My go to for all baking purpose is Aldi's Moser Roth, the 70% one (or 85% if I want really *bitter* sweet). Still Made In Germany, and taste really chocolatey, and only $2.
I never buy chocolate chips any more but rather chop up bars or blocks of choclate for cookies. The quality of the chocolate available as chips isn't great, and the shape isn't important to me (I might even prefer my irregular chunks). Trader Joe's 72% pound plus bar is a pretty good balance of quality and cost, I think.
The Safeway nearest me has them on sale fairly regularly, making them comparable to Nestles and Hersheys . . . I stock up because the dark / 60% cacao ones are great. They seem to be larger than the other brands, too. ;o)
Also, if you are interested in fair trade certifications for chocolate... At the end of this article, there's a list of companies that source cocoa from places that do not employ child labor or abusive practices. Its definitely worth a read before you make a selection from the grocery store shelves... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins/is-there-child-slavery-in_b_737737.html
This is an informative article. I have had discussions with people who play devil's advocate perhaps and argue that child labor is needed to support families. It is 5 years old however. Googling fair trade chocolate produces lots of results but I am not sure if there is a definitive current source of info.
Belcolade Bittersweet Discs -- my husband is the master chocolate chip cookie baker (using the NYT recipe) and he doesn't even break up discs. The cookies come out with lakes of chocolate.
I like the Ghiradelli chunks rather than chips. Also I like dark or semi sweet. In my opinion, the milk chocolate are too sweet and not as flavorful in a cookie, That said I have used Hershey's or Nestle brands also.
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