Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the same without the traditional gift of a box of chocolates. Whether you are buying for a friend, family member, or your Valentine, you can’t forget this delicious treat. There are so many assortments making it impossible to choose. I tried chocolates from a variety of well-known brands like Ghiradelli, Russell Stover, and Godiva, which can all be found in local supermarkets and pharmacies.
The first option is Whitman’s Assorted Milk and Dark Chocolate, which would be a mediocre gift because the packaging was pretty but some of the chocolates weren’t very enjoyable. The packaging is a heart shaped box with a cute design on it, making it very visually appealing. The flavors in this box include caramel, coconut, and vanilla creme. First, the caramel chocolate had a thick and a strange flavor, but the chocolate was rich. Next, the coconut chocolate had a perfect balance in the amount of flavor and sweetness, as well as a fun texture from the shredded pieces in it. The last chocolate was the vanilla cream. The texture of the vanilla cream was very thick, similar to a marshmallow. The flavor was very strong and overly sweet.
A simple yet delicious treat, the Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel Hearts are great if you are looking for a little dessert, but they wouldn’t serve as a good gift because of the lack of variety. The texture of the caramel isn’t too gooey or thick, like some chocolates with the same filling, and it has a rich, perfectly sweet flavor. While the chocolates weren’t unique, they would be great alongside another Valentine’s Day present.
The Russell Stover Assorted Milk and Dark Chocolate collection would be a good gift for Valentine’s Day because of the packaging, variety, and taste of the chocolates. The treats come in a cute heart shaped box with a clear red wrapping around the outside. First, the caramel chocolate was a thick, relatively sticky texture, with a great tasting filling. The vanilla creme flavor is a structured cream texture covered in chocolate. While the texture was enjoyable, the flavor wasn’t because it was very strong and too sweet. The peanut cluster chocolate had a good flavor, but it was a little too simple because there was no filling and the peanuts were just mixed into a small block of chocolate, creating an odd texture.
Lastly, the Godiva Goldmark chocolate assortment comes with 14 pieces of chocolate with a variety of different flavors and fillings. This set would be a great gift for Valentine’s Day because of the high quality packaging and chocolates. The chocolates came in a tin container with a fun design. Firstly, the dark chocolate coconut had a smooth filling with a slight crunch from the coconut, but the flavor of the coconut was a little too strong. The milk chocolate ganache had a rich flavor, but was very plain. Next, the hazelnut ganache has two fillings, with the thinner one being the hazelnut flavor and the thicker being a cream-like chocolate filling. Lastly is the white chocolate dream. The chocolate had a really nice crunch and the filling was a perfect, thick texture.
After bringing packages of chocolates into class to review, I can safely say that my favorite was the Godiva Goldmark chocolate assortment because of the delicious flavors and pretty packaging. While all of the sets had some similar flavors, this one stood out with its tasty and unique hazelnut ganache chocolate.
