Latin-American Flavor and Finesse
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Garcia Nevett Chocolatier de Miami
Gourmet Chocolate Box
On the one hand, the gourmet box from Miami-based Garcia Nevett looks like a classic “box of chocolates” as described fondly by Forrest Gump: a grid of chocolate-enrobed squares filled with ganache and a menagerie of flavored surprise. But each detail in Garcia Nevett’s Gourmet Box is enriched and made elegant, from the cacao-leaf print on the box’s interior to the strong and clean flavors within each bite.
A coconut truffle tastes fresh and lively as a breeze, not bitter or overpowering. A single-origin Venezuelan ganache is both delicate and intense, an eventful journey tripping down the palate. A rum vanilla is likewise punchy but never hot: The spirits and chocolate were integrated with a grace one taster praised as being both “gentle and strong,” a description some might apply to an ideal lover.
Another word for this quality might be “finesse.” French-trained Venezuelan chocolatiers Susana and Isabel Garcia-Nevett seem to have it in spades, with numerous international awards to back it up. Their gourmet boxes offer a wide variety of favorites both popular and esoteric; the sisters double down on both Latin and Southern American specialities in their Flavors of Florida box. Our only strong caveat is that Garcia Nevett ships only overnight, for maximum freshness. This costs a bit if you don’t live near Florida.
Delivery and presentation: Garcia Nevett’s box is weighty and understated and is magnetically sealed as a small bit of fashionable luxury. Nearly alone among boxes we tried, the most extravagant decoration was inside the box: an elegant cacao-leaf “wallpaper.” Payment online is possible through credit card, PayPal, or Shop app. Gift dedications are not an option on the website.
Shipping: If you’re not in Florida, next-day air starts at $50. This is the only option.
President Obama’s Favorite Salted Caramels
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Fran’s Chocolates
Gray and Smoked Salted Caramels
Though founded just about 40 years ago, Fran’s is already an American classic—helped along, of course, by the love of an American president. Somewhat famously, after first discovering them while on the campaign trail in Seattle, the Obamas had a habit of serving a box of chocolatier Fran Bigelow’s salted caramels to White House guests.
Fran’s can feel a bit old-fashioned in its packaging, particularly on a heart-shaped pink felt Valentine box that seemed like it fell off of grandma’s vanity. But at some point, “old-fashioned” can also become timeless. Multiple tasters referred to Fran’s salted caramels as a “benchmark” flavor—the reference by which other salted caramels might be judged. Fran’s caramel is Goldilocks caramel, neither too chewy nor too soft, neither boring nor too assertive.
“Everyone should have these caramels once in their lives,” wrote chocolate sommelier Estelle Tracy after our tasting. “It’s a true classic.”
Delivery and presentation: Fran’s looks like old-school luxury: gold box, big bow. Gift dedications available on Fran’s site.
Shipping: $9 for three-day delivery.
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 January 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.
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. Note that we appreciated AndSons’ bonbons even more as part of a Coffee and Chocolate Set ($109) from Atlas Coffee Club: Each chocolate, and each coffee [paired with it, tasted extravagantly richer when together than apart.
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 for $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.
