This Might Be The Most Expensive Chocolate In The World

Chocolate has always carried a certain air of luxury, going back to the first time it showed up in the human diet. According to History, chocolate was invented in ancient Mesoamerica, where it was highly prized by multiple cultures. The Mayans considered cacao a gift from the gods and used it as a funeral offering. When chocolate was first introduced to Europe, it was exclusively reserved for monarchs and the wealthiest echelons of society. It wasn't until the late-1800s that industrialization made chocolate accessible to the masses, per History. But even today, there's something about the silky smooth substance that still feels opulent, which may be why chocolate has remained a popular gift and a classic expression of love.

Of course, not all chocolate is created equal, and some varieties carry price tags so high that they might as well be reserved for nobility. HuffPost explains the modern "bean-to-bar" trend, which uses minimal ingredients and single-origin cacao to produce pricier chocolates as opposed to major brands like Hershey's and Nestlé, which mass-produce their product using ingredients like soy lecithin as an emulsifier, rather than pure cacao butter. Usually, expensive manufacturing methods are done in the name of quality, but some chocolatiers go one step further to produce something where the price tag is so high, it overshadows the food itself. For better or for worse, expensive things draw a lot of attention, and these may be the priciest chocolates you'll ever hear of.

The title of 'world's most expensive chocolate' is hotly contested, and since chocolatiers around the globe appear to be constantly one-upping each other, it's liable to change hands at any moment. As of 2020, Lake Forest Chocolate in St. Louis, Missouri claims to offer the priciest chocolate on the planet, but there is a major caveat. According to Ventured, Lake Forest teamed up with another St. Louis business, Simons Jewelers, to create "Le Chocolate Box," which costs a whopping $1.5 million. The problem with calling this the 'world's most expensive chocolate' is that it's not actually the chocolate that drives up the price.

Le Chocolate Box was released as a special Christmas promotion, and each sale included pieces of jewelry from Simon. Examples included necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets studded with diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds. These were the items that really bore responsibility for the hefty price tag. In similar stunts, chocolatiers in the UK and Japan made an $11,000 chocolate egg covered in edible gold, and Harrod's released $10,000 chocolates covered in Swarovski crystals. These are certainly eye-catching items, but they stretch the definition of 'expensive chocolate' more than we care for.

Setting aside extravagant add-ons like diamonds and gold, we wanted to find the most expensive chocolate where the confection itself bore the full weight of the price. To do so, we turned to the folks at Guinness World Records, who recognize 'La Chuorsa,' a chocolate bar made by Attimo Chocolate Zurich, as the world's most expensive chocolate. In 2019, a single 80-gram bar of La Chuorsa retailed for 640 Swiss Francs. According to Forbes Advisor, that's equivalent to $685.73 U.S. in 2022. Unlike the offerings from Lake Forest Chocolate and Harrod's, this candy bar doesn't come with any additional jewelry on the side, so what's driving the price?

According to Guinness, Attimo's special chocolate bar is made with crystalized orange and saffron, which is the world's most expensive spice. Scarcity is the biggest factor in the cost of La Chuorsa. Pricey Buys explains that Attimo sourced the cacao for this chocolate from the small Venezuelan village of Chuao, where the people have been cultivating it for 400 years. The Swiss chocolatiers were able to obtain just 10 kilograms of this special cacao, enough to make 50 bars of chocolate. As for the saffron, it comes from the Swiss village of Mund, and a single kilogram costs over $30,000. Alain Mettler, who created the bar, says, "It's a real experience. It's not just a bar of chocolate." If we ever win the lottery, we'll let you know if he's right.