Abstention? I should cocoa!

Serious chocolate addicts need no longer suffer from the usual post-Christmas cocoa-solids deprivation; some of the world's finest chocolates are now available right on the doorstep.

News of the opening of the inscrutably chic L'Artisan du Chocolat boutique in Chelsea has been greeted with the kind of glee a fashionista might accord a new Prada store. 'Couture' handmade chocolates are displayed in rosewood showcases and supplied to the likes of restaurants such as Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's , Foliage at The Mandarin Oriental and The Fat Duck at Bray. Choose from Earl Grey tea, green cardamom, raspberry or the sensual liquid sea-salted caramel fillings.

Just as irresistible are Rococo's tantalising artisan bars infused with orange and geranium, or its handmade truffles - divine confections of fresh cream, unsalted Normandy butter, pure cocoa butter and Valrhona Manjari. The whole cherries in cognac are not the most elegant chocolates to eat in company, but true addicts won't care.

For the best chocolates from around the globe, head for Villandry , which stocks the Lake Champlain range from Vermont, voted the top US chocolate by the New York Post. Their Dark Chocolate with Peppermint Crunch leaves Bittermints for dust. Similarly, Truc Vert's Chocolat Bonnat bars from Antilles have a cinnamon-spiced lingering finish.

For a quirky treat, pimades - almonds roasted in chilli, cocoa and cinnamon - are only available from Comptoir Gascon, which also stocks Agen prunes enrobed in fragrant dark chocolate.

And a recent find are the chocolates of Amedei found only at Harvey Nichols Foodmarket. The Tuscan brother and sister duo have secured worldwide exclusive rights to the Venezuelan plantation where the legendary criolla cocoa bean is grown: Amedei Porcelana (porcelain) bars, produced in limited, numbered edition, have a euphoria-inducing intensity. Curl up by the fire and wait for chocolate melt-down to strike.

Rococo, 321 King's Road, SW3 (020 7352 5857)

Villandry , 170 Great Portland Street, W1 (020 7631 3131)

Truc Vert, 42 North Audley Street, W1 (020 7491 9988)

Comptoir Gascon, 63 Charterhouse Street, EC1 (020 7608 0851)

Harvey Nichols Foodmarket, Knightsbridge, SW1 (020 7235 5000)