Valentine’s Day is coming up, and many different types of chocolate can be seen on the shelves at just about every store around. According to The Statistical Portal website, chocolate sales in the United States have increased from twenty billion in 2013 to twenty-one billion in 2016.

Ladarrius Cole, a physical education major, said chocolate does cost more around holidays. “I think the companies know there’s an increase in demand,” he said.

Cole’s favorite chocolate is dark or milk chocolate Reese’s and Hershey’s.

Brynn Bertrand, an English/creative writing major, said, “Chocolate is a woman’s best friend and her worst enemy.”

Bertrand said that her two favorite are Andes mint chocolate and Hershey’s kisses because “they’re bite sized, which means you can have more than one.” She said she could eat a whole bag/box in one sitting.  

“The average American eats 10­12 pounds (4.5 kg) of chocolate a year. The average Swiss eats 21 pounds a year.  Several medical studies show that eating chocolate in moderation can actually prolong your life by reducing risk of blood clots and fighting bad cholesterol. Chocolate is not high in caffeine. A 1oz bar of milk chocolate contains only 5­6 mg of caffeine. This is significantly less than in coffee, tea, and soft drinks. U.S. chocolate manufacturers use 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make chocolate. Chocolate is America’s favorite flavor, according to recent surveys with a little over 50% of adults preferring chocolate to other flavors,” according to Criss White.

Shujuan Smith, a business management major, said his favorite chocolate is anything milk chocolate and Snickers.

“I love chocolate,” Smith said. “I wish that it wasn’t bad for your teeth. It tastes really good.  Sometimes I feel that I eat it too much.”

Tori Summers, a speech and hearing science major, said her favorite candy is Reese’s.

She can at least have something yummy to eat while working on Valentine’s Day as the RA for

Brumby­Castle Hall on the DSU campus.

According to the Daily Meal, the top five chocolate candies that Americans like are

M&Ms, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar and KitKat. Information can be found about these chocolate candies here:

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/05/19/america­favorite­chocolate­candies/​

White said, “The largest chocolate bar ever made weighed over 5,000 pounds and was made in Italy in 2000. The largest slab of fudge was over 2,000 pounds and was made in Canada.”