The 13 Best Chocolate Brands, From Jacques Torres to zChocolat

Best Overall Chocolate: Thierry Atlan

When I revealed these chocolates to my colleagues, they literally applauded. Thierry Atlan, who became a Meilleur Ouvrier de France Chocolatier in 1997, has crafted stunning pieces of chocolate that taste as good as they look. These were the consensus favorites among our staff, all of whom have varying tastes and preferences. The smooth texture is complemented by delicate, not-too-sweet flavors, including the likes of lime yuzu caramel and jasmine tea, among more standard combinations. The “little box of jewels,” as one of my colleagues called it, is simply magnifique.

Buy Now: $162

Best Milk Chocolate: zChocolat

Whether a chocoholic or not, anyone should be happy to receive a box of zChocolat, especially if it contains the company’s milk-chocolate pieces. The classic version uses a 40 percent West African milk chocolate, wrapped around both caramel and praline. But it also appears in bonbons featuring hazelnuts, pistachios, raspberry ganache, and more. And while the pieces themselves are delicious, the presentation sets zChocolat apart from all other brands. You can choose to have your chocolates sent in a mahogany box with the recipient’s name engraved on the front and their initials embossed in the wax seal atop the wrapping (along with a suite of other gift services). More than just some chocolates you enjoy and then forget about, zChocolat is basically a keepsake—one with the instant gratification that a box of chocolates provides.

Buy Now: Starting at $134

Best Dark Chocolate: La Maison du Chocolat

Sometimes, you get a box of chocolates and you wish that the pieces were just a touch smaller—so that you can eat more of them at once. La Maison du Chocolat solves that problem, creating delicate, minimalistic chocolates that are the Goldilocks pick when it comes to size. That means the box can contain pairs of the same chocolate, great for those who want to share a particular flavor or simply double-down on it. You’ll likely opt for the latter if you’re a fan of dark chocolate, as La Maison has the best we tried. The rich, high-quality chocolate has a smooth texture, whether it’s paired with an almond and hazelnut praline or a dark chocolate ganache with passionfruit pulp. Best of all, fans can go big with an 84-piece box of just dark chocolate.

Buy Now: $150

Best Belgian Chocolate: Neuhaus

Belgian chocolate is some of the best in the world, and none do it better than Neuhaus, which has been making its chocolate in the European country since 1857. In particular, Neuhaus is perfect for the person who likes some variety: The company’s ballotins come with a whopping 42 pieces of chocolate, spanning fresh cream, praline (which the company invented, NBD), ganache, and gianduja-filled. The flavors lean more toward the classics, rather than any adventurous combinations, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The list of options was too long for some of our staff, but can you really have too much chocolate?

Buy Now: Starting at $33

Best Sea-Salt Caramels: Fran’s

Most boxes of chocolate are likely to include at least one or two caramel options. But for the true caramel lover, you can’t do much better than Fran’s. The company’s gray salt caramels (dipped in dark chocolate) and smoked salt caramels (wrapped in milk chocolate) are like a better Milky Way, as one of my colleagues put it (without the nougat, though). The caramel isn’t too sweet and it meshes beautifully with the delicate chocolate coating.

Buy Now: Starting at $18

Best Peanut-Butter Chocolates: John Kelly

For the Reese’s lovers among us, John Kelly’s chocolates provide an upscale take on the candy classic. The pieces are enormous and extremely rich, thanks to what the company calls its “truffle fudge,” technically a fudge but with the consistency of ganache. In peanut-butter form, this means you get a creamy, nut-forward center, with a smaller coating of chocolate that really lets the filling shine. The flavor combination and texture are a bit reminiscent of something you might find in a seaside fudge shop, but the quality makes John Kelly’s chocolates a tad more special.

Buy Now: Starting at $15

Most Adventurous Chocolates: Vosges Haut-Chocolat

Vosges Haut-Chocolat is not for those seeking your typical milk or dark chocolate filled with ganache or caramel. Vosges is for the adventurous eaters among us. The flavors are strong and quirky: You might choose a piece featuring organic Wakaya ginger, freshly grated wasabi, 72 percent cacao dark chocolate, and ceremonial matcha (the Black Pearl). Or one with Bulgarian rose water, pistachio paste, 45 percent cacao deep milk chocolate, dried rose-bud tea, and Bronte pistachio (the Sveta Sofia). The flavors are all inspired by founder Katrina Markoff’s travels, so if you can’t splurge on an entire trip, these chocolates might be the next best thing.

Buy Now: $98

Best Fruit-Flavored Chocolate: andSons Chocolatiers

Some people think that fruit and chocolate should have nothing to do with each other. But for those who like a little tang and sweetness, the Beverly Hills–based andSons Chocolatier is making delectable fruit-forward bonbons. With flavors like passion-fruit caramel, hibiscus honey, double yuzu, and PB&J, you’ll find a veritable produce basket in every box. Many of the fruits are acquired from farmers’ markets, so you can expect extremely high-quality ingredients, and the Huntington Tea Caramel and Huntington Orange even use citrus from the Huntington Museum.

Buy Now: Starting at $25

Best Cherry Cordial: Ethel M

Based on appearance alone, us Robb Reporters had a few qualms with Ethel M’s chocolate. Some of the pieces were rather large, and having the chocolates so spaced out in the packaging made the offering appear scant. But once we were able to get past the visuals, the flavor was actually one of the highest-rated among all the chocolates we tried. For those who love a cherry cordial in particular, Ethel M has you covered. The brand offers a 12-piece box, with Italian marasca cherries and Paul Masson VSOP brandy enrobed in dark chocolate and red cocoa butter. A little sweet, a little boozy—what could go wrong?

Buy Now: $36

Best Chocolate-Covered Nuts: Koho

If you like some crunch with your chocolate, there are few better things than a hardy nut enrobed in cocoa-y goodness. And while you want the nut itself to taste good, the chocolate has to stand up to that flavor. Koho uses Hawaiian cacao to accompany its Hawaiian macadamia nuts, which the island is known for. Available in both milk and dark chocolate options (38 percent cacao vs. 55 percent cacao), you can indulge regardless of your preference. While the brand is limited to just macadamia nuts, the quality of its products should outweigh the quantity.

Buy Now: $39

Best Plain Chocolate Bar: Richart

Richart has been around for a century, so you know that its chocolate has gotta be up to snuff. While the French brand is perhaps best known for its boxes of bonbons, it also offers numerous bars, for when you’d rather dig in to chocolate in its purest form. There are some fun flavors, but the plain chocolate is where Richart shines: Many bars are single-origin and tell you where the cocoa comes from (Venezuela, Grenada, Peru, and the Dominican Republic—to name a few). And they include anywhere from 64 percent cocoa to the full 100 percent, if you prefer a rich, deep chocolate flavor.

Buy Now: Starting at $14

Best White Chocolate: Olive & Sinclair Buttermilk White

Olive & Sinclair was founded in Tennessee back in 2007, and it prides itself on what it calls its “southern artisan chocolate.” The company works with organic and fair trade cacao beans, and it slow-roasts and stone-grounds those beans to make delectable chocolate bars. While it offers a handful of flavors—traditional and not—our favorite is the buttermilk white chocolate bar, which creatively employs buttermilk to balance out the sweetness of white chocolate. It’s unlike most other white chocolate you’ve had—and all the better for it.

Buy Now: $10

Best Creative Chocolate Bar: Compartés

Compartés is one of the best-known gourmet chocolates for a reason. The L.A.-based company has been churning out sweets since 1950, and it now offers some 90 different chocolate bars alone. The flavors of those bars are all over the place—which we mean as a good thing. You can get chocolate that contains hints of donuts and coffee, blueberry muffins, Champagne, cornbread, and avocado toast, among other wacky combos. While the more outrageous options might not be for everyone, they’re certainly creative. Compartés is here to push the envelope on what chocolate can taste like. Purists may turn up their noses, but our inner child loves their funky flavors. The brand is currently offering an eight-pack of its most popular bars, but if you’re getting someone this chocolate as a gift, there’s a set with 16 bars in a stylish green trunk.

Buy Now: $200

FAQs

What makes something a gourmet or fine chocolate?

Obviously, the chocolate itself has to be high quality, made from the finest cacao beans. But beyond that, the filling of a gourmet or fine chocolate usually leaves out preservatives and artificial flavors, instead using natural ingredients. This is why you’ll often see the ingredients listed with an origin, such as Vosges’ Bulgarian rose water. The reliance on organic and fresher components means that the chocolates themselves are a bit less shelf-stable than your grocery-store Russell Stover, but the taste differential is quite dramatic. And the top-shelf ingredients also lend themselves to top-shelf prices, with gourmet chocolates averaging out at $2 apiece.

What are the different types of chocolates and fillings?

Besides the difference between milk and dark—which is mainly about the percentage of cocoa solids they contain—there are several different types of bonbons and truffles. (Plus white chocolate, which actually contains no cocoa solids at all.) In the assortments we tried, the fillings were varied, but some of the most common were buttercream, praline, and ganache. Buttercream is a mix of butter and sugar, flavored with a whole host of liquid extracts. Praline uses some sort of caramelized nut, usually hazelnuts or almonds, that is ground into a paste. And ganache is a smooth mixture of chocolate and cream. Particularly varied boxes will contain a combination of all these, while some companies may opt to stick to one particular formulation.

How did we choose and categorize the chocolates on this list?

My colleagues were more than gracious enough to take some time out of their day to taste-test copious amounts of chocolate. That ensured we had a panel of people with different palates and preferences. All of us graded each brand on a number of factors, including appearance, texture, flavor, and variety. We cut many chocolates into even smaller bite-size pieces so that more than one person could try the same flavor, or so that one person could try several flavors without making themselves sick. Along with our scorecards, we discussed the different brands as we tasted, noting factors that can’t come across in a simple number grading system. Of course, everyone’s tastes will vary, so take that into consideration when purchasing, but this is what we honestly thought of every brand presented here.