The Best Chocolate in the Country, According to Our Editors

Compartes Los Angeles Chocolates Gift Set

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Los Angeles-based gourmet chocolatier Compartés specializes in unique flavor combinations and even prettier wrappers. They’re a work of art, perfect for gifting a chocolate lover. This Los Angeles Chocolates Gift Set is a great introduction to the brand for newcomers. It includes four bars: Old Hollywood (dark chocolate with smoked sea salt), California Love (dark chocolate with pretzels), California Dreaming (dark chocolate with brownies), and Blonde Bombshell (dark chocolate, strawberries, and Champagne).

"Compartés starts with high-quality chocolate, but for me, it's all about the bars with complex combos of flavors and mix-ins. I love sweet and salty, so my favorite in this set is California Love, made with crushed sourdough pretzels." - Jason Horn, Commerce Writer

Vosges Exotic Truffle Collection

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Owner and chocolate visionary Katrina Markoff flavors chocolates with unexpected ingredients like curry powder, freshly grated wasabi, and bee pollen, and packs them in boldly designed boxes. Markoff also pioneered the bacon-and-chocolate recipe trend and now has glamorous boutiques in Chicago, New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.

"I’ve sampled this Exotic Truffle Collection from Vosges and can confirm that both the Budapest truffle (made with Kalocsan paprika and 62% cacao dark chocolate) and Oaxaca truffle (made with Guajillo y pasilla chilies and 75% cacao Tanzanian dark chocolate with pumpkin seeds) are gorgeously complex. A bite from a Vosges truffle transports me to my happy place." - Danielle St. Pierre, Commerce Editor

Fran’s Chocolates Smoked Salt Caramels

View On Sur La Table $18

Seattle-based owner Fran Bigelow has been setting candy trends for more than 30 years — she was selling miniature chocolate bars and elegant truffles before they became ubiquitous. Her sweets also have a very high-profile admirer: one of former President Obama's favorite indulgences is Fran's Smoked Salt Caramels — buttery caramels coated in milk chocolate and sprinkled with smoked sea salt.

"For anyone who is a fan of salted caramel, these are an absolute must. I had the pleasure of trying these first-hand at Fran's chocolate facility in Seattle and they are to die for. They are the perfect mix of chocolate, caramel, and sea salt for that delectable sweet and salty combo. These are hands down my all-time favorite version of salted chocolate caramels." - Hannah Freedman, Commerce Content Strategy

Valrhona Premium Dulcey French Blonde Chocolate

View On Amazon $30

"It's nearly impossible to link to just one Valrhona product because this brand makes an impressive range of products. It's the ideal brand for chocolate nerds since there's so much variety in types of chocolate percentages, tasting notes, and flavors. My favorite has been the Komuntu 80% for its woody, rich notes, though you'll find other types like this caramelized 35% Dulcey white chocolate.

Among the chocolatier's collection are fruit-based melting faves, these chocolate pearls that I love for decorating, praline spreads, and more. It's a go-to brand for snacking, baking, and gifting, wrapped up in one." - Kristin Montemarano, Food Commerce Writer

Alter Eco Dark Chocolate Bars

View On Amazon $7 View On REI $5 View On Walmart $25

Alter Eco’s Classic Blackout is a blend of Ecuadorian and Dominican cacao that’s married by Swiss chocolatiers (how’s that for international influence?) The result is a well-balanced, bitter bar that’s malty and fruity in equal parts. The 85% bar is part of Alter Eco’s “Blackout” collection, which includes raspberry, orange, and almond blackouts — all made with 85% cacao — as well as a 90%, 90% mint, and breathtaking 100% bar.

This was an editor’s pick for a truly intense dark chocolate bar that doesn’t back down on the cacao-forward flavor. “Alter Eco bars have been my favorite for a few years now! The 85% is great, but I have no self-control with the 90%. I tell myself it doesn't count as candy." - Mary Claire Lagroue, Associate Editor

See’s Candies Nuts & Chews

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The flagship store of this classic American chocolate company opened in 1921 in Los Angeles. Today there are more than 200 locations across the country offering delicious chocolate candies filled with nuts, marzipan, and nougat. We get especially nostalgic for See's Nuts & Chews.

"If you're looking for an old-school boxed assortment, See's is awesome. This assortment is my top pick: It's heavy on the brittles and caramel-based confections that I think are where See's shines most." - Jason Horn, Commerce Writer

Tony's Chocolonely 70% Dark Chocolate Bar

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Tony’s Chocolonely is committed to ethical sourcing (99% of ingredients are Fairtrade certified),  and we love that the B Corp-certified brand invests in its employees and the environment. The brand’s dark chocolate bar was an editor’s choice for the creamiest dark chocolate bar, owing to the ratio of cacao to cocoa butter.

“Even people who don’t generally love dark chocolate seem to love this bar from Tony's Chocolonely because it’s so creamy and not overwhelmingly bitter. It’s dark enough to satisfy fans of bitter and complex flavors, but still super smooth with an impressive meltability." - Danielle St. Pierre, Commerce Editor

Guittard Cocoa Rouge Cocoa Powder

View On Sur La Table $14

"There's a reason this brand is used in so many professional kitchens. The chocolate is high quality and tasty, with more flavor complexity than a lot of other conventional brands on the market. Not only that, but, if you're into baking, it's easy to work with. I always have these bars in my kitchen, whether to just snack on or to bake with, along with the brand's Dutch process cocoa powder. It is hands down the best cocoa powder I've used and gives any baked good an incredibly rich, true chocolate flavor." - Kristin Montemarano, Food Commerce Writer

andSons Chocolatiers Signature Collection

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The Beverly Hills-based chocolatier andSons is run by two brothers with a rich family history in chocolate, and let's just say they certainly know a thing or two about making good bonbons. All of the brand's confections are handcrafted using an ingredient-first approach, and their kitchen is led by the former pastry chef of The French Laundry.

"andSons' truffles look hand-painted because they are. You probably want to go for an assortment, but if I had to pick one flavor, it would be the speculoos cookie." - Jason Horn, Commerce Writer

Seattle Chocolate 16 oz. Assorted Truffle Gift Bag

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It would be selfish of us to recommend only one type of chocolate truffle from Seattle Chocolate. Instead, we love this colorful mix of the brand’s rich truffles, like Dark Sea Salt Toffee, Espresso, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Pink Bubbly, Salted Almond, and San Juan Sea Salt. Even sweeter is the company’s promise to donate 10% of the profits from this collection to Girls Inc., a nationwide nonprofit inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

"I received a mixed bag of truffles from Seattle Chocolate over the holidays, and I had to hide them from myself so I wouldn't tear through the whole bag in one sitting! My favorite is the Dark Sea Salt Toffee Truffle, which has the perfect amount of crunch and saltiness." - Danielle St. Pierre, Commerce Editor

K+M Extra-Virgin Chocolate Bars

View On Food52 $45

For their chocolate line, chef Thomas Keller and olive oil icon Armando Manni make chocolate according to the same "live" principles Manni designed for his olive oils — a method developed with the University of Florence to minimize heat exposure and retain antioxidants throughout processing.

The two tapped former pastry chef Chi Bui (Daniel, Le Bernardin) to perfect the blockbuster bars, which double down on the antioxidant power with a finishing hit of Manni oil. The line of chocolate includes three bars, from Madagascar, Peru, and Ecuador; the latter was one of our favorites in our taste tests — uniquely floral, with a velvety texture.

Theo Organic Dark Chocolate + Sea Salt Variety 6 Pack

View On Amazon $35

Launched in 2006, the Seattle-based Theo Chocolate was the first chocolate manufacturer in the US to be both 100 percent organic and fair-trade. Theo's conscientious chocolates are delicious: nuanced and intense, like dark, single-origin bars from nations such as Ghana and Madagascar. Founder Joseph Whinney is so passionate about chocolate that he hired a biologist to map Theo's beans genetically.

Not all of Theo's endeavors are so serious: 3,400 Phinney bars, named for the factory's street address, come in whimsical flavors like the salty-sweet Bread and Chocolate, featuring dark chocolate mixed with bread crumbs; it's perfect with afternoon coffee.

Godiva Patisserie Dessert Truffles Gift Box, 24 pc

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We’ve all had a flight of Godiva’s classic gold-boxed chocolates, and don’t get us wrong – they’re great – but for something truly decadent, we love these cake-inspired truffles. This colorful 24-piece assortment of the chocolatier's patisserie dessert truffles includes flavors like tiramisu, chocolate lava cake, crème brûlée, and a strawberry crème tarte truffle.

Raaka Organic Daily Dose Chocolate Pack

View On Food52 $30

Fun fact: Rakka means “raw” in Finnish. Raaka is based out of Brooklyn, but their name comes from their commitment to preserving the intricate and varied flavors of wild cacao in all of their chocolate products. Raaka won us over in our taste tests of the best dark chocolate, and this Organic Daily Dose selection offers a great introduction to the brand’s library. We recommend the mixed set, which includes sea salt, oat milk, Dominican cacao, and coconut milk.