Trader Joe's pound plus dark chocolate.

For baking I prefer Valrhona, both cocoa powder and solid chocolate.

For eating, it's Trader Joe's Organic Fair Trade Dark Chocolate Baton 72% cacao. It's a regular chocolate bar, with divisions, but a fat stick, rounded on top and flat on the bottom, rather than thin and flat. Very satisfying to bite into.

For milk chocolate, it has to be Dutch, preferably Droste's, but I prefer drops or coins to bars.

For baking or eating--not necessarily in "candy bar" form, another vote for Valrhona AND TJ's Pound Plus, and throwing Callebaut & Guittard in the mix. Callebaut merged with Cacao Barry (I think they have a separate line of goods), with Cacao Berry being another outstanding maker of wonderful baking chocolate according to one of my baking school friends.

Guittard also has a good old fashioned red non-Dutched cocoa, as in the real red velvet cake. :)

I bought a bar of Caro (Spanish) milk chocolate to add to an as yet undetermined Christmas gift. Yah right.... It remained unwrapped for less than 48 hours. It is delicious but I have become more of a dark chocolate fan.

I also got some Lemoncello white chocolate almonds from Sconza for my niece’s 13th birthday. She is a big white chocolate fan - I am not. I haven’t gotten a review yet.

The best chocolate I've ever eaten was in Costa Rica at a chocolate factory, where it was extremely fresh. I don't even know the name of it, however, but it you can get it at its source, it is much better.

At home I buy TJ's pound plus because it is cheap and good, and I also like Valrhona. Kevin is considering buying chocolates for some of his employees, and I told him I would look for it today. I use TJ chocolate for cooking - not for eating as bar chocolate.

Another vote for Valrhona. Lindt is good too. I don't care for Trader Joe's.

Valrhona "Ivoire" white chocolate is supposed to be the one kind that tastes good and isn't too sweet. Last Christmas I made very pretty bark with Lindt white chocolate but it was too sweet. I want to try it this year with the Valrhona; not that easy to find and very expensive.

Christine, try Amazon. When my local store was out of Valrhone cocoa powder, I got three pounds off an Amazon vendor for less than what I usually pay for half a pound. I just hope the seals/time are as good as they say. ;)

Lars, for holiday gifts for people from the area, you can't go wrong with See's.

I also like the ginormous chocolate bar from TJs.

The last cocoa powder I bought was Baker's brand, and I like it a lot. I don't particularly like See's candies - they just do not taste right to me - maybe they use too much salt. There used to be a chocolate factory in Los Angeles called Wertzmann or something like that, but I haven't seen that for several years. Anyway, it was much better than See's. I can get Godiva chocolate in Manhattan Beach, which is very close to here (7 miles, 14 minutes), and so we may have to go there for chocolate presents. I used to make chocolate turtles in a silicon Madeleine mold for Christmas, but I haven't done that for a couple of years now. I did it mainly when I was getting pecans from my family in Texas.

I've stocked Guittard and Valrhona. Now have Jacques Big Daddy Dark. Only because I've passed by a few times and stocked up for the season. Would like to do a side-by-side with TJ's being cheaper but I'm never near or seek out TJ's.

Work puts out half dozen every day after lunch so I bet I've tasted just about all of them...

Some recent favorites,

Lars, that's why I said See's for the locals. They're not the best chocolates, but people who grew up with See's love them.

Bristol Farms used to carry Godiva in a whole big temp controlled case, but there isn't one near me and I don't know if they still do. Bloomingdale's used to stock their gift boxes, but not temp controlled. They're too waxy for my taste, but they're fine quality.

If you're (Kevin) already in the Godiva price range, you might want to look into Edelweiss in the Brentwood Country Mart. Really fine, craft chocolate.

I really like chocolate and will eat any brand in an emergency but by far the favorite for me has been Tcho 'Cacao' dark milk chocolate. This hits all the right notes for me.. great mouth feel, smooth, fudgy and rich, not too sweet and serious chocolate taste. Tcho Cacao - Dark Milk Chocolate

I love the Chocolate xoxo bars, in particular the Dark Chocolate with Ginger and the Dark Chocolate with Cherries and Almonds. Delish!

I found proof that Allen Wertz Candies is now closed, which is sad because they were really good. I did end up ordering chocolate from Lehigh Products in PA, which sells Nugali Chocolate from Brazil, like what I bought there. Their web site does not work properly (like many Brazilian web sites), and so I had to call to put my order through. Joao (the manager) told me that I would need to email my request to him, and then he took my order over the phone. I will not email credit card info. I think he needs help with IT. He had to make some substitutions on my order, and one of my choices for substitution was dark chocolate with pink peppercorns, which I've not had, but I do like chocolate with chili, and so I think this should be good. Also, Sleevendog shows that as one of her favorites, and so I'm sure it will be fine.

I'm not sure that Kevin's employees are local; i.e., they are not from L.A. originally, and they may like See's candy okay, but it seems a bit ordinary, and I think the Brazilian chocolate will be more special. We brought quite a bit back from Brazil, and Kevin gave some of it to his employees, who loved it.

Bristol Farms in Westchester does sell Godiva chocolate, but the store in Manhattan Beach has a much better selection and is not that far. Generally, we do not shop in South Bay, but we do go there occasionally. We bought a small outdoor teak table last week in Redondo Beach (on Manhattan Beach Blvd, and so I thought it was in MB). For the price, I think the Nugali chocolate is a better deal than Godiva.

I'm intrigued by Dolfin Chocolates now, and I found this place in NH (which is Maine adjacent), and I might order from them as well. They also sell Valrhona cocoa powder.

I'll check out Edelweiss also, which is actually in Santa Monica, even though they say they are in The Brentwood Country Mart (whatever that is). There is also Lady Chocolatt on Wilshire in WLA that I might visit, and it's 1.5 miles closer to me than Edelweiss.

My husband's family love their chocolate. I literally spend a small fortune at Christmas time on chocolate for his family. I can take it or leave it (chocolate in general), but the stuff that I buy from Rheo Thompson in Stratford, Ontario is the best. (Especially the chocolate gingers!)

I love all chocolate.....but just not hershey's milk chocolate...

Lars, agreed. See's is "special" for those who've grown up in the area or at least lived here a long time, but fairly ordinary objectively. It's funny about Wertz. I never did like their chocolates. Your mail order Brazilian chocolate sounds like a good choice.

Edelweiss is not just craft chocolates--they're known for their use of a lot of fresh fruit, and it's distinctive and particular. Personally, I'd rather have See's, but I don't much care for fresh fruit with chocolate. The fine quality is unmistakable, however. I know people who go into paroxysms of pleasure over it. It's worth the trip just to check out the Country Mart (just a collection of small shops surrounded by crazy parking and crazier valets), though much has changed and it's past its heyday. I haven't been there forever and it may be on the upswing again.