17 Bougiest Boxed Chocolates To Get Your Valentine This Year

Whether you're shopping for a Valentine's Day gift for a partner, a friend, a family member, or a valued client, one of the best ways to share the love is with something most of us are truly passionate about: chocolate. In fact, we harbor a secret suspicion that chocoholics and theobromine is the real romance this holiday is meant to celebrate. Not all Valentine's candy is created equal, though (candy conversation hearts aren't even chocolate!) and nobody over elementary school age is going to be impressed with one of those dollar store boxes of awful, waxy Valentine's chocolates. The new red velvet Reese's cups are a bit closer to the mark, though most of us would be happy with a Whitman's Sampler. If your Valentine-to-be is super-bougie, though, you're going to need the kind of chocolate you can't find in a drug store or supermarket.

If you're not up on all of the high-end chocolates, don't worry, that's where our handy-dandy guide comes in. All of the names on this list have serious chocolate world cred — and yes, in many cases, a price tag to match. Still, you'll get an undoubtedly impressive gift for your money. Hopefully, the recipient will be kind enough to share since that way you, too, can get a little taste of what true (chocolate) love is all about.

If your Valentine's love for chocolate is an ocean deep and a mile high, honor it with a tower of heart-shaped chocolate boxes from "Mr. Chocolate" Jacques Torres. This gift consists of three boxes in all: One is filed with heart-shaped truffles with orange, raspberry, and chocolate ganache fillings; another consists of milk, white, and dark chocolate foil-wrapped hearts; and the third is the chocolatier's favorite bonbons plus the word "L-O-V-E" spelled out in solid milk chocolate.

Purchase the Eternal Love Tower from Jacques Torres Chocolate for $105.

La Maison du Chocolat handcrafts each candy at an atelier (which sounds so much fancier than the mundane English translation of "workshop") in the Paris suburbs. While the firm specializes in holiday concoctions meant for gifting, for Valentine's Day it sticks with a classic: a red cardboard heart filled with three-quarters of a pound (about 40 pieces) of milk and dark chocolates. Where the collection really stands out, however, is with what lies beneath the chocolate, since the fillings include such out-of-the-ordinary flavors as black sesame, juniper berry, and quince marmalade.

Purchase the Valentine's Day Heart Gift Box from La Maison du Chocolat for $145.

Instead of opting for the tried-and-true heart box, New York chocolatier MarieBelle's Book of Love collection comes in, you guessed it, a book-shaped box. Under the covers, though, you will find a heart box (white, not red) filled with tiny, edible works of art in the form of nine ganache chocolates in flavors that may include champagne, dulce de leche, and lemon. But wait, that's not all. In addition to this, you'll also find praline bars as well as a dark chocolate bar flavored with orange peels and white chocolate bars respectively tasting of matcha and rose petals. There's also a package of rose-dark chocolate loose-leaf tea and even a tea strainer, turning this chocolate gift into a tea party in a box.

Purchase the Valentine's Book of Love Gourmet Chocolate Gift Set from MarieBelle for $120.

Recchiuti, a San Francisco chocolatier that's been in business since the tail end of the 20th century, makes confections that are the opposite of the cheap, waxy kind made by Palmer and its ilk. It prides itself on using 32% cocoa butter, which makes for a super-smooth creamy texture. For Valentine's Day, what's on offer is a simple black box, very minimalist on the outside, but filled with 88 (as in the name) truffles showcasing such au courant flavors as bergamot tea, cardamom nougat, rosemary olive oil, and tarragon grapefruit. This gift is just the thing for a foodie who likes to be up on all the latest trends but doesn't need fuss or frills.

Purchase the Black Box 88 from Recchiuti for $230.

Neuhaus chocolates have quite the pedigree as the founder was a Swiss man who settled in Belgium (both of these countries are often acclaimed as producing some of the world's finest chocolate). Neuhaus also claims to have invented both the Belgian praline and the ballotin box. Its Valentine's candy selection does not come in one of its signature ballotin boxes but a standard red, heart-shaped box. The whopping 84-piece selection inside, however, includes plenty of pralines both with and without gianduja filling, along with caramels, ganache chocolates, and heart-shaped candies covered in milk, dark, and ruby chocolate.

Purchase the Valentine VIP Heart Box from Neuhaus for $215.

Läderach is a Swiss company helmed by a chocolatier who holds the prestigious title of "World Chocolate Master." Despite its accolades, it does have some offerings for the more budget-minded Valentine's gifter. Whether your aim is to be as bougie as possible and still stay under $50 or you're purchasing for someone who prefers to eat chocolate in moderation (yes, they do exist), the 11-piece selection of milk, dark, and white chocolate-covered pralines in such flavors as dulce de leche, honey nougat, and walnut marzipan might be just what you're looking for.

Purchase the Praline Selection Heart Box from Läderach for $32.00.

If you want the most bang for your buck (i.e. a Valentine's present that looks like you spent even more on it than you actually did) what you want is chocolate coated in precious metal. Compartés, a Los Angeles chocolatier that counts Oprah among its fans, offers a heart-shaped box of 15 confections brushed with edible 24-karat gold. The candies themselves are vegan dark chocolate, as is the champagne-flavored filling, while the box has a fashionable green snakeskin-printed exterior. This makes it a great double-duty gift if you want to celebrate Lunar New Year and Valentine's Day all in one go.

Purchase the Luxury 24K Gold Chocolate Box from Compartés for $79.95.

Dandelion is a San Francisco confectioner specializing in what it calls bean to bar — nothing but cacao beans and sugar. For Valentine's Day, however, its offering includes chocolates enhanced with ingredients local to where the beans are grown, Some of the pairings include a corn nut praline made with Tanzanian chocolate and a soursop caramel with chocolate concocted from Colombian beans. The bright red box, while not heart-shaped, measures a full two feet long, making for a pretty impressive visual.

Purchase the Origin Bonbon Collection from Dandelion for $98.

Teuscher is a Swiss chocolatier that has been in business for over 80 years. As a luxury brand, it doesn't do things by halves — even the box for its Valentine's chocolate collection has a red velvet cover that, like the chocolate, was handcrafted in Switzerland. Inside is a sizable selection of 86 assorted truffles, although you can also choose to have all 86 be champagne truffles (made with Dom Perignon, of course), dark chocolate champagne truffles (ditto for the Dom), or 43 of each kind of champagne truffle.

Purchase the Valentine's Heart Box from Teuscher for $419.

Perhaps the most visually stunning of all the gifts on this list is Vosges' Peacock Collection. This Chicago chocolatier is known for its artistic presentations, and it's really outdone itself this time. The box is heart-shaped, befitting the holiday, but instead of opting for traditional red or a sophisticated monochromatic scheme, the box is done up in gorgeous shades of turquoise, pink, and blue that, upon closer inspection, depict peacock feathers. Two peacocks also adorn the package, while inside are 27 truffles that are themselves quite visually stunning. Assuming your Valentine can bear to sink their teeth into such beauty, the flavors include ube, pomegranate, pistachio, and blood orange caramel marshmallow.

Purchase The Peacock Collection from Vosges for $130.

Maison Richart is a French chocolatier based in Lyon, and its candy creations are as stylish as French fashion. If your Valentine-to-be has an intense love for fancy chocolates, this collection of the same name will be sure to be a welcome gift. Not only are the 40 candies inside the box a feast for the eyes, they also span seven different flavor families to make for a one-of-a-kind tasting experience. Among the chocolates in the collection are ones flavored with balsamic, citrus, flowers, fruit, herbs, and spices as well as pralines made with roasted nuts.

Purchase the Intense Love selection from Richart for $100.

If your giftee prefers a more traditional-type confection collection and favors dark chocolate over milk, Brooklyn-based Li-Lac Chocolates has you covered. The box is red and heart-shaped, while the kosher-certified chocolates inside are filled with a selection that includes caramel, chocolate fudge, French cream, hazelnut truffle, marzipan, mocha, and mousse. The box even comes gift-wrapped so all you have to do is hand it over with a smile.

Purchase the 35-piece Dark Chocolate Heart from Li-Lac Chocolates for $95.

With Dallmann, the focus isn't so much on the packaging — a rather understated white box wrapped in a pink ribbon, with a few pink hearts and Valentines-y sayings inside — but the product, since the chocolates themselves are quite colorful and come in an intriguing flavor selection. Among the fillings you'll find in this 42-piece box are bananas foster, cardamom, coconut curry, jasmine tea, and lavender. You can also purchase a vegan version of this same assortment with plant-based fillings such as chickpea with coconut, mango, and sesame or olive oil, yuzu, and black pepper.

Purchase the Be My Valentine Chocolate Gift Box from Dallmann for $89.95

The Fine Truffle Heart from Charbonnel et Walker is sure to enchant a Valentine who's into Victoriana, since the box was designed with this era in mind. It depicts a pair of turtledoves holding ribbons, along with blossoming roses and foxgloves (the latter of which are poisonous, but never mind). Inside the box, the truffle selection is a bit more contemporary, with flavors including billionaire's shortbread, champagne, and sea salt caramel. There are even truffles decorated with gold leaf, making this box bougie with a capital B.

Purchase The Connoisseur Fine Truffle Heart from Charbonnel et Walker for $75.

The Sweetheart's Indulgence Bundle consists of two heart-shaped chocolate boxes, one large (one pound) and the other small (13 pieces). This allows you to hedge your bets — if you're not sure how your "Be My Valentine" offer will be received, you can always keep one or the other as a consolation prize. If you're sure your affection is returned, two hearts are still better than one, especially when they include Cacao & Cardamom's special Valentine flavor pairings such as popcorn and butter, fig and goat cheese, or coconut and yuzu.

Purchase the Sweetheart's Indulgence Bundle from Cacao & Cardamom for $130.

Ethel M allows you to be bougie on a budget this Valentine's Day because its limited-edition hearts come with either 14 or 28 pieces. The selection is a colorful one, with red, purple, and yellow-enrobed hearts as well as gold foil-wrapped truffles included among the more standard chocolate-hued candies. Flavors include bananas foster, blood orange, and passion fruit, along with the more unexpected prickly pear. This last may be a nod to the company's southwestern roots as the flagship store is located in Henderson, Nevada.

Purchase the Valentine's Day Heart Chocolate Box from Ethel M starting at $40.

The andSons Signature Collection, too, comes in a choice of sizes, allowing you to go small (six pieces) to very large (84 pieces), with various stops in between (12, 24, 36, and 54, to be more specific). Any of these would make a great gift for an unconventional Valentine because not only is the packaging non-traditional — a rectangular white box with abstract designs — but the chocolates include such trendy flavors as caramel gingerbread waffle, hibiscus honey, pistachio rose, Speculoos, and yuzu.

Purchase the Signature Collection from andSons starting at $25.