5 Luxury Chocolatiers for Valentine’s Day

There’s one Valentine’s Day gift that is always guaranteed to hit the sweet spot—chocolate. But not all chocolate is created equal. As Joseph Marmor of Miami’s Le Chocolatier observes, “You can really tell the difference between good chocolate and not-so-good chocolate. Inexpensive chocolate is something like 40 percent sugar and only 20 percent cocoa solids, and it’ll be ‘gritty’ and sometimes a bit waxy.” Thankfully, there are plenty of high-quality, carefully sourced, and lovingly produced options available. Here we present five of the world’s finest luxury chocolatiers.

Le Chocolatier, Miami, United States

“Eating good chocolate releases endorphins,” says Le Chocolatier president Marmor. “The same chemicals that your body produces when you’re in love. That’s why it’s the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day.” And Marmor should know. Since 1980, he and wife Marlene have been producing decadent chocolates from their workshop in Florida. “Everyone likes chocolate,” he says, “you can be really creative with it.”

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All Le Chocolatier’s tempting chocolates and truffles are made on site—customers can see the team in action through a large glass window. As well as ready-prepared chocolates and truffles—from Classic Flavor Truffles and Fruit Essence Truffles to Assorted Nut Bark and Chocolate Covered Candied Thai Ginger—Le Chocolatier offers a customized service that can reimagine virtually any shape in chocolate. To date, the team has recreated a giraffe, a New York cab, and even the Eiffel Tower. For Valentine’s Day, as Marmor knows very well, “people obviously want hearts and kisses.” One of the company’s big hits for February 14 is the Heart Smash Cake, a hollow heart filled with a selection of tempting chocolates.

lechocolatier.com

Amadei, Tuscany, Italy

Tuscany might not be the first place you think of when you consider chocolate, but Cecilia Tessieri is hoping to change that. Founded in 1990, her company makes chocolate bars that have won many awards and earned her fans across the globe. Amadei is a bean-to-bar company, meaning it sources the cocoa it uses in its confections from plantations and ships them to its Italian workshop. Here they are turned into pieces of art by dedicated chocolatiers who dose and hand-process a small number of carefully selected ingredients.

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Tasting notes on the company’s website make choosing a bar a breeze. The Toscano White, for example, promises “notes of honey, vanilla, and fresh milk,” while the Jamaica Cru Single Origin Extra Dark Chocolate 70% offers “raw cocoa and fresh dates.” Amadei also produces Neopolitans, selection boxes, and even a house panettone. If you’re looking for a more unusual gift for your loved one, consider the sweet sourdough loaf shot through with extra-dark chocolate drops.

amedei.it

Koko Black, Melbourne, Australia

Koko Black has stores across Australia in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, and Perth, selling its graphically wrapped chocolate blocks and boxes. The company’s founders learned the art of chocolate-making in Germany and today offer some 100 different varieties, each handmade using local ingredients, including nuts grown in Australia and Tasmanian Leatherwood honey. The ideal Valentine’s Day gift would be the Chocolatier’s Selection Gift Box 49 Piece, which showcases Koko Black’s tempting offering of white, milk, and dark chocolate.

kokoblack.com

Eating good chocolate releases endorphins … the same chemicals that your body produces when you’re in love—Joseph Marmor, president, Le Chocolatier

To’ak Chocolate, Quito, Ecuador

For an exceptional Valentine’s gift that also does good, look no further than To’ak. In 2007, one of the company’s founders, Jerry Toth, was working on a rainforest conservation project in Ecuador when he had the idea of making chocolate by hand. Today To’ak, which means “earth” and “tree,” works with a select group of cacao farmers in Ecuador. “We pay them premium rates per pound for our base material,” explains CEO James Le Compte. “We’re a tree-to-bar company rather than bean-to-bar.” The company also donates 1 percent of its sales to Third Millennium Alliance, the non-profit organization set up by Toth 13 years ago.

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Among the chocolate that To’ak produces today are its Signature Harvest and Signature Aged. The Aged range is made from chocolate aged in ex-whiskey, sherry, or sauternes casks. To’ak worked with the oenology team at Washington State University to find the best way to do this. “Chocolate is the perfect gift because it’s made for sharing.” says Le Compte. “We treat our chocolate like a fine whiskey or wine—we want people to really experience the richness of our flavors and aromas; to see how special and unique the cacao we use is.”

toakchocolate.com

Debauve et Gallais, Paris, France

Marie Antoinette was said to be a keen lover of chocolate and it is believed that she had her own chocolatier at her home in Versailles. It’s fitting then that the one-time queen of France is celebrated by Paris-based Debauve et Gallais in the form of “pistoles”—dark chocolate coins created by the company’s founder Sulpice Debauve, who also happened to be the pharmacist of King Louis XVI. Today, Debauve et Gallais, a bean-to-bar company, offers not just pistoles but a variety of bars, some with added flavors of vanilla, lemon, and even pepper.

An excellent choice for a Valentine’s Day gift would be the Assortment Box Heart, which features a large heart-shaped chocolate filled with ganache, surrounded by an assortment of smaller ganaches, praline hazelnuts, and almonds. As the company says, “If words are not enough, chocolate is a good alternative.”

debauve-et-gallais.fr

Banner image: Truffles from Le Chocolatier