Chocolate: The Perfect Christmas Gift

Christmas is a time for giving and if you know someone with a sweet tooth then giving a chocolate - a common enough gift anyway - is fantastic choice. We're not talking a car of normal milk chocolate here. You can be creative and you can budget to be cost effective or extravagant.

There are many different kinds of chocolate you could give at Christmas, from traditional bars of chocolate through chocolate liqueurs to specialist chocolates and loads in between.

You should also consider the person you're buying for - what TYPE of chocolate do they like? Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate? Do they like fondant centres, alcohol, solid bars? Where are they from? Would they appreciate a gift from home, such as Belgian or American chocolate? Getting this right will determine the gift you choose to buy.

For those on a tight budget, choosing a selection of chocolate bars or treats is perfectly fine. For example, if you're recipient is an American living in the UK they may well appreciate a taste of home. You could consider buying the likes of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Caramel Kisses, Milk Duds, Baby Ruth's and Tootsie Rolls. There are several UK online retailers of American chocolates and sweets that you can order from for the real deal too.

If you have a bigger budget you could think about the luxury end of the chocolate market. Don't be put off by the word 'luxury' - at Christmas time many of the luxury chocolate retailers provide gift sets of various kinds at very reasonable prices.

These will include themed items such as a milk chocolate and nut wreath or a Christmas cracker shaped box filled with individual treats, party hats and jokes or proper gift sets containing handmade dark chocolates, white chocolates, liqueurs and other, similar types.

For those with no budget or price limit there are some truly amazing, handmade, exclusive chocolates out there to give as a gift. These have mind blowing prices but are deemed worth every penny by chocolate connoisseurs.

Here are five examples of some of the world's most expensive chocolates.

The Chocopologie from Knipschildt in America is a dark chocolate truffle, made using a French black truffle and is surrounded by a creamy ganache made using pure Italian truffle oil and 70% Valhrona cacao. It is worth $2,600 a POUND!

The Vintage Collection from Noca is a selection of dark chocolates sourced from plantations in Venezuela, Côte d'Ivoire, Trinidad and Ecuador and is made from 75% pure, single-origin cacao. The price? $854 a pound...

Delafee from Delfee in Switzerland is made from gold. Well, not entirely, but this praline has hand-applied 24 carat gold flakes and is worth $504 per pound. One for the ladies, this one!

Made from Criollo cocoa from Venezuela, chocolate from Richart in Lyon, France is worth $120 a pound and features the best varieties of almonds, raspberries, strawberries and other exotic ingredients in its various forms.

Finally we have the Godiva 'G' Collection from New York, though its roots are in Belgium. The collection comprises various flavours and ingredients including Palet d'Or, Tasmanian honey and Mexican Hot Chocolate and is worth an impressive $117 a pound.

Go on...give some chocolate this Christmas and put a smile on the face of a sweet tooth!

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of American Soda, UK online retailer of American Chocolates.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Stuart_Greenwood

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