Belgium chocolate has always been a treat for me, Swiss chocolate as well. Currently, we are enjoying some bought at Asheville Chocolate in North Carolina that was a gift and is excellent.
On a 2006 trip to San Francisco my husband and I did a walking choclate tour (don't remember the tour operator) going to about 8 different chocolate shops. Recchiuti Chocolate located in the Ferry Building was our absolute favorite. Sadly, some of the shops have since closed but Recchiuti is still there!
Haven't traveled much lately so don't have a lot of recent history :(. However, there is a store in Richmond Va called For the Love of Chocolate that carries individual chocolates and chocolates from around the world. Some of my favorites are Cadbury from England and German chocolate.
I haven’t done extensive chocolate tasting but the best I’ve had was in Switzerland. Our tour director was from Italy and she said even though the same brands of chocolate are made in Italy it’s not as good as Swiss made chocolate.
Toured two chocolate factories and they had samples. Best chocolate ever! I took a lot home with me.
I also had chocolate in Ireland and it wasn’t that great but the food, scenery and friendly people made Ireland an amazing place to visit.
There is excellent chocolate here in the states as well.
What ever happened to Nestle's chocolate bars. Not the crunch, the milk chocolate bars? Not sold in the USA anymore. I've had great chocolate in Switzerland and Belgium, but still prefer Nestle's.
Hévin is an award-winning chocolatier/patissier. He produces a huge variety of single-origin bars, usually over 20 to choose from, from every chocolate producing region in the world, most in the 70%-75% range, but several over 80%, which can be excellent from a good chocolatier. He also makes a few custom blends. Though I generally prefer single-origin myself, M. Hévin has excellent taste and his blends can be delicious. His bars are also exceptionally smooth and silky in texture, no matter how dark. Very skillful blending.
You commented on how you liked the Madagascar chocolate at Jacques Genin: My brother (who lives in Paris) likes Madagascar too (especially Hévin's), but it's not my favorite. It's too fruity/citrusy to my taste, as are many African chocolates. I prefer the darker, fudgier chocolates of South and Central America, in particular chocolate from Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Hévin produces one 74% bar from Colombia that's extraordinary, and one of my favorites. It has distinct notes of coffee -- not from an infusion of coffee, but from the natural flavor of the cacao beans from the soil conditions of where it's grown.
I'll also share two of my favorite artisan (bean-to-bar) chocolate makers, which are available in some finer shops around the US (I can find them where I live, in the Bay Area):
MAROU: Single-origin bars from Vietnam. Each bar comes from a single plantation around the country, each with its own distinctive flavor notes. They're produced in the traditional French method (Vietnam was, of course, a French colony).
And my top favorite chocolatier these days, also made in the traditional French way:
QANTU: The shop/factory is based in Montreal, but the cacao is sourced in Peru by a local couple who work with individual chocolate growers, and each plantation produces a bar of distinctly unique flavors.
Any of their boutiques are great, depending on which is most convenient for you. My favorite is at 3, rue Vavin, in the 6th, just up the street from the Jardins du Luxembourg.
Although I don't see it on their current list of available bars on the web site, see if they have any of his "noir 81%" blend. It's another favorite of mine.
Don't forget the Chocolate Museum in Barcelona (Museu de Xocolata)
http://www.museuxocolata.cat/?lang=en
We're going to try to visit soon.
Belgium chocolate has always been a treat for me, Swiss chocolate as well. Currently, we are enjoying some bought at Asheville Chocolate in North Carolina that was a gift and is excellent.
On a 2006 trip to San Francisco my husband and I did a walking choclate tour (don't remember the tour operator) going to about 8 different chocolate shops. Recchiuti Chocolate located in the Ferry Building was our absolute favorite. Sadly, some of the shops have since closed but Recchiuti is still there!
That sounds like fun.
I remember fondly the stories of your daughter and an attraction to quality dark chocolate. Must be genetic. #SafeTravels
That was 2014, the last time we were in Paris. Safe travels to you, too, Marcy.
Haven't traveled much lately so don't have a lot of recent history :(. However, there is a store in Richmond Va called For the Love of Chocolate that carries individual chocolates and chocolates from around the world. Some of my favorites are Cadbury from England and German chocolate.
Best was in a little shop in Brussels.
I haven’t done extensive chocolate tasting but the best I’ve had was in Switzerland. Our tour director was from Italy and she said even though the same brands of chocolate are made in Italy it’s not as good as Swiss made chocolate.
Toured two chocolate factories and they had samples. Best chocolate ever! I took a lot home with me.
I also had chocolate in Ireland and it wasn’t that great but the food, scenery and friendly people made Ireland an amazing place to visit.
There is excellent chocolate here in the states as well.
Perugia, Italy
Italian chocolate is great!
The best chocolate I ever had was from Lionides in Belgium. They have stores in different Belgium cities.
Oh yes, love that Belgian chocolate.
What ever happened to Nestle's chocolate bars. Not the crunch, the milk chocolate bars? Not sold in the USA anymore. I've had great chocolate in Switzerland and Belgium, but still prefer Nestle's.
We've had some great chocolate in the States, for sure.
Took a chocolate tour in Paris years ago. Each chocolatier said eat their goods within a week, as the taste changes quickly.
You missed one of the best -- possibly THE best -- chocolatier in Paris, Jean-Paul Hévin. He has several shops around the city:
https://www.jeanpaulhevin.com/en/nos-boutiques
Hévin is an award-winning chocolatier/patissier. He produces a huge variety of single-origin bars, usually over 20 to choose from, from every chocolate producing region in the world, most in the 70%-75% range, but several over 80%, which can be excellent from a good chocolatier. He also makes a few custom blends. Though I generally prefer single-origin myself, M. Hévin has excellent taste and his blends can be delicious. His bars are also exceptionally smooth and silky in texture, no matter how dark. Very skillful blending.
You commented on how you liked the Madagascar chocolate at Jacques Genin: My brother (who lives in Paris) likes Madagascar too (especially Hévin's), but it's not my favorite. It's too fruity/citrusy to my taste, as are many African chocolates. I prefer the darker, fudgier chocolates of South and Central America, in particular chocolate from Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Hévin produces one 74% bar from Colombia that's extraordinary, and one of my favorites. It has distinct notes of coffee -- not from an infusion of coffee, but from the natural flavor of the cacao beans from the soil conditions of where it's grown.
https://www.jeanpaulhevin.com/en/chocolate-bars/122-426-colombie-74.html#/1074-net_weight-75/3062-nature-fruity/3068-family-dark_chocolate/3080-strength-60_74_cocoa
I'll also share two of my favorite artisan (bean-to-bar) chocolate makers, which are available in some finer shops around the US (I can find them where I live, in the Bay Area):
MAROU: Single-origin bars from Vietnam. Each bar comes from a single plantation around the country, each with its own distinctive flavor notes. They're produced in the traditional French method (Vietnam was, of course, a French colony).
https://marouchocolate.com
And my top favorite chocolatier these days, also made in the traditional French way:
QANTU: The shop/factory is based in Montreal, but the cacao is sourced in Peru by a local couple who work with individual chocolate growers, and each plantation produces a bar of distinctly unique flavors.
https://en.qantuchocolate.com/accueil
Their chocolate bars have won several gold and silver medals from the Academy of Chocolate.
https://en.qantuchocolate.com/product-page/médailles-d-or-2020-academy-of-chocolate
- Mark Siegel
Sausalito, CA
Ohh, there's still time. We'll have to check it out.
Any of their boutiques are great, depending on which is most convenient for you. My favorite is at 3, rue Vavin, in the 6th, just up the street from the Jardins du Luxembourg.
https://www.jeanpaulhevin.com/en/nos-boutiques?ville=paris&boutique=jardins-du-luxembourg
Although I don't see it on their current list of available bars on the web site, see if they have any of his "noir 81%" blend. It's another favorite of mine.
Or... if you go to Hévin's Monceau boutique:
https://www.jeanpaulhevin.com/en/nos-boutiques?ville=paris&boutique=Monceau
...you'll be very near to Parc Monceau, which has the Jules Verne carousel, my favorite little carousel in Paris.
https://carouselparis.wordpress.com/2016/08/10/manege-du-parc-parc-monceau/
It's not far inside the entrance to the park at the Monceau Métro station.