In one period films produced in Hollywood, chocolates are regarded as the most delicious food the prince had ever tasted. Indeed, many of us find delight in eating chocolates. We can barely stop our sweet tooth from craving for more once we start consuming specially-crafted and exotically-flavored gourmet chocolates.

 

Commercial chocolates often come in milk, white, and dark variants, but you won’t run out of options with gourmet chocolates. Since chocolate has become a major ingredient in the world for pastries, beverages, and other consumables, gourmet chocolate makers have enhanced their products to come-up with different delectable sensations.

 

Gourmet chocolates are great as gifts for Valentine’s Day or Christmas, or even as a pure expression of love on a regular day. No one can blame you should you want to treat yourself to gourmet chocolates. Here are the top gourmet chocolate makers, which also accept online orders for your convenience.

 

1. Christopher Norman Chocolates

 

People love ordering chocolates from Christopher Norman due to their sculptured and hand-painted truffles, in innovative flavors, that come in distinguished boxed packaging. You’ll personally find the company’s confections “extraordinarily luscious” and “sensory-provoking.” As much as possible, they do away with the classic flavors of chocolates that you can find in grocery stores. They make their pieces by hand in their New York City factory, and they use only the finest and all-natural ingredients available.

 

2. Lake Chaplain Chocolates

 

This gourmet chocolate producer is native to the state of Vermont. The company has a long standing history of making fine chocolate pieces that are produced with quality craftsmanship. They are also known for their wide variety of chocolate flavors that create a mouth watering sensation in every bite. Their sweet indulgences are produced every day in their factory. Lake Chaplain Chocolates were once regarded by the New York Times as the “some of the best chocolate in the country.”

 

3. MarieBelle New York

 

The signature chocolate line by MarieBelle fuses top of the line ingredients, the finest chocolates, and a production scheme equal to an artisan. The results are nothing less than works of art; they look like jewelry pieces displayed in their Italian boxes. Founder and designer Maribel Lieberman successfully adds a touch of classicism to their contemporary chocolate collection. The exotic flavors of their gourmet chocolates are even made aesthetically pleasing by hand-painting them.

 

4. Romanicos Chocolates

 

The store is owned and supervised by Alejandra Bigai, who makes sure that their chocolates meet the standards of luxuriousness and taste. Their chocolate truffles are sure to leave you craving more, available flavors like holy berry, wild coconut, heavenly vanilla, and passion caramel. One of the chocolate lines Romanicos is known for is called Piccolo Art Collection, which features hand-painted chocolates with almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, and dulce de leche fillings. Their chocolates collections are nicely packaged, but you can also order customized gift items for your business.

 

5. La Maison du Chocolat

 

It may be obvious to you that this chocolate collection follows the French tradition. Their boxed chocolate assortments may include both dark and milk variants, or may include one variant only. They also have their own original creations, like the contents of their Arriba Gift Box. For Christmas 2007, they had a chocolate line packaged in a golden nacre pearl-like sphere that is sure to delight the eyes and the palate of its recipient.

 

6. L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates

 

Instead of using flavorings, extracts, and concentrates, their chocolates are produced using raw and natural ingredients. They brew teas and coffees, if needed, as well as cook and squeeze other fruit ingredients. This is the reason why their batches of deliveries may slight differ from each other though they come from the same recipe. L. A. Burdick uses Mexican vanilla beans, local honey, the finest nuts and fruit from Turkey and California.

 

7. Vosges Chocolates

 

Katrina Markoff, a French trained chocolate-maker, owns and manages this chocolate business. Through traditional techniques of making chocolates combined with her love for the world cuisines, Markoff was able to come-up with her own line of chocolate creations. Her products include blood orange, pumpkin, Mexican chili, Hawaiian sea salt, and other exotic flavors. If you prefer more traditional flavors, you won’t be disappointed by their fine honey, classic hazelnut, and rich caramel chocolates.

 

8. Recchiuti Confections

 

Based in San Francisco, the company aims to orient their customers with how a real chocolate experience is meant to be. Their morsels are handcrafted and are meant to change your attitude towards chocolates. Classic chocolate flavors are usually given a new twist, as in the case of one of their signature lines, the burnt caramel pieces.

 

It is not every day that you find a chocolate company that hires an acclaimed artist to design their products. Recchiuti boasts of their Paul Madonna chocolate collection, which features San Francisco life as seen and envisioned by the artist.

 

9. Richart Paris

 

It doesn’t take a genius to tell that Richart Paris is another French company. The business started in 1925 and continues to seek the best cocoa in the world to come-up with their products line. Michael Richart states their mission to infuse an “endless amount of the happiness and pleasure that chocolate has to offer.” One of their products you can’t miss is the Little Gourmet Collection.

 

10. Payard’s

 

Payard’s Patisserie and Bistro is a cafe located in New York City and owned by one of the top pastry chefs in the country, Francois Payard. Due to the high demand and popularity of his products, he has made them available online, including his cakes and chocolates. Payard’s chocolate collections lean toward classic flavors like raspberry ganache and vanilla rum ganache. They can be purchased in boxes of half and full dozens and packaged in a distinctive box.

 

Whether you admit it or not, gourmet chocolates are sometimes so well-designed that it seems like such a waste to eat them.

 

[Get Top Ten Updates from Crunkish]
Submit your own Top Ten