Chocolate snobs

Since we arrived in late December, we have been fascinated by the way Parisians revere chocolate. There are numerous chocolate boutiques throughout the city that occupy expensive real estate and sell accordingly expensive chocolate to chocolate snobs like we envy to be. After some initial hesitation at our inexperience with haute chocolate, we have been steadily experimenting with new brands and flavors. As you can see from the photos below, fine chocolate in Paris is every bit about art as it is taste. And for that matter, as expensive as some art too!

Like fine French wine, you need some expert guidance to separate the sublime from the imposters. Luckily, we have found some good websites to help us navigate this world a bit more deftly. Still, the only way to get better at something is with practice. Every October, Paris holds a grand chocolate festival and awards some of the best chocolatiers in Paris for their creations. We have used this list as a starting point to find the best shops in Paris. Each time we bring home a new box, we can't help but pause to appreciate and photograph our prized chocolates. We may not be wine snobs yet (and may never be as it takes a lot more money to become), but after sampling some of the best chocolates in the world, we are starting to feel like chocolate snobs. We have gone to the great extent of discovering and tasting all these chocolates for the sake of sharing in our blog :-) It's a good thing, however, that getting to all these shops has required a significant amount of walking!

Chocolates

(click to see full album)