France contains the highest number of "bean to bar" (Cacaofevier) chocolate makers of any country in the world. Many artisan, French chocolate makers have been in business for over a hundred years and have retained their commitment to traditional methods and quality standards.

Contrary to popular belief in the UK it is not Belgian chocolate that claims the worlds No.1 title although many supermarkets and mass producers use the line "Luxury Belgian Chocolate" continuously in their marketing regardless.

France is considered to have created the chocolate truffle a hand rolled chocolate resembling and named after the edible funghi found underground.

Typically the French enjoy a higher cocoa content chocolate than any other country and so many French chocolate makers include high cocoa chocolate bars and even chocolate boxes within their product range. The 99% chocolate bar by Michel Cluizel contains less than 1% sugar and is therefore extremely bitter whilst the 85% chocolate bar, which is still considered a high cocoa content dark chocolate, is much more palatable to most tastes. Pralus create a 100% cocoa content bar which is as bitter and as pure as a chocolate could be, containing no sugar at all and considered beneficial to your health due to the higher level of flavanols contained.

French chocolate makers to note are Michel Cluizel, Valrhona and Pralus. These coveted chocolate makers are amongst the finest in the world and produce a range of exceptional filled bonbons and particularly special single origin chocolate bars, many from single plantations and estates. If any countries chocolate is to be generalised as "the best" then French chocolate should certainly be regarded as the world's best chocolate.