Other Delivery Chocolate Boxes We Enjoyed
Uzma Chocolat’s Signature Exotic Box for $49: Hailing from Chicago, this was one of a few to arrive after the date for our January tasting panel—and so couldn’t be included in our top picks. But among the latecomers, it was a contender: an enrobed box filled with intense but balanced South Asian flavors, and a rare chocolate box to advertise itself as halal. A ginger bonbon skewed a little intense, but a date-plum “khajoor” was a quiet riot of texture and flavor, and the tea flavors of lapsang and assam provided lovely and delicate accents.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Lily & Sparrow’s Bonbons for $45: At less than a year old, North Jersey’s tiny Lily & Sparrow was a strong favorite of a couple members of the tasting panel. Chocolatier Amanda Sanabria has a wonderful gift, in particular, at crafting intense bursts of fruit flavor in bonbons that included passionfruit and lemon pistachio. While not quite as complex as similar bonbons from Melissa Coppel or Kreuther, Lily’s mastery of fruit filling puts it on a very short list. “Verdict is: This is one chocolatier to watch,” wrote one taster after the panel.
Vesta Chocolate’s “Forever” Collection for $49: Also from North Jersey near New York, bean-to-bar chocolate maker Vesta was favored by a couple members of our panel for its emphasis on delivering dark-chocolate wallop in its glossy couverture bonbons. Tasters prized chocolate maker Roger Rodriguez’s true “bean-to-bonbon” character in this collection, and a champagne bonbon in particular was a highlight of the tasting, though not every flavor stood out as much. Vesta stood close to Dandelion and Cluizel in strongly highlighting dark chocolate flavors.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
AndSons 24-Piece Chocolate Box for $75: As befits a legacy Beverly Hills chocolatier, this is a beautifully packaged box, a mix of glossy bonbons and chocolate-enrobed squares. The molded bonbons made the biggest impression, whether a bright passionfruit, orange, and guava or a rich speculoos patterned after a gingerbread biscuit. The box didn’t grab me by the lapels and demand to be remembered, but I’d be happy anytime to receive it: It’s a lovely and accomplished box, absent flaws and off notes.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
United Flavors 24-Piece Chocolatier’s Selection for $89: This was another late arrival, and so it missed assessment by our full tasting panel. But this tiny and quite new Virginia chocolatier kept cropping back up in my thoughts, especially for an immaculately fluffy vanilla soufflé square with texture somewhere between sea-foam and cloud: There’s little like it. Molded bonbons were also lovely and deft, if not quite up to the subtle complexity of Melissa Coppel or the trompe-la-langue lulz of Kreuther.
Eclat 16-Piece Signature Assortment for $48: A favorite of Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert, Eclat is a Pennsylvania brand with a wide and inventive selection of treats that include Frank Lloyd Wright–themed chocolate bars and wafer-thin chocolate “Mondiants” of chocolatier Christopher Curtin’s own invention. This said, the box we preferred most was the simple enrobed squares and spheres of the signature assortment, prone to culinary flavors such as Sichuan or Aleppo pepper, or the light gush of beer or booze.
Boxes We Don’t Recommend
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Compartés’ 20-Piece Signature Truffles Gift Box for $59: Compartés is best known for its wackily creative candy bars, which may contain the tastes and flavors of doughnuts and coffee, a perfect s’more, or a whole cereal aisle—a popularity that’s been cosigned by a Vanity Fair party’s worth of celebrities. Their handsomely packaged truffles didn’t make the same impression.
Forté’s 24-piece Signature Truffles ($110) and Exquisito’s 24-Piece Artisan Collection: Washington State’s Forté and Florida’s Exquisito both come highly praised. Both boxes, alas, arrived at our doorstep in less-than-ideal condition. It’s unknown whether problems arose during shipping or at the chocolate company.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Creo 24-Piece Signature Chocolate Collection for $84: Look, I love Creo’s inventive and lovely white or dark chocolate bars encrusted with thin wafers of dried strawberry or raspberry, which offer a terrific contrast of rich flavor and bright fruit. But the Portland maker’s signature box of mostly enrobed chocolate truffles didn’t always seem in control of its flavors and textures—a fatal flaw in a premium-priced collection.
