The Best Types of Chocolates

Chocolate can bring a smile to anyone’s face. This treat is a popular gift whether it’s for a special anniversary, the holidays, or late-night snack sessions. However, an often overlooked fact is that there are actually countless types of chocolate, and having a better understanding of these can help with future gift ideas or maybe just picking a treat for yourself. Using Insider’s recommendations as our basis, let’s dive into the variations of chocolate.

Best For Gifting: Vosges Haut-Chocolat 

Although the name sounds daunting, this chocolate actually makes a great gift for a friend, family member, or yourself. The packaging is gorgeous and this chocolate has a rich, smooth texture, perfect for any occasion. Although most people turn away from chocolate as gifts because of its thoughtlessness, this chocolate’s packaging definitely makes the receiver feel special. 

Best Truffles and Ganaches: Bon Bon Bon

Each Bon Bon Bon chocolate is topless and decorated with various garnishes to represent the playful flavors. One type of this chocolate has a layer of bourbon ganache and caramel in a dark chocolate shell, for example. It’s garnished with orange and dark chocolate “ice cubes.” Another type would be the “Sticky Bon;” which has a sweet cinnamon ganache and toasted pecan crumble on top. The Lemon Bar None is a white chocolate cup with lemon custard ganache on top of a shortbread crust. Bon Bon Bon’s truffles have very unconventional flavors and each is wrapped in a separate box.

Best For Caramel Lovers: Fran’s Chocolates 

In addition to chocolate, caramel is another popular snack loved by foodies. According to Insider, Fran’s Chocolates have a caramel inside that offers a satisfying chew and involves just the right amount of salting to balance out the sugar.

Best For Nut Lovers: See’s Candies

Nuts and chocolate are an ideal pair for food lovers. They go hand-in-hand with countless dessert recipes, make a great afternoon snack, and are relatively healthy and inexpensive as well. Some examples of popular nuts include almonds, pistachios, and pecans with dark chocolate, as well as cashews, macadamia nuts, and hazelnuts with milk chocolate. See’s Candies offers a wide variety of these pairings, including those in unconventional forms as well. For example, they offer an assortment of lollipop chocolate candies, along with peanut brittle.

Best Vegan Chocolates: EHChocolatier

Although vegan chocolate bars are thought to be incredibly popular, considering how dark chocolate is essentially already “vegan,” it’s actually very difficult to find a rich, creamy truffle without using dairy products. In fact, many vegan truffles rely on nut butter for the creaminess, which can leave behind an unpleasant aftertaste. So what kind of vegan chocolate is best? EHChocolatier is a great option! According to Insider, their chocolates imitate the dairy flavor of regular chocolate very well, and their flavors are just as rich and creamy.

Best For Hot Chocolate: Christopher Elbow Chocolates

Christopher Elbow is best known for its bright chocolate bonbons, and they usually offer four hot chocolate options. The Cocoa Noir Dark Drinking Chocolate, for instance, has a very rich texture and well-balanced dark chocolate flavor since it contains vanilla beans.

With all of these types in mind, hopefully, you have a better idea of just how versatile and useful different types of chocolate can be. This article is merely a starting point to all the different places chocolate can be used, and I hope your appreciation for this snack went up a little. Happy snacking!