1. Lindt
It's hard to play favorites with chocolate sometimes. Different moods call for different indulgences, and everyone has different preferences. In Lindt, we found a collection of beautiful high-quality chocolates, widely available and in a range of products that will surely please everyone from the truffle lover to the chocolate bar purist. Like Ghirardelli, Lindt offers their pure chocolate bars in a wide range of cocoa percentages from 70 to 100 percent cocoa, as well as pristine milk chocolate and flavored chocolate bars with additions like chili and blackberry with acai.
2. Ferrero Rocher
More so than any other brand, it was scary how quickly we could eat an entire box of Ferrero Rocher chocolate. We were only slowed down by the fact that they're individually wrapped, forcing us to take the extra second and a half to decide if we were going to exercise any self-control. It's all here, both in terms of taste and texture. The candy consists of a crunchy wafer full of a creamy hazelnut chocolate center, which is then enrobed in chocolate and nuts. It's the quintessential Italian chocolate. It's like the best parts of a KitKat, Godiva Truffle, and Reese's all rolled into one and made with high-quality ingredients.
3. Hershey's/Reese's
It's hard to argue with the numbers when Reese's is the number two selling chocolate candy in the US, followed by the classic Hershey bar in the number four position, according to The Daily Meal. So we took a long hard look at these chocolates to see how they stacked up. There are no surprises here. We tasted both the classic Hershey bar, as well as the Special Dark bar and the Reese's.
4. Ghirardelli
With Ghirardelli chocolates and chocolate bars, you can really dig into the nuances of different percentages of chocolates. Bars are available in milk chocolate to start, then come in increments of 60% chocolate all the way up to 92% cocoa. They also make a 100% cocoa bar which is completely unsweetened, but it's admittedly intended for baking. Unless you're into eating chocolate with absolutely no sugar in it, we can't rightfully recommend or review it here. The bars are also available with a few flavors that include popular fruits, nuts, and caramel. If you're interested in exploring different grades of chocolate by itself or in your cooking, Ghirardelli is a great place to turn.
5. Godiva
Godiva chocolates are often as widely available these days as some of their less expensive competitors, but they turn the luxury marketing up with gold-wrapped packages tied with ribbon. An illustration of the fair Lady Godiva adorns each package of chocolates, which originated in Belgium in 1926 and has grown into a massive international company.
6. Milka
If milk chocolate is your jam, Milka might just be the purest form of milk chocolate on the market. Milka is the lilac-wrapped chocolate company owned by the mega-brand Mondelēz International, which also currently encompasses Kraft Foods and Nabisco. While Mondelēz is a relatively new corporation, Milka is a Swiss chocolate company that has been producing "Alpine Milk" chocolate for over 120 years. The brand may be new to some Americans, but it's one of the largest brands in Europe, with its products sold in over 32 countries, though that list does not currently include the US.
7. Dove
Dove chocolates are marketed with a touch of luxury, which set our expectations a little higher when preparing to taste their chocolates. With three different collections that include individually wrapped bonbon-style chocolates, chocolate bars, and ice cream bars, the offerings are very focused. We sampled the milk and dark chocolate bars to get the full effect of Dove's chocolates. On the label, the tag line "silky smooth" to which the chocolate absolutely lives up to. Not overly sweet, but nicely balanced, both the milk and dark chocolate bars were easy to enjoy without getting overwhelmed by the sweetness.
8. M&M's/Mars
According to Statista, Mars is the largest chocolate company in the world, producing not just chocolate, but also mints, candy, and chewing gum. The names that arguably contribute most to that title are M&M's and Snicker's, two of the most popular chocolate candies on the market. So to get a good feel for the kind of chocolate being produced, we picked up a few bars of M&M's Minis chocolate bars.
9. Nestle
Nestle isn't just chocolate. In fact, it's one of the largest food companies in the world, with brands that produce baby foods, bottled water, cereals, chocolates and candy, coffee, frozen foods, dairy, tea, ice cream, and pet food. Of the chocolate and confectionery brands Nestle owns, the most familiar in the United States are undoubtedly KitKat bars (owned by Nestle, but manufactured by Hershey's in the US) and Crunch bars. We didn't need to be told twice to taste a KitKat bar to compare it to other popular chocolate bars.
10. Russell Stover
Every Valentine's Day and Mother's Day brings drug and grocery store shelves bursting with Russell Stover chocolate boxes, which have been on the market since 1923. Over the years, the chocolate boxes haven't changed much, each with milk and dark chocolate candies filled with flavors that include vanilla and chocolate cream, raspberry, strawberry, orange, coconut, truffle, and maple nut butter.
11. Cadbury
Some people wait all year for Cadbury Creme Eggs to hit the shelves at Easter time. If you're into the milky chocolate shells filled with a super sweet and creamy fondant filling that vaguely looks like an egg yolk, we'd never want to get in the way of your happiness. But if you venture further into the chocolate collection of this company, you might be disappointed with what you find.