Donnelly, like a growing number of chocolatiers, makes handmade gourmet chocolate for sale in small amounts to a well-heeled crowd. At $75 per pound, Donnelly's chocolate is not for hikers looking for an energy boost or for kids to find in their bags on Halloween. These are bonbons for adults; to be savored at the end of a long day, to help sooth the pain of a romantic breakup and even to act, in some cases, as an aphrodisiac.

For years, the world appeared satiated by products from the behemoths, such as privately held Mars and Hershey, For the most part, it was because that's all people--unless they lived in certain areas of Paris or Switzerland--could find. But the $15.3 billion U.S. chocolate industry is undergoing a noticeable shift away from mass products to more expensive premium brands. According to Packaged Facts, a market research publisher in Rockville, Md., the market for premium chocolate has seen 20% annual growth since 2001. This is opposed to the overall chocolate market, which has seen only a 3.9% rise. In 2005, sales of premium chocolate was $1.2 billion and is projected to hit $1.7 billion by 2009.

In order to maintain their share of the market and to appeal to more-affluent consumers, the chocolate giants are busy rolling out their own premium brands and making acquisitions. Hershey, the number-one selling chocolate in the nation, recently acquired two medium-sized Bay-area gourmet chocolate companies, Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt, for between $46.6 million and $61.1 million, in August of last year. The two companies' combined sales are estimated at $25 million. In 2005, Hershey, which is based in Hershey, Pa., did more than $4.8 billion in sales.

Most of the growth is in dark chocolate. Hershey reports that dark-chocolate sales have grown by 11.2% in the last four years. As a result, the company is concentrating almost half of its business on dark-chocolate production by expanding already popular products, such as Hershey's Special Dark, the best-selling dark-chocolate bar in the U.S., and by making limited-edition flavors of products like Hershey's kisses in dark chocolate.

Why is dark chocolate so popular? Not only does it taste good, but, like all chocolate, it contains substances called phenylethylamine and seratonin, both of which are the mood elevators found naturally in the human brain. Moreover, according to Arthur Agatston, a Miami-based cardiologist and author of The South Beach Diet, dark chocolate is also healthier, because it has a higher percentage of cocoa than milk chocolate does.

Agatston says cocoa contains flavanols, which may help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system by relaxing blood vessels and keeping cholesterol from building up in them--thus reducing the risk of blood clots--and by slowing down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries. It is also an antioxidant. “Flavanols seem to have an aspirin-like affect, helping improve vascular endothelial function and moderate inflammation,” says Agatston.

But, of course, most people don't buy chocolate because of its flavanols or its antioxidants. They buy it because it tastes good. And while true chocolate lovers are happy to have chocolate in just about any shape or form, the market is clearly growing at the top end. To find out which chocolates are at the very top of that market, read on.

Most Expensive Chocolates

Chocopologie by Knipschildt

Cost: $2,600 per pound*
Where: Norwalk, Conn.
Web site: www.knipschildt.com

Knipschildt Chocolatier was founded in 1999 by Fritz Knipschildt, who got his culinary education as a chef in Denmark. The most-expensive chocolate he sells--a $250 dark chocolate truffle with a French black truffle inside--is available on a preorder-only basis. It's made of 70% Valrhona cacao, which is blended into a creamy ganache with truffle oil. The truffle is then hand-rolled with a dark truffle on the inside and dusted with cocoa powder.

Most Expensive Chocolates

© Noka

Noka Vintages Collection

Cost: $854 per pound
Where: Dallas, Tex.
Web site: www.nokachocolate.com

Noka chocolate is a compilation of the finest dark chocolates, sourced from select plantations in Venezuela, Trinidad, Cote d'Ivoire and Ecuador. The Vintages Collection of chocolate is 75% pure, single-origin cacao, with other ingredients that include cacao butter and sugar. Noka does not use any type of emulsifier, such as soy lecithin, in their chocolate-making process, nor do they add vanilla.

Most Expensive Chocolates

Delafee

Cost: $508 per pound
Where: Neuchatel, Switzerland
Web site: www.delafee.com

For those who enjoy a sparkle in their chocolate, there's Delafee. The chocolate is prepared with fine cocoa beans and flakes of edible 24-karat gold applied by hand to each praline. Other ingredients include sugar, coconut oil, cocoa butter, milk powder and vanilla.

Most Expensive Chocolates

Richart

Cost: $120 per pound
Where: Lyons, France
Web site: www.richart-chocolates.com

Richart chocolate is made from 70% Criollo cocoa from Venezuela--considered the best cocoa in the world. It has a mild-but-full flavor and is only paired with the finest ingredients, such as almonds, raspberries and exotic spices. The cocoa used in each chocolate is finely ground to ensure a smooth taste.

Most Expensive Chocolates

© Godiva

Godiva "G" Collection

Cost: $120 per pound
Where: New York, N.Y.
Web site: www.godiva.com

The well-known chocolatier, which originated in Belgium, recently introduced the "G" Collection of chocolates, which are made with various ingredients and flavors, such as Palet d'Or, Tasmanian Honey and Mexican Hot Chocolate. Each chocolate is comprised of premium cocoa beans and other ingredients that are dependent on each type of bonbon.

Most Expensive Chocolates

© Pierre Marcolini

Pierre Marcolini

Cost: $102.50 per pound
Where: Brussels, Belgium
Web site: www.marcolinichocolatier.com

Pierre Marcolini truffles are made from the finest cacao beans with ingredients varying with each truffle. One example is the Truffle Bresilienne, which has a Caraibe (a 66% blend of beans from Ghana and Venezuela) ganache center with a Gianduja almond praline with milk-chocolate outside and is finished with caramelized almonds.

Most Expensive Chocolates

© Debauve & Gallais
Debauve & Gallais

Cost: $94 per pound
Where: Paris, France
Web site: www.debauveandgallais.com

Debauve & Gallais has a tradition of making chocolates that are low in sugar and high in fine-quality cocoa. They do not use soy lecithin or any type of emulsifier in their chocolate. Other ingredients include Piedmont hazelnuts, Perigord nuts, Turkish raisins, Spanish almonds, Turin chestnuts and Antilles rum. There are no dyes, preservatives or other additives permitted in Debauve & Gallais chocolate.

Most Expensive Chocolates

© Chuao

Chuao

Cost: $79 per pound
Where: Encinitas, Calif.
Web site: www.chuaochocolatier.com

Chuao Chocolatier, named after the cacao-producing region of Chuao, Venezuela, uses European techniques to make their Venezuelan chocolate. Only fresh ingredients are used, and absolutely no preservatives are allowed in these handmade chocolates.

Most Expensive Chocolates

© Vosges Haut Chocolat

Vosges Haut Chocolat

Cost: $69 per pound
Where: Chicago, Ill.
Web site: www.vosgeschocolate.com

Vosge has several signature flavors, including Naga, milk chocolate with Sweet Indian Curry and coconut, Black Pearl, dark chocolate with ginger and wasabi, and Red Fire, made with ancho and Chipotle chili, cinnamon and dark chocolate. There are also flavors like Finnochio, which is made with wild fennel pollen and dark chocolate, and Balsamico, which includes dark chocolate, a ten-year aged modena balsamic vinegar and Sicilian hazelnuts.

Most Expensive Chocolates

© Richard Donnelly

Richard Donnelly

Cost: $75 per pound
Where: Santa Cruz, Calif.
Web site: www.donnellychocolates.com

Richard Donnelly started making chocolate in 1988 after studying with master chocolatiers in Paris and Brussels. His chocolates are made by hand from the finest French and Belgian couvertures. He focuses on creating simple, sophisticated flavors and, after Valentine's Day, will begin creating chocolate flavors based on the best-selling chocolate bars in the U.S.

Most Expensive Chocolates

© La Maison du Chocolat

La Maison du Chocolat