Understandably, it is hard to think of chocolate as bad. However, there are certainly types of chocolate that are superior to others. How does one tell? You could invest long hours and effort into trying them all, or you could start by sampling and comparing some of these popular brands.
1. Sharffen Berger
By the bar... available in varying darknesses
This boutique chocolate is made in Berkeley, California.. The company was recently bought by Hershey, but so far it has not destroyed this sinfully dark, rich, creamy confection.
2. Lindt
Bars, truffles and other forms
If there is one thing the Swiss know besides watches, it is chocolate. Lindt is an expert Swiss chocolate maker, renowned the world over.
3. Valrhona
Bars and other forms
If you are eating Valrhona, you can't go wrong. Use a few bars to make a flourless chocolate cake, and you'll never look back.
4. Dagoba
Organic chocolate bars
Organic doesn't have to mean it isn't gourmet. Dagoba offers organic chocolate bars with a variety of exotic flavorings.
5. Amedei chocolate
Does the best chocolate in the world come from Italy?
The Academy of Chocolate in London has declared it the best in the world. They seem serious about this chocolate delight.
6. Bonnat
True connoiseurs
Bonnat specializes in single origin chocolate bars. They have made chocolate purity an art.
7. See's Candy chocolate
This chocolatier is most known for their boxes of chocolates.
See's may be considered less chic than Godiva and some of the other gourmet chocolatiers, but the truth is that Sees is delicious. This is the comfort food of chocolate, and not just because West Coasters associate the brand with Christmas and Easter. Creamy, rich and marvelous variety. (Unlike Godiva, where they seem obsessed with hazelnut!)
8. Droste
Bars, pastilles and more...
Don't discount the Netherlands when it comes to chocolate production. Those cold, Nordic winters apparently lend themselves to the making of rich, dark confections.
9. Godiva
If you like hazelnut filling...
There are those who swear by Godiva... but it can be a bit heavy on the hazelnut for others...
