The world's best chocolate shops Mast Brothers Chocolate, New York Located in the fashionable Brooklyn enclave of Williamsburg, Mast Brothers Chocolate has the distinction of being New York's sole "bean-to-bar" chocolate shop. Founders Rick and Michael Mast directly import their cocoa beans from a handful of carefully selected partners around the globe, bringing them to the store for in-house roasting and processing. Common additives like cocoa butter and soy lecithin are avoided in order to ensure the purest chocolate flavour possible, with minimal amounts of added sugar. Decadent bars in gift wrapping-worthy patterned paper with flavours ranging from the conventional, like almond and cocoa nib, to the more exotic, such as their chili pepper chocolate featuring dried Serrano peppers. Or test your taste buds with their regional blends, including chocolates from Belize, Papua New Guinea and Madagascar. However, these aren't for the faint of palette: Mast Brothers specializes in dark chocolate between 70-81 per cent cacao. Le Chocolat de H, Tokyo At Le Chocolate de H in Tokyo's ritzy Roppongi Hills area you can taste the creations of owner and chef Hironobu Tsujiguchi, the youngest chef to win La Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, which is essentially the Olympics of pastry arts. Despite his background and training in the French culinary tradition, Tsujiguchi has built his name and reputation on blending it with a Japanese sensibility, most notably by incorporating ingredients such as soybean flour and yuzu into his desserts. The chef also draws inspiration from the seasons, meaning that the offerings at Le Chocolat de H are constantly changing. Last year's limited edition H Selection Box for Valentine's Day included the Japonais "Yuzu" (milk chocolate with yuzu), Hime (earl grey tea-infused ganache), Whisky (truffle with whisky ganache), Sylvain (chocolate with hazelnut praline) and Champagne Fraises (flavours of champagne and strawberry). In addition to the chocolates and pastries, visitors are encouraged to indulge in the house hot chocolate. Oriol Balaguer, Barcelona Oriol Balaguer's eponymous chocolate shop celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, but its owner has been immersed in confectionery for a lifetime - he is the son of a pastry chef. Also a former protégé of Ferran Adrià, of El Bulli, Balanguer's chocolates are reliably innovative, creative and, of course, of excellent quality. In Balaguer's laboratory-like workshop his team thrives on experimentation. His savoury chocolates like saffron, truffle, olive oil, and even wasabi, are known to raise eyebrows, but the bestseller is his Mascletà confection that creates a crunchy, popping sensation in the mouth. Each chocolate is moulded in the characteristic oblong shape of a cocoa pod, perhaps garnished with cocoa butter for colour, or otherwise left unmarked and packed into unassuming yet elegant boxes. Pierre Marcolini, Brussels "Haute chocolaterie," proclaims the official website of Pierre Marcolini - fitting for a brand whose flagship store in Brussels resembles a luxury jeweller's boutique more than a chocolate shop. Then again, for a chef who spends two months a year traversing tropical regions in order to meet cocoa bean growers, each finished piece of chocolate is practically a work of art in itself. The fruits of his search are brought back to the factory where the roasting and processing commence. Marcolini does double-duty while travelling, also using the time away from home to look for inspiration, resulting in unique recipes such as lime praline. Online and in store, chocolates come in every shape from dainty truffles and wafer-like palets fins to bars and biscuits. The Ephemeral Collection features seasonal items that can only be sampled fleetingly, meaning there's always a reason to go back. At the time of writing, one item from the collection was Pastels - liquid caramels infused with tropical citrus flavours and designed to be eaten chilled. Vasalissa, Buenos Aires Inside Vasalissa's dainty, Victorian-inspired boutique awaits a rich history and tradition of chocolate making. Established by mother and daughter team Dadi and Federica Marinucci, whose grandfather pioneered the popular Cabsha chocolate brand, Vasalissa has garnered a reputation for making some of the best bonbons in Argentina. Inside the shop, tables and shelves are lined with trays of chocolates sitting in individual paper cups, artfully arranged in a testament to the creators" attention to detail. While the raw cocoa beans are not processed in-house, the Marinuccis ensure that from being picked elsewhere in South America to being roasted and processed in Belgium, only the highest grade chocolate slabs are sent to Buenos Aires to be flavoured and moulded. In addition to the requisite truffles and bars, Vasalissa also offers novelty items like chocolate cigars and chess pieces, as well as four variations of rich hot chocolate. Misa Shikuma is a writer for Shopikon, which is a shopping guide and app that details the best local, individual shops in London, New York, Paris and elsewhere. For the guide's latest local and international shopping recommendations follow Shopikon on Facebook.