If you’re searching for something beyond the standard Whitman’s sampler, you’re in luck: There are some creative chocolates to be found in the Tampa Bay area. Here’s a roundup of our favorites. William Dean Chocolates: One of the Tampa Bay area’s original artisan chocolate purveyors,

Money can’t buy you love — or as much cocoa as it used to, with adverse weather denting West African crops and chocolatiers adding more fillers like nuts.

Most of the world's cocoa comes from Africa. A series of bad storms, followed by a plant disease led to a massive drop in supplies.