Lopez-Maggi and Brown at Xocolate Bar (top 2 pics). Below, Jean-Marc Gorce at XOX Truffles.

"Chocolate as aphrodisiac? I’ve read often enough that it is. Eating dark chocolate can boost both serotonin, which is linked to sexual arousal, and phenylethylamine, associated with attraction and falling in love.

See the list, Top 12 chocolatiers, below. Plus, watch the video. And enjoy three great chocolate blogs.

"Killjoys say there’s not enough of either for a genuine wallop of lust; that the effect is psychological. But in a British study, where researchers wired up volunteers and compared the physiological effects of kissing with that of sucking on chocolate, the buzz from chocolate doubled the heart rate and lasted four times as long as the kapow from the most passionate kiss.

"These things came to mind when I stepped into Malena Lopez-Maggi and Clive Brown’s delicious little den of decadence, Xocolate Bar, in Berkeley, California." See my full story on Xocolate Bar, Enter a Den of Delicious Decadence, in Oakland magazine.

So: What makes for great chocolate?

Keeping the deliciousness in Berkeley, chocolatier Chris Blue has a pretty good recipe. His jewel-like nuggets, made from gourmet organic chocolate, tempt from where they’re showcased on single-tier cake stands under glass at Chocolatier Blue in Berkeley. It is here that this chocolate alchemist supreme, handcrafts — and retails — his eponymous seasonal selections. I was introduced to Chocolatier Blue when I wrote about his chocolate for Oakland Magazine.

Blue, a graduate of Chicago’s French Pastry School, started his chocolatier career in that city, with the legendary Charlie Trotter.

For his own decadent creations, he uses single-origin Amedei chocolate from Tuscany (made from 100 percent Venezuelan sun-dried cocoa beans), cream from grass-fed, free-grazing cows and seasonal fruit from the Berkeley farmers market. Depending on the time of year, you might get a passion fruit with caramel truffle, a cinnamon and chili blend, a burst of tangerine, a blast of peppermint or a snifter of eggnog.

Things to take into account when ranking chocolate. Where it is sourced. Whether it’s organic. The purity. The creativity. And as with good wine, your palette. One persons sublime chocolate is another’s, well, shall we say Hershey’s?

Naomi Friedman conducts chocolate tastings in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this video, she tells us how to taste chocolate.

So: Who makes the best chocolate in the United States?

Here’s my Top 12 list (in no special order). What do you think?

• Chocolatier Blue 
• XOX Truffles (Chef Jean-Marc Gorce's store in North Beach, San Francisco, is picture below.)
• The Xocolate Bar
• Charles Chocolates
• Saratoga Chocolates
• Socola Chocolatier
• TCHO
• Neo Cocoa
• Coco Delice
• Michael Mischer
• Sonoma Chocolatiers
• Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates

Video by Wanda Hennig. ©: Photos: Wanda Hennig
©: Story: Wanda Hennig, 2009

For more info: Several (but not all) of the Top 12 chocolatiers listed will offer tastings at the Holiday Chocolate Show, Saturday, November 14, 2009, 12:00 p.m. at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. Check this website for more details. Plus, I came across these three chocolate blogs that seemed too delicious not to share: www.blogchocolate.typepad.com, www.chocolategourmand.com/blog/ and dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com.