For many people, the tradition of giving and receiving chocolate gelt (for noshing, dreidel payments, or both) is an integral part of celebrating Hanukkah. With so many gelt varieties on the market (yes, it’s true, there are lots!), we thought we’d help you out by testing 14 options, both milk and dark. We hope this gelt guide—the result of a very dedicated focus group—comes in handy during your Hanukkah preparations.

Dark Chocolate

Divine Chocolate 70% Dark Chocolate Chanukah Gelt

(Photo: Divine Chocolate)
(Photo: Divine Chocolate)

Wow factor: Fair trade, vegetarian and kosher—the trifecta! It has a distinctive light-blue foil instead of run-of-the-mill gold or silver.

“When I think of classy gelt, this is what I envision. This one takes the cake. The light-blue foil is tasteful and unique. This is good. It has an interesting aftertaste. Is it the cocoa butter? I can definitely taste it.”
—Ashley

“Looks nice. Nice embossing! [Nods vigorously.] Good chocolate!”
—Julie

“Ooh, bitter. Like a very bitter finish. Huh. I’d also been eating milk chocolate so it was kind of jarring. I did cleanse my palate with coffee, though.”
—Dan 

“It tastes like dark chocolate, but it’s not as good as Dove dark chocolate.”
—Laura

Lake Champlain Chocolates Hanukkah Dark Chocolate Coins

(Photo: Lake Champlain Chocolates)
(Photo: Lake Champlain Chocolates)

Wow factor: Organic, kosher, vegan and made in Vermont. These coins have a unique embossed foil wrapper that doesn’t require the time-consuming and nail-ruining foil separation techniques necessary for other types of gelt.

“This one is great. By far the best; not bitter but not overly sweet. This is the gelt I want from my parents.”
—Dan

“I already like the presentation. It reminds me of Charlie unwrapping his golden ticket in “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” I like the flavoring. It’s really nice. It’s not too dark and not too bitter.”
—Carissa

“This is the kind of chocolate you could let sit and melt on your tongue.”
—Laura

“That’s good chocolate but it doesn’t look like gelt. Gelt should have a coin appearance.”
—Julie

Veruca Chocolates Gelt for Grown-Ups® Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt

(Photo: Veruca Chocolates)
(Photo: Veruca Chocolates)

Wow factor: These handcrafted gelt pieces, sans foil, are fashioned in the likeness of actual ancient Judean coins, with a light dusting of gold metallic shimmer. They are vegan and kosher.

“I was really excited about this one, but it’s a big disappointment. They didn’t work the salt into the chocolate; instead there are giant flakes of salt on top. I shall nickname it ‘the blood-pressure raiser.’”
—Dorina

“Oh my god. I love sea salt. I love salty. It left yuckies on my fingers. I love it. Gimme more.”
—Karen

“The glitter is getting on me; I feel like you could put it on your eyes like an eye shadow. The aesthetics are confusing. I don’t know if it’s makeup or not. The chocolate itself tastes distinct, but not in a good way. It’s like body glitter put on chocolate by mistake.”
—Ashley

“Very strange looking—a massive crystal of salt. It looks like road-melt salt. Honestly, all I taste is salt, nothing else.”
—Dan

Veruca Chocolates Gelt for Grown-Ups® Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs

(Photo: Veruca Chocolates)
(Photo: Veruca Chocolates)

Wow factor: Like the sea salt variety, the handcrafted cacao nib gelt are shaped like ancient Judean coins with a bonus dusting of gold sparkles. They are also vegan and kosher.

“I like these; the cacao nibs add a little crunch, which I always enjoy. These do leave your fingers gold. Unfortunate side effect?”
—Dorina

“I find the gold sticking to my fingers to be very off-putting. I would have liked it more if it weren’t sparkly. I see what they’re doing to my fingers; what are they doing to my insides?”
—Dan

“The gold dust is annoying. It’s decent dark chocolate—not the best, not the worst. It’s weird how the cacao is stuck on the bottom in chunks and not integrated throughout. It’s like a bottom topping, like an afterthought. The cacao is super bitter, like tree bark.”
—Kali

“These look like they were dug up.”
—Matt

Elite Bittersweet Chocolate Coins 

(Photo: Elite)
(Photo: Elite)

Wow factor: Imported from Israel, and kosher. (But, sadly, it seems this has more of an “ow factor” than a “wow factor.”)

“This is slightly chocolate-flavored wax. It tastes like it could have come from my grandmother’s pocket. She’s been dead a long time.”
—Gilly

“It looks old. The chocolate looks old and gray. It makes me wonder if this is leftover gelt from last Hanukkah. It tastes like cardboard that’s been dipped into some chemical vanilla.”
—Dorina

“It’s like they’re not using the right ingredients to make chocolate.”
—Carissa

“The chocolate just doesn’t look clean. It tastes like a filler substance. It’s a waste of space in my stomach.”
—Ashley

“This is like rotting tree roots of the cacao plant. It’s way too rubbery. It has lots of weird rubberiness in the smell and texture. There’s nothing subtle about this coin. Now I have to go use Scope for a half hour.”
—Matt

Milk Chocolate

Veruca Chocolates Gelt for Grown-Ups® Milk Chocolate

(Photo: Veruca Chocolates)
(Photo: Veruca Chocolates)

Wow factor: A handcrafted Judean coin design with a metallic airbrush finish. Certified kosher.

“I like it. It’s not overly sweet, but I don’t like how it comes in a container without the gold foil on it. This could be very dangerous for someone with a chocolate addiction, to not have to unwrap each piece.”
—Dorina

“It’s putting silver on my fingers. Thank god it tastes good. It’s very sweet, very, very milky and very sloppy on the fingers. I wanted to eat the whole thing, and in fact I did.”
—Dan

“It’s decent for milk chocolate. And I don’t like milk chocolate.”
—Kali

“Eating something with sparkles freaks me out a little bit. It’s very creamy; it kind of has a nutty flavor to it, a nutty wafer flavor. That’s weird, but good.”
—Stacey

“I like that they look like Judean coins.”
—Julie

Wilbur Chocolate Gold Foiled Coins

(Photo: Wilbur Chocolate)
(Photo: Wilbur Chocolate)

Wow factor: The foil-stamping on these American-made coins features an angel stirring a batch of chocolate. This seems fitting, as many of our reviewers felt this brand was heavenly.

“Wow, beautiful design. Not ‘Jewy’ but very attractive. It’s really smooth and pretty melty. Me like.”
—Dan

“I’m not a fan of milk chocolate, but this is creamy with just the right amount of sweetness. It tastes fresh, not stale.”
—Dorina

“It’s creamy. If you like milk chocolate, you will like this. It’s a high-quality milk chocolate.”
—Kali

“I think it’s nice. It tastes Lindt-y to me. It sort of melts in your mouth.”
—Jeremy

“It’s creamy and the perfect sweetness. It’s delicious.”
—Stacey

“It’s creamy and smooth. It tastes like chocolate should taste, like subtle and not too bitter. This is the Joan Rivers of chocolate—class, class, class. I could sell this on QVC with pride.”
—Matt

Rite Lite Chanukah Gelt Milk Chocolatey Coins

(Photo: Rite Lite Ltd)
(Photo: Rite Lite)

Wow factor: It will definitely be available for last-minute purchase at your local CVS. Plus, it’s kosher and made in Israel.

“I really like the pro-Semitic exterior design. It’s not bad. It’s pretty sweet. It tastes like there’s some vanilla in it—not real vanilla, a shortcut. All in all, not bad. Better than I thought it would be when you said you could get it at CVS.”
—Dan

“It’s way too sweet for me.”
—Dorina

“I don’t even know what to say. It’s not real chocolate.”
—Kali

Elite Milk Chocolate Gold Coins

(Photo: Elite)
(Photo: Elite)

Wow factor: Truly indescribable. (Also kosher and made in Israel.)

“It has an indescribable aftertaste.”
—Dorina

“I think Israel is an amazing country that can do many amazing things, but their mass-produced chocolate can use a little work.”
—Dan

“Gross. It tastes cheap and fake and kind of grainy.”
—Kali

“Not tasty. It’s a big chocolate lie.”
—Carissa

“It’s just wrong.”
—Ashley

“This one falls in the category of ‘why bother.’ If I’m going to eat the calories, I might as well go with something more flavorful.”
—Gurukarm

“It tastes like brown wax.”
—Laura

Trader Joe’s Coins of the World

(Photo: Trader Joe's)
(Photo: Trader Joe’s)

Wow factor: Each bag contains replica kosher coins from around the world—including U.S. coins, euros, francs and pounds—wrapped in gold, silver and copper-colored foil.

“If you forgot to order your gelt, it’s a good option. But what does pence have to do with Hanukkah? It’s pretty good for mass produced.”
—Julie

“It’s noticeably less sweet and more of a bridge between milk and dark chocolate.”
—Dorina

“It’s better than milk chocolate but not as good as dark chocolate.”
—Kali

“It’s delicious, smooth and creamy…just like their hummus.”
—Ashley 

“It’s good, creamy, sweet and unremarkable. Not bad; a great budget choice.”
—Dan

Thompson Chocolate Chanukah Coins

(Photo: Thompson Chocolate)
(Photo: Thompson Chocolate)

Wow factor: Made in Connecticut, with no artificial ingredients (allegedly), and certified kosher.

“Very creamy. A little bit of bitterness that would have me guessing as to whether it’s milk or dark chocolate.”
—Dorina

“Huh, kind of a weird aftertaste, like a slightly bitter, almost chemical aftertaste. Tastes like there might be some artificial sweetener in it; tastes sweet and then bitter, like a store-brand diet soda.”
—Dan

“Better milk than others. Not as sweet, but a weird chemically/bitter aftertaste.”
—Kali

“It actually has a nice creamy richness to it. Probably middle of the road. I wouldn’t pass it up if somebody gave it to me.”
—Stacey 

Li-Lac Chocolates Chest of Gelt               

Li-Lac Chocolates
(Photo: Li-Lac Chocolates)

Wow factor: Comes in a cute gold box with a pretty bow, plus it’s kosher.

“It feels like an actual treat instead of a tiny little piece of chocolate. Creamy.”
—Dorina

“It doesn’t have a strong personality. It was definitely chocolate, for sure. It was smooth.”
—Dan

“Not too sweet; not as sweet as other milk chocolate.”
—Kali

The Madelaine Chocolate Company Chanukah Coins

Madelaine Chocolate Company
(Photo: Madelaine Chocolate Company)

Wow factor: This American family-owned company uses “unique Italian foils” (whatever that means). The coins are certified kosher dairy chalav stam (whatever that means).

“Too sweet.”
—Dorina

“Very, very sweet. And that’s not a good thing. I had a tiny piece and if I had a whole piece in my mouth I would be gasping for water.”
—Dan

“Creamy but too sweet for me.”
—Kali

“This one is cute with the little dreidels printed on it. Has a pretty good texture, but the flavor doesn’t pop. You have to kind of think about it.”
—Gurukarm

Au Chocolat

Au Chocolat
(Photo: Miriam Anzovin)

Wow factor: The brick-and-mortar store is located in Boston’s Financial District, right near the JewishBoston office. It also yields the biggest, most vibrantly colored foil in the bunch.

“Average, like standard chocolate Hershey’s bar—no better, no worse.”
—Dan

“I’m a bit disappointed there’s no large pattern on here. Part of the joy of eating gelt is the design on the gelt itself. I feel a little shortchanged, no pun intended. I like how it has a bite to it; it’s not just smooth and boring. It has a nice snap.”
—Ashley

“I already like how big it is. It’s very colorful and bright. [Takes a bite.] It’s a bit disappointing. It’s got like a smoky aftertaste.”
—Jeremy

“It’s OK, not fantastic.”
—Gurukarm

“This is like a Hershey’s Kisses. It’s adequate.”
—Laura

“I like the wrapper! It’s not a coin but it looks Hanukkah-ish. Good but tastes mass produced. Doesn’t seem like it comes from a high-end chocolate place.”
—Julie

Got gelt? Try this recipe for peanut butter and gelt cookies.