12 Valentine’s Day Chocolate Gifts That’ll Make Your Tastebuds Swoon
Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovers—it’s also for anyone with a sweet tooth. Next to Halloween, it’s one of the biggest candy holidays around, particularly for chocolate. In fact, Americans reportedly purchase around 58 million pounds of the sweet stuff every year, with chocolate consistently out-selling other confectionaries, like gummies and mints. Our love for Valentine's Day chocolate is dizzying.
Also dizzying? The amount of artisan chocolates and desserts available to shop ahead (and long after) the holiday. There are so many sugary, cloyingly sweet options out there, but we think the best Valentine’s Day chocolates are the ones that rely less on loading up on processed sugars, and have more nuanced, natural flavors. Bonus points awarded to chocolate brands that are extra mindful about ingredients and sourcing, as well as those that give back to the community in some way. (Because Valentine’s Day is about spreading love, after all.)
If you're already drooling over a chocolatey treat this Valentine's Day, do it with one of these brands, guaranteed to leave you and your tastebuds lovestruck.
Best Valentine's Day chocolates, at a glance.
- Best overall: Seattle Chocolate Berry In Love Gift Set ($61)
- Best dark chocolate: Raaka Chocolate Best Sellers Trio ($18)
- Best milk chocolate: Coco Chocolate COCO Five Milk Bar Collection ($45)
- Best truffles: Chocolate Secrets 16-Piece Handcrafted Truffle Collection ($49)
- Best nut butter: Hu Kitchen Organic Cashew Butter + Raspberry Dark Chocolate 6-Pack ($36)
- Best vegan: Vosges Vegan Truffle Collection ($36)
- Best single-origin: Beyond Good Madagascar Small Batch Collection Gift Box ($25)
- Best low-sugar: Pascha Organic Dark Chocolate Bars 10-Pack ($45)
- Best assortment: See's Classic Red Heart Assorted Chocolates ($38)
- Best packaging: Compartés Valentine's Day Chocolate Bar Gift Set ($50)
- Best fancy chocolate: Maison Boissier, Assorted Parisian Chocolate Pearls ($79)
- Best with wine: Williams Sonoma Wine Pairing Chocolate Bars ($19)
Best overall
This gift set by Seattle Chocolate will be the delight of any chocolate lover in your life. It comes with a gorgeous “Take Me Anywhere” heart-shaped box full of the brand’s beloved chocolate truffles in assorted flavors (like milk chocolate, pink bubbly, and salted almond), along with three chocolate truffle bars and three uniquely flavored Jcoco chocolate bars (mango plantain, black fig pistachio, and orange blossom espresso). Everything in it comes in limited-edition packaging designed by illustrator Erin Wallace, and 10 percent of the net profits support Girls Inc. Grocery store chocolate could never.
Best dark chocolate
Dark chocolate lovers—get this trio from Raaka. Raaka operates by a transparent trade model, meaning inside of every chocolate bar wrapper, you’ll find a report detailing exactly how Raaka sourced its cacao and how it stacks up in the commodity market, so you and your lucky giftee know exactly where its tasty chocolate comes from. In this Valentine’s Day ready 3-pack, you’ll get the brand’s best-selling dark chocolates: Coconut Milk, Pink Sea Salt, and Bourbon Cask Aged.
Best milk chocolate
If you’re shopping for more of a milk-chocolate person, Coco Chocolate has got you covered. Made using South American cacao, this single-origin, creamy milk chocolate bar gift includes flavors so good, you’ll want to keep them for yourself: Colombian milk, Isle of Skye Sea Salt Milk, Salted Caramel, Rhubarb & Ginger, and Orange. The only thing you’ll love more than the brand’s rich milk chocolate are the beautiful wrappers and gift box designed by French artist duo, Atelier Bingo.
Best truffles
This Dallas-based chocolate company makes delectable chocolate truffles in truly unique flavors. Lavender Peach, Texas Spice, Brownie Bite, and Hazelnut are just a few of the tasty varieties you’ll find in the 16-piece gift set making these truffles the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for chocolate lovers who think they’ve tried it all.
Best nut butter-based chocolate
For folks who love an alternative nut butter, Hu Kitchen’s Organic Cashew Butter + Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bars are the ultimate sweet treat. They’re made with coconut sugar instead of cane sugar, and use only organic and Fair-Trade ingredients. And in addition to being totally delicious, they’re free of all the stuff you don’t want like refined sugars, dairy, soy, palm oil, emulsifiers—the works—making them a better-for-you chocolate bar.
Best vegan
Last year, Well+Good staffers taste-tested vegan chocolates to see which came out on top, and these tasty truffles stood out. Not only do they look like a work of art, they taste amazing too, each made with thoughtful, vegan ingredients that elevate the richness of the dark chocolate. Think: Mediterranean olive oil, Bulgarian rose water, and blood orange peel. Each box contains nine truffles, so eat them wisely.
Best single origin
Instead of operating within a convoluted supply chain, Beyond Good cuts out the middlemen and works directly with African farmers (93 of them, in fact, whom you can read about on the brand’s site.) The chocolate bars are made with local Madagascar ingredients and made in the brand’s Madagascar factory before being shipped to your door—pretty cool, right? This gift set includes three of Beyond Good’s small batch chocolate bars: Vanilla Bean, Fleur de Sel, and Plantain & Sea Salt.
Best low-sugar chocolate
These Pascha Dark Chocolate Bars only have 4g of sugar per serving, are keto-friendly, and are allergen-free, making them a better-for-you Valentine’s Day treat for everyone in your circle. They’re made with 80-percent cacao for that intense, ultra-dark flavor, without the overwhelming bitterness of other dark chocolates. Plus, this budget-friendly 10-pack is an easy way to spread the love across your friends and family—tie a pink bow on each and pass them out like you would paper Valentine’s Day cards!
Best packaging
An LA favorite that’s been around since 1950, Compartés makes some of the coolest chocolate around. This gift set includes four of the brand’s gourmet chocolate bars in one-of-a-kind Valentine’s Day flavors like Strawberry Cheesecake, Raspberry Rose, Strawberry Ahortcake, and Rosé Wine. And beyond tasting delicious, the bars have stunning packaging that you’ll be tempted to keep, making these a great Valentine’s Day chocolate gift for your design-loving friends.
Best assortment
This one goes out to all the folks who made sure to stop by the See’s candy shop at the mall for a free chocolate sample (at least, we did, growing up). See’s has the best classic assortment in our opinion—and not just because their chocolates immediately send us down a trip through nostalgia lane. See’s Valentine’s Day box includes milk chocolate brittle, chocolate buttercream, caramel, See’s special Scotchmallow, milk chocolate vanilla nut cream, milk chocolate molasses chips, and more. The packaging is also adorable.
Best fancy chocolate
You haven’t tried fancy chocolate until you’ve tried these Parisian Chocolate Pearls. They’re exactly what they sound like—tiny pearl-sized bites of velvety chocolate goodness. This Valentine’s Day appropriate set contains three collectible tins/flavors: Dark Chocolate, Crispy Chocolate and Raspberry Chocolate. And according to reviews, they’re very much worth the splurge. Enjoy a pearl or two when the craving strikes or scoop up a handful, these luxurious little candies are made for snacking.
Best with wine
If your Valentine’s Day plans involve a date night in, these Wine Pairing Chocolate Bars will make for a tasty dessert course. The artisanal chocolate bars are expertly crafted to be enjoyed with different wine varieties—from Chardonnay and Port to Merlot and Pinot Noir—for an elevated tasting experience. The set covers the spectrum of mild to robust flavors, and includes one milk chocolate bar, two chocolate blends, and a dark chocolate bar.
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