Why Chocolate on Valentine’s Day?

Recently, Forte has been taking time to reflect on the holiday that is so important to the chocolate industry. We’ve discussed the inseparable history of passion and chocolate. We have also explored how Japanese culture translates the Western tradition of giving chocolate gifts on February 14th as a complete twist on gender norms. It is truly amazing how humanity managed to intertwine romance and decadent chocolate.

Now, it took chocolate and Valentine’s Day a few centuries for the two to intertwine in this dance of romance we know today. Valentine’s Day’s attribution is credited to the Christian martyr Valentine. The holiday’s link to romance is thought to have originated from Chaucer’s 1382 poem, Parlement of Foules. This is little mention soon became known as Valentine’s Day we all know– A day filled with heart-shaped goodies, confessions of love, flowers, cards, and more!

Valentine’s Day & Chocolate

Cadbury was one of the first chocolate makers to take advantage of this holiday. Because chocolate already had a history of romance, it made perfect sense for the day of love to be commercially synonymous with the sweet and luxurious.

Richard Cadbury is credited with the invention of “eating chocolates.” However, his Valentine’s trick was that he packaged them in lovely little boxes with rosebuds and hearts circa 1861. People could reuse their chocolate boxes to store love letters and other mementos.

As Valentine’s Day grew in America, Milton Hershey launched the Hershey Kiss. Named for the smooching noise of the machine that produced it, the kisses were a huge hit for a day of love. Russell Stover brand chocolates took this love-filled day to new heights when he and his wife, Clara, began manufacturing chocolates in heart-shaped boxes and selling them wholesale to large businesses like Target and Walgreens. It’s no wonder aisles are packed with pink and red candies these days.

If you are searching for something much more special and elegant than common, store-bought chocolates this Valentine’s Day, seek out quality chocolate from top-notch chocolatiers like Forte Chocolates. Mass-produced, low-quality chocolate can be found everywhere, but your love deserves nothing less than the best chocolate in the world! Here are some delectable gift ideas for you:

• The Heart Truffle Boxes are filled with hearts of milk and dark chocolate. Each heart is coated in a silky red to give you a sense of romance.

• Forte’s Luxury 14-Bar Book Set is ideal for you and your love if you’re searching for an adventure through flavor.

• The Chocolate of the Month Club gives you or your partner a selection of delectable chocolate to look forward to every month.

This Valentine’s Day you can dig a bit deeper into the true history of this day of love and romance. Chocolate and love are entangled and they will be forever.