10 Valentine's Day Chocolates To Love (And Hate)

Ah, Valentine's Day, the holiday of Hallmark. For mushy romantics and Valentine's dissenters alike, the time around Feb. 14 heralds an explosion of specialty chocolates. Shelves get so packed that the array of choices can be dizzying, and the simple days of candy hearts are long gone.

Click here for the 10 Valentine's Day Chocolates to Love (and Hate).

Luckily, amid all the in-your-face red hearts and cellophane wrapping cluttering up your trusty neighborhood pharmacy, there is a beacon of light: The Daily Meal's Valentine's Day chocolate taste test. There might be dinner and maybe even flowers, but a box of chocolates is the defining symbol of the holiday.

Hopefully, it will be sinfully good and delectably delightful, but there's a definite chance that it could go south — cheap, clichéd cardboard boxes can reveal too-sweet, too-stiff, and too-tiny bites that just won't cut it. Can't choose between Godiva and Ghirardelli? In a last-minute bind and not sure about Russell Stover or See's? We have you covered. With many years of love and chocolate behind us, we know a good nougat when we taste one, believe us. 

Results of the taste test are based on a 100-point system.

While these "taste-offs" are usually blind, we took the shades off this time in order to appreciate the effort put into presentation. Because the box does tell a story — running late, first date, heart-not-in-it, or maybe, just maybe, I love you? Whatever the case, the wrapping actually counts this time around — we took presentation and taste into account to give our scores.

And boy, did we score. Popping the lids off was like strolling through memory lane for some of us. While we happily took the ride, we enjoyed some of the little morsels and then some not as much. Either way, all that chocolate inspired us to make Valentine's Day mailboxes in the office — very third grade. The love is definitely in the air and the truffles absolutely have something to do with it. 

XOXO.