gourmet chocolate gift basket

3 Unique, Romantic Gourmet Chocolate Gifts for Valentines Day

By Sarah R. Parker

A simple gourmet chocolate gift basket is great…but here are 3 unique, romantic gourmet chocolate gifts for Valentines day to really heat things up!
1. Chocolate Dipped Wine - At first, the author thought this concept sounded strange. Maybe you do to. Why do they do that? Well, for one, presentation. It looks really cool. The wine label is no longer paper, it’s mouthwatering gourmet chocolate. You may be thinking, “OK, but how do you get it off to eat it?” A zipper - got it?
2. Valentine’s Fondue for Two - Melt in your mouth chocolate covered strawberries are one thing. Making them yourselves and feeding them to each other is another. This author votes for the latter. Add a nice bottle of champagne and enjoy.
3. Strip Chocolate - For the more risque, this game lets you explore chocolate in new ways, shall we say.

Which of these three is the best? It depends on the impression you want to make.
Presentation:
When you give a gourmet chocolate gift, you want the person to be impressed. If this is your main reason for giving gourmet chocolate gifts - and assuming the person is a wine lover - the chocolate dipped wine would be an excellent choice for gourmet originality.
Sharing:
If your are giving gourmet to be able to enjoy it together, fondue is wonderful. This sensual gift is one that keeps on giving. You can use the fondue again with chocolate or cheeses after the memorable evening has long since passed .
Just Plain Fun:
If your partner loves to play games, go for the Strip Chocolate.

chocolates gifts

A Great Chocolate Gift Idea

By Jason Storm

What is it about chocolate that makes it such an irresistible part of our life experience? Everyone loves the sensations a delicious piece of chocolate gives us and a chocolate gift hardly ever fails to create feelings of well-being throughout the whole body when ingested. Sure the smell and the taste of it alone could cheer anyone up, but there are actually a whole lot of chemical factors behind it that makes chocolate the ultimate happy treat.

A chocolate gift is so much more than the simple taste experience we normally think of it as. As soon as you bring the chocolate to your nose to have the first encounter with it smell-wise something starts happening in your brain. Scientific studies have found that the theta brainwaves tend to increase when we smell chocolate. This brain activity is present when we are relaxing deeply or when we are asleep. This is one of the reasons why we often are being brought to such a pleasant state of mind when we have a sniff of cacao.

When you finally are indulging in that amazing piece of chocolate and have its creaminess melting on your tongue, there is even more brain activity that is being released. Chocolate has been found in researches to have the property to increase the levels of both serotonin and dopamine in the brain. Both of these neurotransmitters in the brain brings about feelings of happiness and well-being.

The substance in chocolate that triggers the brain to produce more of these neurotransmitters is called tryptophan. When the serotonin is being released it brings about feelings of joy, excitement, elation and in some cases even ecstasy. Another natural ingredient in chocolate that is also used in the brain as a neurotransmitter is phenylethylalamine. When it is being activated in the brain after eating a delicious chocolate gift you can experience feelings of happiness, attraction and a general positive mood.

Some people compare eating a box of chocolate with having sex, and the comparison is not too far apart since they bring about similar emotions in our being and scientifically the activation in the brain is alike in both cases. Why do you think the number one gift on Valentine’s Day is chocolate gifts? You could compare the feeling of being in love with having an unopened truffle box in front of you. Chocolate definitely brings about a romantic feeling.

So when you want to give a gift to someone that will bring with it feelings of joy and happiness, give a chocolate gift and you ensure that the people you love will be touched by these feelings. A chocolate gift is always right.

You may want to check out my other guide on chocolate cake recipe and buy chocolate