These outstanding chocolate makers, who craft their bars with both flavor and fair, sustainable practices in mind, will help you say “I love you” with better chocolate on Valentine’s Day, or any time of year.
Askinosie Chocolate
A pioneer in direct trade chocolate, this Missouri father-daughter business works closely with small cacao farmers in Ecuador, the Amazon, the Philippines, and Tanzania. You can’t go wrong with any of their single-origin bars, but the ultra-creamy white chocolate, made with house-pressed cocoa butter and goat’s milk powder, is a skeptic-converting standout. $12, Askinosie.com
(Courtesy of Askinosie Chocolate)Dandelion Chocolate
Each single-origin bar from this San Francisco bean-to-bar maker sings with distinct flavors so strong, and sometimes unexpected, that it’s hard to believe the only ingredients are cacao beans and sugar. Case in point: the 70 percent Maya Mountain, Belize bar, vivid with bright berry notes. $10, DandelionChocolate.com
(Courtesy of Dandelion Chocolate)Fruition Chocolate Works
Attention, milk chocolate lovers: Some of the best examples of the category are being handcrafted in New York’s Catskill Mountains. Highlights include the 43 percent Brown Butter Milk, made deeply caramel-y with locally churned Ronnybrook Farm Dairy butter, and the 56 percent Spring Salted Dark Milk, enlivened with Peruvian warm spring salt. $10, FruitionChocolateWorks.com
(Courtesy of Fruition Chocolate Works)Goodnow Farms Chocolate
Founded by a husband-and-wife team who works on their 225-year-old farm in Massachusetts, Goodnow handcrafts silky smooth, single-origin bars with beans sourced directly from farmers throughout Latin America. Look for their unique flavored Special Reserve bars, such as Putnam Rye Whiskey and Las Palomas Coffee. From $14, GoodnowFarms.com
(Courtesy of Goodnow Farms Chocolate)Tony’s Chocolonely
Hefty, 6.35-ounce bars; all-natural, fair trade ingredients; and colorful, Willy Wonka-esque wrappers are a recipe for guaranteed joy. The basic 70 percent Dark Chocolate is reliably smooth and snappy; the add-in-happy Dark Milk Pretzel Toffee is dangerously snackable. Behind the fun flavors and packaging, the Dutch company, a certified B corporation (meaning it meets certain ethical standards), is on a serious mission to make the cocoa industry 100 percent slavery-free. $5.95, TonysChocolonely.com
(Courtesy of Tony’s Chocolonely)