Chocolate: A Real Love Story

It is 21 days until Valentine’s Day, one of the most popular chocolate-giving times of the year.  Most guys will buy their woman a red, heart shaped box of chocolate and a dozen roses. One word: BORING.  I need a little spontaneity in my life.  I blame my father for giving me such high expectations of guys who clearly lack the originality that he had.  Every year he would buy me dozens of my favorite chocolate bars and tape them to a box that opened up to reveal a piece of jewelry or a gift card to my favorite store. What better way to show someone you care than by treating them to one of their favorites? For me, that’s a good old-fashioned candy bar. 

Since then, I have developed a greater appreciation for all kinds of chocolate.  I still have my favorites, but the list has grown immensely.  Alright, I’ll admit it.  I’m obsessed with chocolate.  What about it?  Let’s be realistic, how could anyone resist such deliciousness?

There’s a reason candy bars are located by the register; because producers know that no one can resist the chocolaty goodness individually wrapped in each shiny, eye-catching package.  But once you hit the candy rack, how do you know which one to pick? There’s such a large selection it takes some people way too long to actually choose a chocolate bar without stuffing your face with them all.  Even chocolate “experts”, such as myself, have trouble deciding. Picking favorites is not fun when you have feelings for them all!

There are a lot of different criteria that go into this painfully agonizing decision-making process.  To help ease this process, I conducted a survey of four different types of popular chocolate bars.  They include: Hershey’s, Lindor, Hazelwood Gourmet, and Dove.  All of these standard sized, milk chocolate bars were chosen in the candy aisle at my local Walgreens.

TASTE.

Probably one of the most important influences in the decision making process; at least in my opinion.  To help compare them, I asked eleven other people to blindly taste the chocolate.  I did not want the reputation of the brand of chocolate to influence the taste test.  So for the purposes of this survey, I labeled the chocolates: A (Hershey’s), B (Lindor), C (Hazelwood Gourmet), D (Dove).  The chocolates were given to all twelve candidates, including myself, who all had their eyes covered.  I asked them to rank the chocolates from 1 to 4; 1 being the best and 4 being the worst.  The chocolate that got first was given four points, second got three points, third got two points, and last got one point.  The numbers were then added and compared.  The results are shown below.

This graph shows that the Hershey’s chocolate bar was ranked the highest according to taste, then Lindor, Dove, and Hazelwood Gourmet. 

PRICE.

With today’s hard economic times, everyone is trying to catch a good deal.  Unless you are filthy rich, money most likely has an influence on almost everything you do or buy.  So naturally, price would be an important piece of information when deciding which chocolate bar to purchase.  At Walgreens, the price for a 43-gram bar of Hershey’s chocolate is $1.09.  The price for a 100-gram Lindor chocolate bar was $2.69.  The price for a 90-gram Hazelwood Gourmet chocolate bar was $1.79.  The price of a 40.8-gram Dove chocolate bar was $1.09.  I then calculated the unit price of each bar of chocolate and compared them in the bar graph shown below.

The graph shows the best buy for your buck is definitely the Hazelwood Gourmet bar.  Hershey’s came in second, with Dove and Lindor in a close third and forth.

NUITRITION.

Most likely, if you are buying a bar of chocolate you are not interested in nutrition facts.  But being an athlete myself, I can’t help but take into account the amount of laps I'm going to need to run after indulging in my favorite snack.  After all, a difference of 10 total grams of fat means the difference of two chocolate bars compared to one!   

I decided to compare the calories, total fat and sugars of one serving of each of the bars of chocolate in separate bar grafts.  The results are shown below.

The graph shows that the chocolate bar with the least amount of calories was the Hazelwood Gourmet, which also had the least amount of total fat.  Lindor also tied with Hazelwood Gourmet for the least amount of sugars.  

CONCLUSION: 

Ultimately, the decision is up to you.  In my opinion, I would have chosen Dove.  It is one of my personal favorites.  If I'm going to have a piece of chocolate I am going to enjoy it no matter what the cost or nutrition facts.  

This Valentine’s Day, surprise someone special with the tastiness of a good old-fashioned milk chocolate bar.  Better yet, surprise yourself!  Rekindle the love you have for that favorite bar of goodness.  Use these tips and criteria to help make that decision making process go a little smoother.  Can’t decide? Buy them all and share them with a special friend.  In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, share a little love! Chocolate love.