Gourmet Chocolates to Splurge on

Some people spend their money on fine wines and are willing to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on a single bottle of wine, but until recently you generally couldn’t say the same about chocolate, not even gourmet chocolate. With high-end companies like Amadei being established however, you can find chocolates to which terms like terroir are now applied.

Terroir is actually a term from the wine-world that is used to describe the unique flavors and tones imparted by a specific region of land to a wine. Amadei is an Italian company established in the 1990s whose gourmet chocolate is in now in high demand by the chocolate connoisseur. They have specially grown varieties of chocolate like Porcelana and Chuao that can go for over $200 for 2.2 pounds!

At those prices, it probably should be treated like an expensive wine! For the true chocoholic, money is probably no object, and Amadei is definitely one of the ultimate gourmet chocolates around, bar none.

But What if I Don’t Want to Spend That Much?

For those who blanch at such prices, a less expensive gourmet chocolate option is Godiva of course. In comparison, for approximately $70 you can get a bit over two pounds of dark chocolate. You also might want to explore other options such as Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, and possibly small local producers if you’re concerned mainly with using chocolate in baking. For example, in Hawaii there is plantation on the Big Island called the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory that grows its chocolate locally and produces it within the state!

I’m Lazy – Give Me Truffles!

Maybe baking isn’t quite up your alley, and you just want to enjoy your gourmet chocolate in the form of truffles or other confections. Again, the aforementioned Amadei is probably one of the top companies to check out. Suffice it to say that their truffles are far more cheaper than their pure chocolate squares. Otherwise, go with a standby like Godiva for your chocoholic needs.

Really though, with chocolate there’s almost no way to go wrong no matter what you choose. You can also do a Google search for gourmet chocolates to help you on your way and find interesting sites such as chocosphere.com that will help you on your way to achieving chocolate nirvana. Just make certain to keep an eye on your pocketbook when your chocolate addiction.