Chocolate Gourmets Say It With Spice

Ancho chili or chevre with your chocolate? The idea may be hard to swallow but the chocolate isn't -- that is, if you stop thinking about chocolate as flavored sugar and consider it as food, travelogue or even conversation piece.

Artisanal chocolatiers are spreading love this Valentine's Day with assortments from exotic confections infused with cardamom or pasilla chili to a twist on the traditional champagne truffle.

Like fine wine, a Speyside single-malt or a cup of Kona, success has become a careful amalgamation of ingredients -- here, of blend, cocoa bean and machine. Ultimately it all comes down to taste, says Clay Gordon, chocolate critic and founder of Chocophile.com. "If you like the way it tastes, it's good chocolate," he says. Gordon's advice: Never give a piece of chocolate you haven't tasted yourself.

Since logistically that may be difficult, we and our helpers did some tasting for you -- sampling the creations of eight chocolatiers. One crucial tip before you read on: place an order at least a week in advance of the big day.

Cocoa Puffery?

Creator-chef Katrina Markoff of Vosges Haut Chocolate, has rolled art, fashion, wanderlust and chocolate into one. The company also sells clothes, motorcycles -- and a culinary Yoga retreat for $3,900. "Our chocolates are not just about tasting good, but about exploring other cultures and their traditions and agriculture," says Markoff.

Vosges Haut Chocolate Art, fashion, wanderlust and chocolate rolled into one.

We may not necessarily be buying the concept, but we will buy the chocolate. The Naga truffle melds milk chocolate, coconut and a sprinkling of Indian curry powder. Some tasters said "pumpkin pie," and the kids definitely wanted more. The black pearl truffle, a subtle concoction of dark chocolate, ginger, wasabi and black sesame seeds, did not please all of our tasters' buds but inspired many conversations.

The Aztec collection includes ancho chili, Mexican vanilla and dulce de leche, pleasing both palate and conscience. Part of Aztec's February proceeds and those from the Grande Hatbox ($200), will benefit V-Day, a charity of activist and playwright Eve Ensler that this year aims to help women and girls in Juarez, Mexico.