I normally have semi-sweet chocolate chips (~40g/day). I occasionally have Reece’s mini cups when someone sends them (not made in Japan) which is to say a couple of times a year at most. The only other thing I have somewhat regularly are chocolate-covered nuts (peanuts or, if I feel fancy, almonds).

I don’t know, there’s just too many. The fancy chocolates are so good, but only on very special occasions.

In general, I love a dark chocolate with a soft centre (not liquid or chewy, I don’t like those), or - even better - gianduja… So it’s solid until it melts in your mouth. 🤤 I also love anything that has mint in it, but not the little mint shards, I also don’t like those much.

Not so much in to the crazy flavours. Spicy chocolate is a big no from me.

Coal River Farm in Australia (Specialty choc)

Whittaker’s Chocolate from NZ (Supermarket)

Purdy’s Chocolates in Western Canada (Specialty choc. I used to work at the factory, and I still eat them.)

Butler’s Chocolate in Ireland. Their hot chocolate is so good!

I like me some fancy chocolate.

Bean-to-bar dark chocolates let you distinguish the characteristics of different locales’ cacao beans. They’re not cheap but they’re a real pleasure.

I like chocolate covered peanut butter cremes. I’ll eat Reese’s in a pinch (my favorite regular cany bar is Reese’s Nutrageous, which is getting increasingly difficult to find) but getting the box-of-chocolate style is waaaaay better.

Also, chocolate truffles with rum. :-9

My brain is digging the 180° rotational symmetry.

i do like dark chocolate biscotti, if its in sees candies form, it would have to be dark chocolate, mostly 85-95%

For day-to-day chocolate, I tend to like damn near anything, even junk like Reese’s cups that are barely chocolate in the sense that the chocolate is far from the star of the show.

For more casual treats that are less about a sugar bomb, I tend to favor things like standard lindt truffles, Ghirardelli salted chocolate amd salted caramel squares, that sort of thing. Small bites of rich chocolate along with whatever filler is in play. The chocolate is the star, but has a supporting cast that makes it shine well.

But when I’m in the mood for real chocolate, it’s going to be something in the 60%+ range cacao, no extras. Depending on budget, that can be the usual candy isle stuff from lindt, godiva, Ghirardelli and the like. If I’m splurging, I go after the really niche single source stuff. I have to order it in, and that means I may have to deal with blooms from shipping, but that’s usually okay.

That’s the kind of stuff you don’t eat, you let it melt across your tongue. You only bite to get it into your mouth, then you let all the little floral and fruity parts open up slowly until you get that chocolate surge that’s earthy, warm, slightly bitter, and utterly intoxicating.

Yes, I am a chocolate addict to an extent. But not a chocolate snob. I’m even okay with Hershey’s on an infrequent and small basis. I can’t say the standard bar from them is a pleasure the way the fancy stuff is, but it is great at being a single note, quick melting hit of the old choco fix. On rare occasions, that distinctive “vomit” taste can even be somewhat pleasant in tiny amounts, and it is a good enough sugar bomb when it’s about having something on a stressful day that’s so stressful you’d be wasting anything better.

Now, for those unaware, there’s also this thing called sipping chocolate.

It’s hot chocolate taken up a dozen notches. It’s cocoa powder mixed with powdered chocolate, and usually some sweetener. Some brands include milk powder, spices, or other mixers to dial in mouth feel and taste to a given target. There’s really no equivalent to the kind of specialty chocolate that is my nigh sexual pleasure, but even the Trader Joe’s brand is deeply satisfying in its own way that even some of the better candy aisle options aren’t.

If you feel frisky, you can make your own though. Just takes time and patience in figuring out your proportions, then dialing in your process. In a pinch, some good cocoa powder in hot milk can be used to slowly melt and suspend your chocolate of preference. Once you get it to syrupy consistency, add in your sweetener of choice (and I tend to favor plain white sugar since it doesn’t change anything but sweetness), then whip with a whisk, or motorized milk frother.

For real, once you get your ideal mix, then froth the fuck out of it, the way it moves across the tongue and releases the chocolate is fucking amazing. I used the term “nigh sexual” earlier, and it applies even closer when you tweak things to perfection for your tastes. Hell, I call it liquid sin without irony. It’s orgasmic sensory immersion. The smell, the feel, the taste, followed by the cocoa rush on a chemical level, it sometimes is sexual, as in arousing. Aphrodisiacs are essentially bullshit, but if you’re into chocolate the way I am, then the really great single source chocolates used in this way, you’ll be hard as a rock. It’s just that fucking good.

Now, in terms of those candies like in your thumbnail of the post, I favor caramels, then fruits. I’m a sucker for cherry cordials and raisin based confections in those samplers.

Years ago, my aunt got into making chocolates. They all had different kinds of chocolate and different shapes and coatings and looked beautiful. But invariably were filled with coconut.

It became a running joke: “mmm, coconut!” “Oh wow, this one’s got coconut in it!” Etc.

This reminded me that I’ve been wanting to make biscotti to have with tea.

I prefer my chocolate bitter, so I’ll often get the unsweet baking bars to melt then stir in crispy rice (and orange zest if I’m feeling fancy). I did just get some dried Bing cherries, so I might try chopping them and adding to my next bar

Whatchamacallit, excellent

Crunchie, (UK, AUS, CAN) divine

Tim tams, the ultimate cookie

It’s kinda like KitKat, except it doesn’t taste like garbage

Lindor milk chocolate truffles are fire. Also, any German milk chocolate usually checks out.

I like ferro rocher (spelling) but don’t get them anymore. Twin is allergic to tree nuts so I don’t risk it.

Anything dark chocolate after that I suppose!

Dark chocolate covered roasted coffee beans are my favorite, used to like salted chocolate caramels but they are very sweet. From a sampler anything with coconut or cherry.

I wish I had one.

I have yet to taste actual cocoa fruit, but any chocolate taste disgusting to me, as in I derived no enjoyment tasting it.

The closest I can describe it is nauseating. Also don’t like the taste of coffee and milk (maybe there’s some pattern here) so most dessert is a no go for me, and I hate it because they looks so fun.

Anything nutty! Or dark chocolate with fruit