Who doesn’t love chocolates on Valentine’s Day? At BHG, it’s a must! But choosing the right chocolate can certainly make or break your gifting. With February 14th right around the corner, we thought it was only fair to test all the fancy, delectable, indulgent choccies and see which ones are worth gifting to your special someone.
These chocolate boxes and blocks are like the usual Forrero Rocher gift pack, or a delicious box of Favourites. Instead, we opted to try hand-crafted chocolates (Australian-made if possible) that say more than just ‘here’s a sweet treat’. If you’re looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day present for your boo, here’s our ranking of the creme de la creme.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- We tried more than 30 different flavoured truffles, chocolates and chocolate blocks.
- The winners were all highly rated in taste, packaging and giftability.
- The highest-ranked overall was the Haigh’s Assorted Truffle Gift Box.
How we tested Valentine’s Day chocolates
Since Valentine’s Day gifts are not just about taste, but also presentation, we decided not to do a blind taste test. Instead, we presented all of the chocolate options with their packaging still intact, or next to the opened treats, so everyone could refer to them. We rated the luxury chocolates in three ways: by taste, by packaging and by giftability (easy travel, themed and whether the person testing would want to receive them).
After taste testing, we separated all of the options into 4 categories, so the results would be easier to digest:
- Boxed chocolates: Chocolates that are in luxury box packaging, usually containing multiple individual chocolate flavours and truffles.
- Sharing the love: Chocolates that are great for sharing with family, gifting to friends or would work well for young children.
- Chocolate blocks: Beautifully packaged and presented chocolate blocks that can be gifted for Valentine’s Day.
- Valentine’s Day themed: Anything pink and red, with love heart packaging or shapes.
1. Boxed chocolates
The overall winner of the chocolate gift boxes was Haigh’s with their Assorted Truffle Gift Box.
Other contenders, while all having lovely packaging, did not stand up to the quality and the delicious taste of the chocolate. One of the biggest problems with the boxed chocolates was accessing information about the individual flavours. Haigh’s had a small ‘menu’ that included information about what each truffle was.
Godiva fell short, with a pamphlet that included mostly French names with no translation, while Josophan’s QR code did not direct tasters to a menu, but rather to their website to repurchase the box. Haigh’s was a standout, with a menu easily read and used (though a little hidden in the fold of the heart box). With so many people asking ‘where’s my chocolate menu?’ it was clearly an essential feature for the chocolate boxes.
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Haigh’s Assorted Truffle Gift Box
from $55.90, Haigh’s Chocolates
Best for: the ideal Valentine’s Day chocolate box
At first glance, most taste testers exclaimed at the beautiful heart-shaped box. It was described as elegant rather than the usual ‘tackiness’ of Valentine’s Day-themed products, with many praising its high-quality finishes. But it was the taste that made it stand out. With more 10/10’s than any other chocolate box or chocolate on offer, it was a clear winner!
Koko Black Lots of Love Gift Box, from $109
Josophan’s Gift Box, from $69.95
Deliciously Yours Surprise Me! Bon bons, from $33
Celebrative Collection Heart-Shaped Gift Box, from $62.90
2. Sharing the love
When thinking of Valentine’s Day, there’s much more to consider than just your partner. For those with children, it can become more of a family event, and for those who love celebrating with friends, Galentine’s is a well-established custom. For pink-filled dinner parties on February 14, to share with your kiddies or to show thanks to a babysitter, these are the chocolates to get.
The winner of this category is undoubtedly Josophan’s Macadamia Nuts, which were perfect for sharing, the ideal snacking chocolate size and above all, delish! Other standouts included Junee Chocolate & Licorice Chocolate Pizza, and Coco88 Smash Heart.
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Josophan’s Milk Chocolate with Honey Roasted Macadamia
from $27.95, Josophan’s Fine Chocolates
Best for: sharing sweet treats
A large macadamia surrounded by delicious hand-crafted chocolate is all you’ll want for a low-maintenance Valentine’s Day. Tasters called these “absolutely addictive” and very generous with their sizing. While they’re not strictly Valentine’s themed, we would all gladly accept a package of these to share with our loved ones.
Junee Licorice & Chocolate Organic Milk Chocolate Strawberries, from $13
Coco88 Smash Heart, from $39.90
Junee Licorice & Chocolate Large Pizza Wheel, from $30
Deliciously Yours ‘I Love You’ chocolate bar, from $12
3. Chocolate blocks
Now, a chocolate block is nothing too special. In most Aussie households, there will always be chocolate blocks in a hard-to-reach part of the pantry. However, if you look hard enough, you’ll find beautifully crafted chocolate blocks. With luxury packaging and chocolate that’s a level above the supermarket standard, these blocks are worth gifting on a special occasion.
After tasting all the options, the clear standout was the brand Cuvee, who sent over 5 different blocks to taste-test. Their packaging screamed indulgent, and the chocolate tasted just as fancy.
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Cuvee Espresso Hazelnut Crunch
from $14.90, Cuvee Chocolate
Best for: luxury gifting
Labelled as ‘rich and luxurious’ in both looks and taste, Cuvee was definitely a stand-out for the taste testers at BHG. The Espresso Hazelnut Crunch was the best of the bunch, with an espresso flavour that “hits you like a truck” as one person exclaimed.
While many mentioned that while the packaging didn’t scream Valentine’s Day, they would still gift their partners and loved ones this block with no hesitation.
Cuvee Soleo 42% Milk Chocolate block, from $12.90
Josophan’s Leura Bleu chocolate block, from $18.95
Spencer Cocoa White Chocolate block, from $13
Junee Licorice & Chocolate Nutlovers Chocolate block, from $9
4. Valentine’s Day themed
Finally, the last category covers the extra lovey-dovey couples – the heart-shaped, pretty-in-pink chocolate. Ranging from huge hearts splattered with edible paint to small pink heart truffles, there’s a cutesy gift for every kind of chocolate lover.
While a tiny bit corny, these chocolate gifts evoke giggles and happiness. And, best of all, are so yummy! The clear winner for this category was the Coco88 Hazelnut Rocher Heart, which was beautifully presented and very flavourful.
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Coco88 Hazelnut Rocher Heart
from $39.90, Coco88
Best for: staying on theme for Valentine’s Day
Described as gorgeous and “my absolute favourite”, Coco88 managed to create a Valentine’s Day heart that looked fantastic and tasted even better. The glossy outer shell is as aesthetic as it gets for heart-shaped goodies, while the rich interior has several layers of hazelnut chocolate, in the form of ganache, biscuit and ooey-gooey chocolate.
This is the one to pick if your partner loves anything on-theme!
Coco88 Pavlova Heart, from $39.90
Deliciously Yours Oozy and Boozy Cocktail Chocolates, from $25
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