Dark chocolate price jump may melt sales gains

In order to eat chocolate properly, Terrence Mootoo suggests first sipping water from a reverse osmosis tap.

[Steve]

Buy white chocolate - sick of dark chocolate lately. Everywhere I go, it's dark chocolate, dark, chocolate. Give me a break already!

[lago]

Always preferred dark chocolate. The white stuff is too sweet.

[Barbara]

Why do we have to go overseas for chocolate (or anything else)? Let's keep our monies here in the USA. As to chocolate, all the hype re the dark is what uped the price. I've tasted many chocolates of every price range and I still like Frango Mints the best!

[KPOM]

I've always preferred dark chocolate, long before it became fashionable. There are good dark chocolatiers in the US. Candinas and Burdick come to mind. Vosges is good but it isn't to everyone's taste, particularly because of the odd combinations. In any case, I wouldn't use 70% as a hard-and-fast rule. I've had good dark chocolate in the mid- to high-60% cocoa range. I also don't judge dark chocolate solely by the cocoa content.

Also, comparing a Hershey bar to Ghirardelli is like comparing a Chevy to a Mercedes. Dove has "dark chocolate" bars in the 99 cent range, if all you are after is a cheap cocoa fix. Lindt sells $3 milk chocolate bars, too. Maybe the Dove goes up to $1.29 if cocoa keeps spiking, but I'd guess that most of the price of the $2.99 bars is in the production and branding.

[Emmy]

Dark chocolate on a budget -- try Hershey's Nuggets Truffles.

[Chocolate addict]

Barbara wrote:

Why do we have to go overseas for chocolate (or anything else)? Let's keep our monies here in the USA. As to chocolate, all the hype re the dark is what uped the price. I've tasted many chocolates of every price range and I still like Frango Mints the best!

Duh... Cocoa beans cannot be grown anywhere in the U.S. All chocolate is imported, even if you don't realize it.(Even Hershey's makes its stuff in Mexico.) If you want to indulge your social conscience, stick to chocolate that is fair trade. TCHO and Dagoba are two brands that come to mind.

[corntrader19]

Sadly, chocolate like otherr food and drinks, will be in short supply because of the demand.

[corntrader19]

KPOM wrote:

I've always preferred dark chocolate, long before it became fashionable. There are good dark chocolatiers in the US. Candinas and Burdick come to mind. Vosges is good but it isn't to everyone's taste, particularly because of the odd combinations. In any case, I wouldn't use 70% as a hard-and-fast rule. I've had good dark chocolate in the mid- to high-60% cocoa range. I also don't judge dark chocolate solely by the cocoa content.
Also, comparing a Hershey bar to Ghirardelli is like comparing a Chevy to a Mercedes. Dove has "dark chocolate" bars in the 99 cent range, if all you are after is a cheap cocoa fix. Lindt sells $3 milk chocolate bars, too. Maybe the Dove goes up to $1.29 if cocoa keeps spiking, but I'd guess that most of the price of the $2.99 bars is in the production and branding.

My husband was like that, too. I used to eat dark chocolate occasionally but preferred milk chocolate until my husband said (years before it became popular) that dark chocolate is better for you. Now, I actually prefer dark chocolate. The dark kind is the only kind we buy.

[SweatHeart]

"You don't want to go anything lower than 70 percent," said Petrelli, whose interest in dark chocolate increased about a year ago. Work helped shape their tastes, Tripp explained: "The owner of our company is from France and is really picky about chocolate."

How does being from France make one an expert in taste or chocolate?

[Mom]

Yeah, kind of a snobby article. As long as you avoid Nestle and cheap kid's chocolate, I think you will have a good enough experience.

I think Kisses re one of the best chocolates. Of course I also love Godiva. Dark chocolate is over rated; it tastes kind of waxy and dense.

[Tery Spataro]

There are more antioxidant benefits to dark chocolate especially in dark chocolate which contains 70% or > cocoa. Not to mention a greater degree of mood alteration. Company's like Hershey's have been buying up small chocolate companies like Scharffen Berger.

[Steve from the NW burbs]

Why not start making your own dark choc bars?
I am now and saving over half the cost!
By melting semi-sweet choc. chips in a double boiler with more unsweetened choc to taste, adding chopped nuts (almonds, peanuts, etc), raisins, flavorings like vanilla, rum, cayenne pepper, etc and then spreading it out on a saran-wrap covered flat surface to cool, I've been making some tasty & cheap chocolate bars of my own.
It's fun & saves mucho $!
Try it!

[Apollo]

Why the need to drink milk or prefer milk chocolate? Milk is for infants. Pre-Columbian Indians didn't drink milk after being weaned. They never tried to milk the Bison. Too dangerous.