The cacao bean was domesticated in present-day Ecuador more than 5,000 years ago. Even then it was considered a gift from the gods by the Mayans and the Aztecs. The complicated process of turning bitter cacao pods into chocolate evolved over the years.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Vogue photographed our favorite (and most unusual) chocolates on the market that would make Cadbury proud. Order one—or, hell, order all. To borrow a line from another famous moment in the confectionary canon: “Life is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you’re going to get.”

BOSTON - Valentine's Day is just days away, and grocery store shelves are full of chocolate. "Dark chocolate is the way to my heart," said Boston neighbor, Jessica Gullak. The sweet stuff melts Gullak's heart,