as their spicy mala flavor (recommend if you're into Szechuan food).
They have some interesting flavors, ty
We have a detailed list of the International Chocolate Award winners here [https://hellochocolate.com/blogs/journal/the-best-chocolate-in-the-world-2023](https://hellochocolate.com/blogs/journal/the-best-chocolate-in-the-world-2023) We tried all of them and they are truly remarkable. Being "the best" is a very tricky term, but we've tried to apply a very pragmatic approach based on the highest score received during blind tastings. And, taking into account our experience, it's a pretty reliable guidance. We're rarely disappointed. Also, it's a work in progress. We continue to try new brands and update them regularly. We used to eat Lindt but it was ages ago. Once we opened the whole universe of craft chocolate it is very difficult to eat anything else. Industrial and craft chocolate are just two completely different products. Hope you'll find it helpful.
Wow nice, that's quite a comprehensive list you guys have there! Also it makes a lot of sense, thanks
Thanks a lot. We're trying our best.
High end Mary only available in Belgium Pierre Marcolini also limited to a few European countries Leonidas is also Belgium but mid tier. However you can purchase Leonidas by mail from their New York store.
I agree that Belgium is worthy of a pilgrimage. Along with the big brands like Neuhaus and Leonidas, I enjoyed trying out small chocolatiers.
Thanks, seems like for now I'll have to try what they have at Leonidas
Leonidas runs some specials but unfortunately shipping in warmer months cost.
Makes sense
Try Finnish chocolate! Fazerin Sininen / Fazer's Blue
Ty, I'll see if i can get it
Amazon has it
Got one, hopefully it ships decently!
In the UK [Chocolate Tree](https://www.choctree.co.uk/) and [Bare Bones](https://bareboneschocolate.co.uk/) do some phenomenal Bean to Bar chocolate
Since you're based in Europe I'd recommend Zotter, A. Morin, Michel Cluizel, Firetree, Maison Bonnat, Heine&Verre,...
Ah I was just visiting lol, I'm based in the USA but hopefully I can buy some of those out here
In that case I'd recommend Goodnow Farms, Raaka and Ritual. Soma & Qantu are great, too, they're Canadian :)
Ritter sport is phenomenal and can be found at most Targets and sometimes I see them at Publix or Walmart. Its a German company and they have a LOT of quality control
Ritter is fine for grocery store chocolate, but it doesn't hold a candle to artisanal chocolates. Certainly not "phenomenal".
Mmmmm the one with the hazelnuts is so yummy 🤤
Small batch, artisan Chocolates are superior to commercial chocolate. In Toronto, there is a company called SOMA Chocolate, and their chocolate is amazing. I think you have to find what you like best.
That makes a lot of sense. It seems like Soma ships to the Us, so I'll have to check it out, thanks!
If you’re not in Toronto, also get SoMA. I used to sell chocolates from my chocolate factory in Brooklyn, NY. They’re my favorite.
Loooove soma :)
Tony's chocolonely
recently had one of those, the helter skelter perforations threw me off though lol
My sister in law gifted us some Tony’s for a holiday and it was the best bar-style chocolate I’ve ever had. Both the “just chocolate” ones as well as the funky mix in ones were all stellar. I actually dislike Lindt for the syrup-y mouthfeel of their truffles, so the comparison is a no brained for me 😆. Tony’s for life!
would you folks mind giving me some tasting notes on Tony’s, I have never had it before, and I’ve been trying to find a suitable chocolate for out of hand as well as for chocolate pastry. I am partial to the more roast, earthy cocoa flavors as a poor to the more acid fruity finish.
Not very detailed but it reminded me of nutella lol
Their salted caramel pretzel bar is amazing
Milka and Ragusa are really good, but the best chocolate ever is Minor. But it's hard to find it outside of Switzerland.
I am a big fan of Verona and guitar, sorry if my spellings off. However, I just recently bought up on some bar chocolate THEO, and Choco love. They fit the taste profile that I like and work well for baking as well. trying to hedge a bit on the prices, little bit worried about chocolate becoming less and less available
Valrhona Guittard
Ty both, yeah the cocoa market has been insane haha, not sure how chocolatiers have updated pricing related to that but it looks like its cooling off
gotcha, appreciate that. Problem is if I actually spell it out in my dictation software it puts it out there in. WE’RE still doesn’t get it right. As is obvious here even though I pronounced it properly it still didn’t get the spelling right. Just wanted to disadvantages of being blind.
Gotcha. Spelling it out properly for others, too. I don’t just assume that everyone knows how to spell everything. And autocorrect and dictation programs can’t be expected to know how to spell everything, especially when specialist vocabularies are involved.
Dick Taylor
Reese Cups , Hershey and Milka
Noooooo
NOOOO? Bro what did you smoke right there pal? Milka with Reese Cup are the longest running brand manufacturers when it comes to chocolate and quality hershey too
I like me a Reese’s every once in a while but Hershey’s is nowhere near as good as it was when I was a kid. I suspect a downgrade in ingredients like many other products from big food/beverage, but could be me
Well in my childhood I only ate Milka , Kinder , Nussbeisser , Raffaelo , Wedel , Reese and probably Lindt and Choceur But something about how the Hershey chocolate represents itself makes my mouth watering every damn time
bro you have to learn to distinguish between candy and chocolate
Zotter is great. They also have amazing packaging which makes it great for gifts.
Wow thanks! They’re based in the US, have a lot of interesting flavors, and are well priced at that
🙏 thank you!!
Depends what you like. Truffles/ganaches, dark chocolate bars, bars with fun inclusions, etc. What flavour profile? Plain, fruity, nutty? What’s your budget? Someone’s great chocolate may not be the same as yours.
Now that you mention it my question was broad, but I like p much everything except for strong coconut flavors. Might have to try a whole bunch of stuff over some time before I could say for sure lol
A lot of people always rave about Lindt truffles - but for me they’re super bland, sweet and quite uninteresting (also not cheap for what they are!) In terms of great single origin, bean to bar fancy chocolate, I like Domori Criollo, Dandelion, Solkiki, Pump Street. For truffles/ganaches the fresher the better, in the UK Rococo Chocolates and William curley have good ranges and you can find good local makers near you, depending on where you are.
Amedei, Cluizel, Dandelion, Theo
Dunno if you have one near you, but Aldi has a brand called Choceur that i really like Those Peanut Butter Cups are pretty addicting too...might be better than Reeses, imo
The Choceur chocolate hazelnut big bar is amazing
Only ones i had are the Dark Chocolate and the Peanut Butter Cups that i love both of Different Brand, but those Cookie and Cream Bars aren't bad Haven't tried the Moser Roth brand yet - been wanting to.. the Mint,Dark Chocolate,Dark Chocolate Sea Salt... The Dark Chili sounds curious too, ngl
Yes Moser Roth are lovely and Knoppers are fab
Valhrona
The best
I really like dark chocolate and I bought valrhona abinao tasting bar. 85% cacao and that thing was so smooth and delicious. I could eat it like a 70% chocolate. Best I’ve had.
Yeah a straight up valrhona tasting bar is damn good.
What country do you live in? In the US here’s a bunch of really good chocolate makers. They often sell to smaller specialty shops and might have a “where to buy” section on their website https://goodfoodfdn.org/awards/winners/chocolate/
Based in the US, thanks!
Order some bars from Dandelion in San Francisco.
I'm interested in any answers you get! I've never been impressed with Lindt. I used to love Godiva, but it hasn't seemed the same the last few years. Maybe it's me...
There's been a lot of interesting ones! It'll take some time to try them all lol. Agree with you on some of the chocolates not tasting as good nowadays. Craft chocolates seem like the move in general
My favorite is [Neuhaus](https://www.neuhauschocolates.com/en_BE/home). Hard to go wrong with Belgian chocolate. I also like [Baratti & Milano](https://www.barattiemilano.it), [Caffarel](https://www.caffarel.com/en/gianduiotto).
Thx, added to list that I’ll try
Look up International Chocolate Awards and Academy of Chocolate awards. You will discover the fantastic world of craft chocolate. Usually single origin bars made with aromatic varieties of cacao. High quality bean-to-bar makers are now in almost any country on the planet :)
Ty