Chocolate Candy Bars:
Well here’s a piece of educational information you’ll surely want: Cacao, which is the bean from which chocolate is made, was called the “food of the gods” by the Mayans. (The history of chocolate goes back about 2000 years to the Mayans in Central America.) Considering that every American, on average, consumes 11.5 pounds of chocolate per year, we would probably have to agree. Chocolate candy bars would be at the top of the list for most consumption.
If you’re trying to get at the best chocolate in the world, here’s the best thing about a chocolate candy bar or chocolate squares: For very little money (in comparison to a box of chocolates) you can sample a chocolate – take it for a chocolate taste test ride, if you will.
So the question: What is the best chocolate in the world? To answer that, we could probably ask: What are the best chocolate candy bars? After investigating no less than 32 online and offline reviews, the following seems to form a loose consensus:
–Amedei: Definitely go for the Amedei Porcelana bar (Porcelana is an area of Venezuela where exceptional cacao beans are produced), or the Amedei Chuao Bar. Both are 70% bittersweet dark chocolate.
–Valrhona: It’s hard to talk about fine chocolate without Valrhona (French chocolatier) coming up. Go for the Noir Extra Amer: The knock your socks off type of dark chocolate… With an extremely high cocoa content (85%), and fairly low sugar content, the chocolate is, well, chocolate.
–Madecasse: There’s quite a story behind this African chocolatier (chocolates are made in Madagascar). A former Peace Corp member founded Madecasse, and in addition to being a Fair Trade and environmentally friendly chocolatier, the chocolate is fantastic. Try the Madecasse Single-Origin Milk Chocolate bar – smooooth!
–Amano: Chuao Dark Chocolate Bar: Many feel that the best cacao beans (which is what chocolate is made from) are grown in Chuao, which is on the northern coast of Venezuela. Amano is an American chocolatier that has won many awards for their chocolate.
–Michel Cluizel (Chocolat Michel Cluizel): Very French! And, very good chocolate. Monsieur Cluizel is one of the few chocolatiers who still processes the cacao beans himself (bean to bar). Get ready for this: Noir Infini Squares, which are 99% cocoa! This is extra bittersweet chocolate, with only a little sugar, spice and orange blossom. (Intense!) If you consider “Pure Chocolate” to be best chocolate in the world, then here you go!
–Knipschildt: Sea salt and chocolate (it’s actually pretty good) – try the Burnt Caramel and Hawaiian Sea Salt Chocopologie Bar, or the Dark Chocolate with Rosewater Chocopologie Bar.
–Dagoba: Another American chocolatier, all fair trade/organic. The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper rated the Organic Milk Chocolate Bar as the best organic milk chocolate.
So how about some plain old fun chocolate bars? If you’ve got (or the intended receiver of the chocolate bar has) a good sense of humor, take a look at these chocolate bars from Bloomsberry & Co.:
-Eat Me chocolate bar
-Instant Gratification chocolate bar
-Smooch chocolate bar
-Queen Bar
-Lusty chocolate bar
-Exciting in the Dark bar
(You get the idea…)
Then there’s the infused chocolate bars – talk about a unique experience! You’ve got to try at least two or three of these unusual, but delicious chocolate bars from Romanticos:
-Pineapple and soy chocolate bar
-Nutmeg Pistachio chocolate bar
-Mission Fig chocolate bar
-Wasabi and Honey chocolate bar
-Cayenne Pepper chocolate bar (most popular)
-Japanese Ginger chocolate bar
Cranberry Pistachio chocolate bar
(Again, you get the idea…)
Chocolate candy bars… Now you must have a better idea of what you think is the best chocolate in the world! And after this you might just raise the quota of chocolate consumed in the U.S. from 11.5 to, say maybe 30 pounds per person?