Choco-revolution. NOW!

If Americans knew just how craptastic their "everyday" chocolate is, there would be outrage. Uprising in the streets. I mean, one trip to Canada (or a grocery store that carries imported candy bars from Britain) is all it takes.

Why do American palates tolerate such astonishing and flagrant mediocrity in their chocolate bars? The answer, of course, is that our palates don't know any better. But! The tide may be turning. Varietal chocolates and cacao-by-percentage chocolates are showing up in mainstream stores - yay! - but they (and Ghirardelli and Cadbury, and similar "premium" brands) need to be placed in the checkout aisles, not relegated to some aisle in the middle of the store. And then maybe one day, they'll nudge out the other assorted dreck. Or at least force the mega-manufacturers to improve the quality. The increasing consumer awareness of chocolate quality is promising, but there's still a long way to go.