Woodhouse Chocolate

www.woodhousechocolate.com
These Napa Valley chocolates are handmade with mint from the owner’s garden.
try: Four-ounce box (shown), $14.
navigation notes: Read the “Index of Chocolates” to whet your appetite. Detailed pictures help you pick a box of “mostly dark,” “milk/dark,” “mostly white,” or assorted.
gift options and wrapping: The company’s standard aqua blue box calls to mind Tiffany & Co.’s. What’s classier than that? A hand-written gift message can be included.
customer service and shipping: Chocolates are shipped via UPS next-day or overnight in a foam cooler with gel ice packs. Shipping might cost more than one box of chocolate, so consider buying a pound or more.

Scharffen Berger

www.scharffenberger.com
Dark chocolate fanatics will love the 70 percent Bittersweet or the 82 percent Extra Dark Bar.
try: Twelve-pack of 5-gram bars, $6.
navigation notes: The site shows exact percentages (41 percent milk chocolate means the rest is basically sugar; 70 percent bittersweet has less sugar, more chocolate). Read the FAQ for a chocolate tutorial.
gift options and wrapping: Gift bars are packed in wooden boxes with the logo burned on top — a nice alternative if you love chocolate but not feminine packaging. Also for sale: Cacao chocolate perfume, $140 for 1/4 ounce.
customer service and shipping: Chocolate is sent by FedEx overnight. All orders come in insulated boxes.

eChocolates

www.eChocolates.com
This site for inventively shaped chocolate gifts (like the “oysters”) features independent premium chocolatiers.
try: Chocolate almond praline Yukon Gold “potatoes,” $10.
navigation notes: The company does a big wholesale business, so some chocolates are sold in bulk. Search the gift section for samplers from France and quirky items like chocolate “sardines” and “seashells.”
gift options and wrapping: Items come packaged artfully, so no further wrapping is necessary. The company can hand write a message you type in.
customer service and shipping: Ground or express shipping via UPS. If headed for warm climates, chocolate comes packed in an insulated box with gel ice packs.