America Loves Chocolate; the Perfect Gift for Valentine's Day

Chocolate Rated Top Flavor

(Vienna, VA) – Sweethearts take note: almost everyone loves chocolate. In a poll of 1,015 men and women just conducted by the Chocolate Manufacturers Association (CMA), chocolate was ranked as America’s favorite flavor. Couple this with the fact that 53 percent of women in the same CMA poll said they feel that getting a Valentine’s Day gift is important - and the gift to choose becomes obvious: a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

It may also warm your loved one’s heart to know that some chocolates are loaded with naturally occurring substances called flavonoids which may help maintain a healthy heart (eaten in moderation, of course). As though anyone needed another reason to enjoy the food whose Latin name, Theobroma Cacao, means food of the gods.

“Valentine’s Day is the single biggest day for boxed chocolate sales,” notes Larry Graham, president of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association and National Confectioners Association. “More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of delicious chocolates will be sold for the holiday to deliver messages of love and caring.”

Consumers who desire other sweet Valentine’s goodies can choose from a wide variety of red, pink and white heart shaped candies. The number-one selling non-chocolate candy for Valentine’s Day is the ever-popular conversation hearts – tiny, pastel-colored hearts inscribed with messages such as “Luv U” and even “Go Away” to fit any potential Valentine’s Day encounter.

According to the National Retail Federation, American men and women are expected to spend an average of $95 on chocolate and other Valentine’s Day gifts. It is money well spent, says Jamie Turndorf, Ph.D., also known as Dr. Love, an internationally known couples’ therapist and author of Till Death Do Us Part (Unless I Kill You First): A Step by Step Guide for Resolving Marital Conflict, (www.askdrlove.com).

“Giving and receiving a Valentine’s gift sends a very important message whether it is between lovers, friends or family members,” she advises. “It is especially important for couples of all ages because Valentine’s Day reminds us to celebrate our love for each other, which is something we should do every day.”

Chocolate is an appropriate gift of romance, she adds, because “it is a gift of pure pleasure that says ‘I want your every happiness’.”

Those romantic associations to chocolate have been around for more than 2,000 years. The Mayan Indians were the first to enjoy a drink made from chocolate. Although this first beverage was bitter and flavored only with spices, it was regarded as having special romantic powers and was consumed from golden cups at betrothal and wedding ceremonies. Later, the Aztec ruler Montezuma reportedly drank 50 cups of chocolate a day to spark his romantic powers.

According to Graham, a box of chocolates is consistently rated among the top gifts to give for Valentine’s Day. Chocolate also has been consistently ranked the number one flavor for desserts and sweet snacks in CMA polls taken over the past decade.

“No matter what your taste in chocolate or other candies, you will find something sweet and delicious to celebrate the day,” says Graham.