Ultra Gourmet Chocolates for Valentine's Day

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
F

faenix

Platinum Member
Sep 28, 2003
2,717
0
76
So far I've been recommended

Marie Belle
La Maison Du Chocolat

I was wondering if anyone knew of any other ultra gourmet chocolatiers. I'm not looking for your Godiva or Lindt chocolate but something above and beyond. Opinions on quality/presentation will be appreciated too!
 
T

Terabyte

Diamond Member
Dec 19, 1999
3,876
0
71
9 PIECE BLUE & BROWN BOX - $24 .... :shocked:

9x3 = 27 chocolates ~ 24 piece box = $24x3 = $72 :shocked:
 
W

warmodder

Senior member
Nov 1, 2007
554
0
0
Well if you really want to impress (and your lady friend doesn't actually know anything about chocolates) you should get her a box of Noka. I have no familiarity with the two brands you mentioned.

A word of advice though, a chocolatier doesn't actually make the chocolate themselves--they merely mold it or blend it with other flavors. Lindt doesn't make their own chocolate, while Godiva does. It doesn't necessarily mean the end result is better or worse (hershey's makes their own for instance), but it is a good point to understand.

Edit: Noka is a chocolatier. Their supplier isn't quite supermarket brand but it is extremely cheap compared to their jacked up prices. Still she'll probably really like the box and the taste despite.
 
MikeyIs4Dcats

MikeyIs4Dcats

Lifer
Nov 5, 2001
18,367
3
0
Originally posted by: warmodder
Well if you really want to impress (and your lady friend doesn't actually know anything about chocolates) you should get her a box of Noka. I have no familiarity with the two brands you mentioned.

A word of advice though, a chocolatier doesn't actually make the chocolate themselves--they merely mold it or blend it with other flavors. Lindt doesn't make their own chocolate, while Godiva does. It doesn't necessarily mean the end result is better or worse (hershey's makes their own for instance), but it is a good point to understand.
Click to expand...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....<breath>
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
 
D

Descartes

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
13,968
2
0
Personally, I'd avoid the excess costs associated with chocolatiers and their fancy packaging and instead go for high-quality chocolate. Chocosphere has a lot of nice options. These are more ultra gourmet than something like Marie Belle, although the packaging might not be as pretty.

Amadei is excellent. Joseph Schmidt, although a chocolatier, makes a great product. El Rey is pretty good. My favorite is actually Dagoba. All of these companies, except for Joseph Schmidt, actually make the chocolate.
 
glenn1

glenn1

Lifer
Sep 6, 2000
25,383
1,013
126
Originally posted by: faenix
So far I've been recommended

Marie Belle
La Maison Du Chocolat

I was wondering if anyone knew of any other ultra gourmet chocolatiers. I'm not looking for your Godiva or Lindt chocolate but something above and beyond. Opinions on quality/presentation will be appreciated too!
Click to expand...

I'm partial to Moonstruck Chocolates link 2 myself. Delicious and the presentation is amazing, they're little works of art :)


 
D

darthsidious

Senior member
Jul 13, 2005
481
0
71
Originally posted by: Descartes
Personally, I'd avoid the excess costs associated with chocolatiers and their fancy packaging and instead go for high-quality chocolate. Chocosphere has a lot of nice options. These are more ultra gourmet than something like Marie Belle, although the packaging might not be as pretty.

Amadei is excellent. Joseph Schmidt, although a chocolatier, makes a great product. El Rey is pretty good. My favorite is actually Dagoba. All of these companies, except for Joseph Schmidt, actually make the chocolate.
Click to expand...

Exactly. You'll have to make the choice between buying mediocre , sweet, but fancily packaged cholate from a place like Godiva vs true value for money at a place like chocosphere. I highly recommend the second route, especially if the party of interest like dark chocolate.

My list of top manufacturers, in rough order would be:
Michel Cluizel, Amedi(the Chuao is hands down the best chocolate I've ever tasted), Domori, Pralus, and Valrhona. If you have any specific questions/budget, I can try and help; especially if you want to end up buying dark chocolate bars.

Edit: How did I miss El Ray . Their dark chocolates, while slightly less refined in texture, taste great. Icoa, their white chocolate stands in a class of its own among white chocolates.
 
D

darthsidious

Senior member
Jul 13, 2005
481
0
71
Originally posted by: warmodder
Well if you really want to impress (and your lady friend doesn't actually know anything about chocolates) you should get her a box of Noka. I have no familiarity with the two brands you mentioned.

A word of advice though, a chocolatier doesn't actually make the chocolate themselves--they merely mold it or blend it with other flavors. Lindt doesn't make their own chocolate, while Godiva does. It doesn't necessarily mean the end result is better or worse (hershey's makes their own for instance), but it is a good point to understand.

Edit: Noka is a chocolatier. Their supplier isn't quite supermarket brand but it is extremely cheap compared to their jacked up prices. Still she'll probably really like the box and the taste despite.
Click to expand...

I'm fairly certain that godiva buys coverture in bulk, and does not make their own chocolate from the bean. Notice that they always say "belgian chocolate" while never highlighting the origin of the bean. Infact, given their volumes, I'm almost willing to bet that they buy coverture from a place like Callebaut, which I would rate below Chocolat Bonnat (the coverture supplier for Noka - not to say I support people buying noka; I don't)
 
D

Descartes

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
13,968
2
0
I just had a thought. Extending on darthsidious' enthusiasm for good chocolate, you could buy some couverture and make your own truffles, dipped fruits, etc. They'll be crude, but I think that's something most women appreciate. Hell, if you don't want to do that, then you could just put it in some letter molds and spell out "I Love You" or something. Not sure if that's too cheesy for you.

I've done it a few times. It's not as difficult as it might seem at first, but you'll likely need to temper the chocolate. You can Google around for that info. You can buy couverture from some specialty stores, but I can usually find it at Whole Foods as well. They generally carry at least El Rey couverture and sometimes Valrhona.

Anyway, just a thought. I do things like that for the wife and she generally gets a kick out of them, but maybe we're both just incredibly geeky.
 
D

darthsidious

Senior member
Jul 13, 2005
481
0
71
Originally posted by: faenix
So far I've been recommended

Marie Belle
La Maison Du Chocolat

I was wondering if anyone knew of any other ultra gourmet chocolatiers. I'm not looking for your Godiva or Lindt chocolate but something above and beyond. Opinions on quality/presentation will be appreciated too!
Click to expand...

In a seperate post I've mentioned some brands you should look at if you want to buy high quality dark chocolate. However, if you really want to buy truffles etc., and live in new york, lookup the Michel Cluizel Chocolate store (I'm too lazy to hunt for a link; search on google).
 
D

darthsidious

Senior member
Jul 13, 2005
481
0
71
Originally posted by: Descartes
I just had a thought. Extending on darthsidious' enthusiasm for good chocolate, you could buy some couverture and make your own truffles, dipped fruits, etc. They'll be crude, but I think that's something most women appreciate. Hell, if you don't want to do that, then you could just put it in some letter molds and spell out "I Love You" or something. Not sure if that's too cheesy for you.

I've done it a few times. It's not as difficult as it might seem at first, but you'll likely need to temper the chocolate. You can Google around for that info. You can buy couverture from some specialty stores, but I can usually find it at Whole Foods as well. They generally carry at least El Rey couverture and sometimes Valrhona.

Anyway, just a thought. I do things like that for the wife and she generally gets a kick out of them, but maybe we're both just incredibly geeky.
Click to expand...

Haha, that's funny. I was actually thinking about posting that. They aren't that hard to make, and you can buy decent coverture for not too much money (atleast compared to buying pre-made truffles). IMO there's no point buying some of the ultra specialty single origin/estate chocolates for this purpose, as you'll be introducing other strong external flavours.

The whole foods I've been to usually carry callebaut (the minimum I'd use), Valrhona, and El Ray. I would probably stick to the Valrhona or El Ray (and much prefer the el ray if you were to buy any white chocolate for dipping/drizzling). You can also buy plastic molds online. Tempering the chocolate properly is KEY though. Please please don't simply melt the chocolate and then shape it - the texture will be permanently ruined, and the chocolate will never be solid when it comes up to room temperature. If you've never tempered chocolate, then you should probably practice with an advance batch to make sure that you have the technique down.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom