Chocolate
Some will try to tell you chocolate isn't a valid gift. These people are incorrect. The reason people have this attitude is that most chocolate purchased as a gift is lazy. A mixed truffle box from motorway services. Something shiny that looks exciting until you realise it tastes of.. nothing really. Chocolate can be one of the best gifts around, so long as it's done right.
In order for chocolate to be done right, it simply has to be really good.
That's our starting point for everything here. It needs to taste special. Not interesting, or quirky or ‘artisan’ in a ‘this is slightly messed up but I guess that’s a good thing?’ kind of way. We mean deliciously amazing in a wow, what is that? kind of way. We have sampled enough chocolate to know that when you find something that ticks that box, you really know it. We haven't included anything here that we didn't feel pretty excited about.
Of course flavour is the most important thing, but we also look at the people behind the bars. Chocolate makers that understand their cacao, that can explain where it is from and more importantly why that matters for what goes into the bar. Single origin is delicious when it's been chosen for a reason, not just thrown about as a marketing buzz-phrase. We consider texture, how that ganache melts in your mouth, how the best dark chocolate shouldn't make your face do that weird thing. We consider makers pushing the boundaries nobody else is.
We've also considered who this is for. Chocolate is special because it works for every occasion. Sounds bad but stay with us. Birthdays, thank you gifts, sorry presents, celebrations. Sometimes you just want to send someone something that says 'I was thinking about you'. Sure bouquets are great but half the time flowers are wilting by Wednesday. A nice piece of chocolate always seems to feel more thoughtful.
None of our picks are available at the end of your local supermarket aisle. They are the makers and chocolates we keep going back to again and again. And if we keep buying it, that's the only opinion we trust.
