The 5 Best Gourmet Chocolate Treats

Want to know a secret? Chocolate is good for you. Loaded with antioxidants, this superfood works alongside a healthy diet and lifestyle to reportedly improve cardiovascular heath, has anti-cancer benefits, and improves brain health, among other health benefits. Choc full of delicious, smooth, rich flavor, everybody's favorite indulgence can be added to just about anything you can think of, but there's a catch. In order to reap the healthy benefits of this wonder food, it has to be high-quality, gourmet chocolate with the best ingredients...otherwise, you're mostly eating just flavorings and sugars. If you're looking for some decadent chocolate to indulge in your sweet tooth, these here are the top 5 gourmet chocolates you'll find.

Hu Chocolate Bars

Chocolate for All HUmanity.

Hu Chocolate bars contain pure, high-quality gourmet ingredients. The result is an incredibly delicious, totally simple chocolate bar that'll have your taste buds cheering.

Best Overall

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Looking for a superior yet simple gourmet chocolate bar? Look no further. These chocolate bars are made from the highest quality ingredients, and contain no unwanted ingredients found in most chocolate bars these days. This means no anti-caking agents, no additives, and no conditioners. Just pure, simple organic and fair-trade cacao, unrefined and organic coconut sugar, and organic and fair-trade cocoa butter as the base ingredients. The result is a smooth, intense, deep chocolate flavor and little else.

There are many different flavors to choose from in each 2 or 4 pack, including Salty Chocolate, Simple Chocolate, Vanilla Crunch, and even an 8-pack variety.

Pros:

Contain absolutely no: GMO ingredients, palm oil, refined sugar, cane sugar, sugar alcohols, dairy, gluten, emulsifiers, soy lecithin, or animal products of any kind.
Sustainable sourcing, high quality ingredients.

Cons:

Due to the fact that Hu Chocolate doesn’t contain any preservatives, stabilizers, or artificial ingredients, these gourmet chocolate bars are a little more susceptible to heat damage. If you live in a warmer climate, you’ll want to make note of that.

Hoosier Hill Farm Gourmet Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans

High Quality Energy Bites

If you need a bit of an energy boost, these gourmet chocolate covered espresso beans are highly addictive and insanely delicious.

Best Chocolate Snack

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These gourmet chocolate covered espresso beans are a delightful (and totally addicting) treat. Each premium espresso bean is covered in a decadent dark gourmet chocolate…and so delicious, it’s hard to keep to just a few. If you’re low on energy, this is certainly an uplifting snack. However, if you’re trying to watch your caffeine intake, good luck. You won’t be able to stop after just a few.

While there are plenty of chocolate covered espresso beans on the market, the secret to Hoosier Hill Farm’s delectable chocolate bits are the two main ingredients themselves. First, the espresso beans are roasted to perfection–rich, full, and not at all burned, as is a common woe with many other companies with the same product. The dark chocolate that envelopes each bean is clearly a gourmet chocolate. No waxy feel, no unwanted flavors…just pure, dark chocolate.

Pros:

Hoosier Hill Farm is a farm in Indiana, USA. All items are handled with care, by hand, and with high quality business practices.
Each bean is crunchy and decadent, and the ingredients are simple.

Cons:

Comes in a 2 pound bag. This is a con because these are highly addictive and you’ll be tempted to eat the whole bag.

TAZA Organic Chocolate Mexicano Sampler

Mexican-inspired Chocolates

These Mexican-inspired chocolates are a delightful take on gourmet chocolate treats.

Best Mexican-inspired Chocolate

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Mexican chocolate is known for simple ingredients, yet intricately flavored and textured. Made from a granular paste made out of cacao nibs, sugar, and various spices and flavorings both sweet or spicy, traditional Mexican chocolate is very different than western-inspired chocolate.

It’s important to note that true Mexican chocolate is a time-honored, cultural tradition. However, there are some gourmet chocolate companies out there that are certainly inspired by the ingredients, tastes, and textures of traditional Mexican chocolate…and they do a wonderful job. TAZA Chocolate is one such company. Based out of small Somerville, Massachusetts, this chocolate company makes sound ground chocolate from fair trade, organic cacao. If you’re curious about the various flavorings that’s distinct to Mexican-inspired chocolate, this Chocolate Mexicano Sampler is the perfect starting point. This 8-pack of Mexicano Discs contain one each of Cacao Pure, Chipotle Chili, Cinnamon, Coffee, Guajillo Chili, 85% Super Dark, Salted Almond, and Vanilla. The only problem with this? Each disc is so delicious, you’ll be wanting far more than the one little disc you get.

Pros:

Gluten-free, soy-free, vegan chocolate.
Made from unrefined, stone-ground chocolate.
Direct Trade Certified.

Cons:

Sampler size only comes out to a net weight of 10.8 oz. These chocolates are so delicious, you’ll want to order more than one sampler.

Lindt LINDOR Chocolate Truffles

Sweet and Simple

If you prefer the sweeter flavor of western-style chocolates, you'll love these chocolate truffles.

Best Truffles

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Admittedly, on the scale of healthy, purest chocolate ingredients, these chocolates don’t rate high on the list. They have some extra additives in there that might not exactly be the most pure. However, these chocolate truffles are just so dang good. Plus, they come in the perfect size for just one little chocolate truffle treat…so really, what’s the big deal? The smooth texture and rich flavor perfectly balance each other, so that each little tiny ball is delightful and decadent.

Perfect for sharing (or doling out treats to yourself as you please), this box of 60 truffles are individually wrapped. They come in four flavors as well: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, stracciatella, and white chocolate.

Pros:

Each individual ball contains a smooth, melting center.
Perfect for gifting.
Gourmet taste at a fraction of the cost.
Individually wrapped.

Cons:

This chocolate melts a bit easier than others, which can be an issue with ordering during hotter months. As for storage, you’ll want to keep the container in a cooler, dry space.

Viva Naturals Certified Organic Cacao Powder

Back to the Basics

Getting back to the purest form of chocolate, cacao powder can be added to anything from smoothies to baked goods for a hit of antioxidants and mild chocolatey goodness.

Best Cacao Powder

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If you haven’t noticed, cacao is in the spotlight lately…and for seriously good reasons. The purest form of chocolate, this currently trendy food that is rich in monounsaturated fats (read: heart-healthy), iron, potassium, and protein and fiber. It’s not sweet, nor bitter, but it’s chocolate-y and feels a bit decadent to eat. If you’re wondering what the difference is between cacao and cocoa, well, it has to do with the roasting process. Cacao is the actual seed from which chocolate is made, whereas cocoa is an ingredient in chocolate. Basically, the difference boils down to one simple fact: cacao is a whole seed that hasn’t been roasted, whereas cocoa is made of beans that have been roasted. Cacao is minimally processed; cocoa is used for processed chocolate product.

If you’re looking to hop on the cacao bandwagon, start with this powder by Viva Naturals. Made from certified organic cacao, this powder is unrefined, GMO-free, and because of its pure form, it retains all of the nutrients and all of the flavor you’re looking for.

Pros:

Powder form is great for smoothies, and baked goods and treats.
Derived from Criollo cacao beans, a high-quality cacao.
Naturally vegan and gluten free.

Cons:

Only comes in a 1 pound bag. You’ll find yourself adding it to pretty much everything, so this might not last you very long.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which type of chocolate is the best for you?

If you’d like to have a larger dose of healthy antioxidants along with your gourmet chocolate treat, your best bet is to indulge in dark chocolate. Containing a lesser amount of sugar than its lighter counterparts, dark chocolate also has more of those beneficial antioxidants, as well.

Do you have to get a certain type of chocolate for baking?

This depends on what your recipe calls for, as well as what you’re baking. If baking regular ol’ chocolate chip cookies, some semi-sweet chocolate morsels are fine. You can, of course, play around with the types of chocolate you use. If you love the flavor of dark chocolate and want a cookie that has a bitter bite to it, chunks of dark chocolate will be delicious. If you’re into chocolate for breakfast, making chocolate pancakes or chocolate smoothies with cacao powder is both delicious and nutritious, and has a more mild chocolate flavor. Basically, when it comes to chocolate and baking, you can’t go wrong. Follow a recipe or play around; either way, your taste buds will thank you.