Best Chocolate Valentine's Day Gifts

Nothing could be sweeter than a box of chocolate candy as a Valentine's Day gift. As a chocolate lover, I know that choosing a good one out of the myriad of selections can be overwhelming. In order to make the buying process a little easier, I thought I'd share my chocolate eating and buying experiences.

I've devised a rating system for choosing the best chocolate Valentine's Day gifts. Instead of using the five star system, mine is the five hearts system. Five hearts is the highest rating, and the factors considered are quality, taste, selection, and price.

Dove. Dove chocolate is one of my favorites because it's absolutely scrumptious! The milk chocolate is so creamy and smooth that it sets the bar for other chocolates. The dark chocolate is unique in the sense that it's also creamy and smooth, which is not a typical description of dark chocolate, and it doesn't have a 'bite', like some dark chocolates do. Quality and taste are there, the selection is good- particularly the heart-shaped boxes available for Valentine's Day- and the price is quite reasonable. Dove chocolate as a Valentine's Day gift ranks among the best with a rating of 5 hearts.

Godiva. I don't think Godiva lives up to it's hype. Sure, it's expensive and the box is pretty, but in my opinion, there's nothing that justifies the extra money. Don't get me wrong, it tastes good; but at that price it should taste fantastic. However, it makes a nice gift because everyone knows that you spent the extra money to go high end. (In other words, it's impressive on the status scale.) Rating Godiva chocolates is tricky, so I'm giving it 5 hearts as a Valentine's Day gift if you're in a new relationship, and 4 hearts otherwise.

Guylian Belgian Chocolate Seashells. Guylian is my least favorite of all because they added hazelnut flavor and a white chocolate swirl to what would otherwise be decent chocolate. No thanks. It's not necessarily a quality thing, it's a preference thing, and I just don't like it. When it comes down to it, it would be better than no Valentine's Day gift at all; but in all honesty, I rate Guylian chocolate seashells 2 hearts.

Hershey's Pot of Gold. The best description of Hershey's Pot of Gold is that it's OK. By that I mean that the taste and quality are fine, the price is alright, but the selection in the assortment is weird, so you end up throwing away half of what you bought. There's nothing wrong with Hershey's Pot of Gold, it just doesn't top the list as one of my favorites, so I'm giving it 4 hearts.

Rocher. I like Rocher. It's a little bit different, but not too different. There are lots of flavors to choose from, and, in my opinion, there isn't a bad one in the lot. I'm normally not crazy about nuts, so it's kind of surprising that I'm so fond of these. Rocher always has pretty packaging and the price is reasonable. Overall, Rocher is one of the best chocolates to give as a Valentine's Day gift, so it gets 5 hearts.

Russell Stover. Ding, ding, ding- we have a winner! Russell Stover is by far my favorite when it comes to assorted chocolates. I like the milk chocolate assortment (the one with the brown bow) the best. My dad likes the cream assortment the best, so it's really a matter of personal preference over which one you get. (There really isn't a bad choice, but no one I know is fond of the assorted nuts and caramels.) This is a good any-time gift, but a heart-shaped box of Russell Stover is one of the best Valentine's Day gifts ever! On quality, taste, selection, and price, Russell Stover rates 5 hearts.

Whitman's. A Whitman's Sampler an old stand-by, but as far as quality goes, Whitman's is pretty low on my scale. The chocolate tastes waxy and the creams are more sugary than creamy. I mean, I'll eat it if I have to, but given the choice I wouldn't buy it. Couple all this with that fact that it's one of the lower-priced selections, and you see why I have to down-rate it. As a Valentine's Day gift, Whitman's chocolate rates 3 hearts.

With these ratings, choosing the best chocolate Valentine's Day gifts is easy!