These Bavarian Milka Schoko-Drops came in a candy trade from a few months ago. Or has it been longer than that? I can’t remember, but I can assure you I did eat these fresh and didn’t leave them sitting around for so long before eating to review them. Candy can do no such thing in my neck of the woods.

The Schoko-Drops are pastilles; which are like large, flat Smarties or M&Ms and about the size of a nickel. They come in purple and white,which I find are interesting colors for candy as you don’t see them too often. Biting one in half, I find that they have a milk chocolate outside and a white chocolate inside. Interesting!

The taste is awesome. Firstly, they’re very sweet and make my throat burn. It’s very creamy and milky tasting, almost like a strong white chocolate but with more of a dry milk sweetness to it. The texture is very smooth and the overall flavor effect is very chocolatey. I wish I had more than this little box, as I’m immediately addicted. Yum!

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Milka Website

My love of chocolate and candy is well know throughout my family and friends, so I’m often presented with confections that they kindly pick up on trips for me. This bar is one of those gifts, brought back from a trip to Maine. 

This bar is described as “dark chocolate with Maine sea salt” and has a lovely illustration on the wrapper. It feels very rustic and captures the look of Maine very well.

I flip the bar over to look at the ingredients list, and I see that it’s a 54% chocolate, which is more of a bittersweet than a dark in book. There’s no official number that separates bittersweet from semisweet from dark chocolate, so it’s always interesting for me to see how others identify it.

The chocolate is nicely protected in a layer of foil. it has a lovely sheen to it and a rich, dark color. The aroma is lightly fruity and has nice roasted notes. 

On my first bite, all I can say is “wow” this is very rich chocolate. It’s awesome. The chocolate has nice roasted flavors of coffee, caramel, and wood. It has a nice sweetness and it’s very thick and slippery on the tongue. The chocolate is rich in texture and the overall effect is very chocolatey. The sea salt is there and in a nice way, you get it towards the end of the taste and it’s salty, but not overly so. The chocolate is very much the star, yet the salt heightens the overall flavor.

If you’re ever in Maine, or know someone who will be, see if you can get a hold of some of this chocolate. It’s amazing.

Rating: Hoard

Links Coastline Confections Website

I was extremely excited when Q.bel contacted me asking if I’d like free samples of their newest flavors in their line of all natural candy bars. My response was a very enthusiastic “yes!” as I love the varieties I reviewed for TCE before, and I still find myself picking a few of them up on my trips to Whole Foods. The two newcomers here are a Dark Chocolate Wafer Bar and a Dark Chocolate Mint Wafer Bar, to add to the line of the Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Crisped Rice and Peanut Butter Wafer bars.

Let’s get to the tasting!

70% Dark Wafer Bars: The bars are a nice rich dark color and have a nice sheen to them. They smell chocolaty with a hint of coconut and cream. The flavor is very nice as the dark chocolate is rich and very fruity, yet still sweet and creamy like good dark chocolates are. The wafers have that nice “starchy” vanilla flavor to them. The texture is delightfully crisp and breaks beautifully when you chew it. Even though a good hunk of the bar is made up of the wafers, the chocolate between them and the coating really delivers a good chocolate punch and takes the main taste on your tongue. It’s really excellent, I can’t wait to try this with some coffee.

Dark Mint Wafer Bars: These smell minty and sweet as soon as I open the package. I’m reminded of an Andes mint. The flavor is really wonderful. It’s the perfect amount of mint, it’s not too strong, but it’s strong enough to be the main flavor of the bars. The minty flavor comes from the cream that sandwiched between the wafers, and the coolness of the mint really blends well with the nice starchy flavor of the wafers. The dark chocolate is mild and sweet and provides a nice undertone to the mint. I really enjoyed it, despite not being a big mint candy fan. I really recommend them as an after dinner treat or with a nice cup of tea.

These were delicious and met my expectations along with the other Q.bel candy bars. These make a great snack as they are flavorful enough to satisfy a craving, but light enough to not fill me up or give me a sugar rush. These are a delightful sweet if you want something more “natural” or less “guilty” feeling than most candy bars. The whole line of Q.bel’s offerings are great, and these two new bars are no exception. 

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Q.bel Website

Chocolate is, in my opinion, a powerful creative medium. It’s a food that can be molded, shaped, flavored and textured in any way you like. We leave this job to skilled chocolatiers to work their magic on it for us, creating chocolate bars of all shapes, sizes and flavors, along with bonbons, truffles, and desserts that make our imaginations and taste buds soar. More and more people are aware of their eating habits nowadays, and there’s a desire for chocolate bars to fit this market. These Organic Nectars’ Raw Cacao Bars are just that. I was contacted by them asking if I’d like some free samples to try, and I gladly accepted their offer as I have yet to try some chocolate bars that fit into such a specific niche. 

These chocolate bars are not only organic, but they’re also Kosher, Vegan, Raw and are dairy, soy, allergen, gluten, refined sugar free. Talk about a clean chocolate bar! The ingredients are simple, and the main difference I see is that no refined sugar. Which, changes how chocolate solidifies.

54% Cacao: The aroma is very fruity and sweet, with nice notes of blackberries, cream, caramel and a strong chocolatey note. The break is clean and the snap is crisp. The flavor is very mild and I taste coffee, cream, berries, forest, musk, mushrooms, caramel, vanilla and cocoa. The flavors mix and mingle as you chew, with a fruity crescendo at the end. The texture is gritty, probably because of the raw sugars, which has a different structural makeup than regular sugar does, so the chocolate forms differently. It’s a very tasty, rich, full chocolate for those of you who want another option.

Coconut Milk Chocolate: The chocolate smells creamy and earthy. The flavor is very caramel, creamy and earthy....I don’t get much chocolate or coconut flavor really. I was expecting flecks of coconut in here, but there isn’t. Very interesting. The texture is even more gritty than the 54%, and it gets dry and chalky at the finish. It stuck to my teeth and felt kinda icky, which is strange since milk chocolate is usually creamy and smooth. Which, made me curious and I looked at the ingredients of the bar, which read; ”organic raw cacao butter, organic raw cacao butter, organic palm nectar, organic coconut powder, organic Tahitian Mexican and Madagascar vanilla, non GMO sunflower lecithin”. Where’s the milk? Not even coconut milk? So how is this milk chocolate? So..confused.

Also note, I was informed that the batch of Coconut Milk Chocolate and Golden White Chocolate that I received used a less ground palm nectar sweetener, and the newer batches mimic the smoother texture that the 54% has.

Golden White Chocolate: Upon opening this one up I was very surprised: this is not quite golden, but more of caramel/tan color. Like natural deodorized white chocolate. I was told the color is due to the sweetener, as it’s a golden color. It smells sweet and lightly of cocoa. The flavor is sweet, just sweet, not really any notes of cacao powder. The texture is also strange like the coconut milk chocolate: it gets gritty and feels like I’m swallowing sand. Not a fan. I miss the creaminess of regular white chocolate.

These bars were interesting. I really enjoyed the 54%, as it had a “wild” vibe to it and the flavor and texture most resembled what I consider to be mainstream chocolate. The milk and the white chocolate? Not so much, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad, just not my thing. I’m sure if I was Vegan or a Celiac, these chocolate bars would be just the thing I’d want to satisfy a craving. Because, isn’t that the point of chocolate? It should exist so everyone can enjoy it, and I’m sure the Organic Nectars bars will bring delight to many.

Rating: 54%: Will Eat Again

Milk Chocolate Coconut and Golden White: Not Worth It

Links Organic Nectars Website

The Snickers bar, made by Mars, is one of the more quintessential candy bars found here in the US. It was created back in 1930, when many of our well known candy bars were born, and named after the family race horse. Snickers is a classic candy bar in that sense, it’s really survived over the years. No, correction, it has thrived since it’s creation and is one of the most popular candy bars sold today.

It wasn’t until I was contacted by Mars to see if I’d like some free samples that I realized that I never have done a traditional Snickers bar review. I guess I’ve overlooked it while chasing after all the limited editions that are being released.

Aside from the candy itself, I have to say that Snickers is also pretty keen on having some of the funniest commercials as of late. Who could say no to the likes of Mr. T? Or King Henry the VII? Take a gander if you haven’t seen these gems:

So for those of you who may not know what exactly a Snickers bar is, here’s a breakdown of the construction: it starts with a layer of peanut nougat at the bottom, then a stripe of caramel studded with fresh peanuts, then all is enrobed with milk chocolate. Simple, elegant, and very yummy.

Once the bar is unwrapped, you get the aroma which smells sweet and very peanutty. The texture has a nice chew to it, but it’s not too much as it’s soft and giving, so it doesn’t tire your jaw out like taffy would. The caramel is soft and not too dense.

The flavor is awesome; it’s a great mix of salty and sweet. You get the sweetness from the chocolate which has nice milky notes to it, then the caramel with the nice nutty/salty hit from the peanuts. Snickers is a masterpiece of contrast, and it’s a candy bar that satisfies.

From now until March 31, 2010 Snickers is holding a large contest called “SNACKONOMICS” which. You collect letters to spell out a specific word on the website (kinda like McDonald’s Monopoly) to win prizes. Now, normally I sniff at most contests, because really, what do I need with a new car when already have a nice one of my own? The prizes here are much more alluring to me, and they mainly consist of heft chunk of money that go toward things like your housing mortgage, car payments, and a yearly salary. Pretty nice rewards for eating a candy bar!

So many of my friends and family are people who go crazy for Snickers bars. They would all easily claim, hands down, that Snickers is their favorite candy bar of them all. It’s a great candy bar, as it has wonderful flavor and a great combination of ingredients. What keeps me from wanting to hoard them is the fact they suffer from my pet peeve: they have nuts in them. I still enjoy them though, because a great candy bar is a great candy bar. If you haven’t had a Snickers, you’re missing out.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Snickers Website

One of the gifts I received over the holidays were some treats from a chocolatier who had just opened up shop where my parents live in Upstate New York. My Mom discovered them at a Christmas open house and chatted with the chocolatier. Of course the fact that her daughter writes a candy blog (you know how Moms are!) was brought up, and I was immediately called to see which of the chocolates I’d like to try. I was more excited by the idea of trying anything that was offered, as it’s not often I get to try the work of a new chocolate business, but eventually settles on two things to try. 

Cashew Honey Discs: Dark chocolate discs with a topping of caramelized honey cashews. The chocolate has bloomed a little, which I’m not surprised by, as didn’t get these samples fresh and they contain no preservatives. Thankfully bloom doesn’t affect flavor! The chocolate has a nice snap to it when bitten into, and the flavor is very fruity and rich. The texture of the chocolate is more gritty than smooth. The nuts are wonderfully fresh and have a great sweet/salty/roasted flavor combination going which I felt went well with the dark chocolate base.

Peppermint Bark: The base pf the bark is an even slab of a white and dark chocolate mix. The pieces are 1/2 inch think, with the white on top and the dark on the bottom. Nice, large chunks of Starbrights peppermint candy is crushed and sprinkled on top. It’s pretty to look at, for sure. The dark chocolate suffers from the same as the cashew honey slabs, there texture at the snap is very gritty and uneven, a sign it might have not been properly tempered. The flavor is balanced between the peppermint and the chocolate and one ingredient doesn’t overpower the other. This chocolate is creamier on the tongue and is a real delight to eat, as it just tastes of pure Christmas with the wonderful balance of flavors. Yummy!

Despite my nit-pickiness, these chocolates were tasty and a good start for a beginning business. The uneven texture is easily corrected with practice and experimentation, and I look forward to picking up some more of Glimmerglass Chocolates’ work when I next visit my parents.

Rating: Will Eat Again

This Ritter Sport bar has been on shelves in Germany for some time now. I actually believe it won an award for best Ritter bar a few years ago, but I can’t find any documentation to support that, I just remember reading it somewhere as that’s how I first heard of this flavor. I waited around for a good year before I actually got to try this. I received this as a sample at this years Fancy Food Show back in late June. I was so excited to finally have found this bar that it was one of the first things I tried out of everything I saw that day. Let’s just say I wasn’t disappointed. 

This looks like every other Ritter Bar out of package, a neat square of very high relief squares of chocolate. Beautiful to look at and just invited you to dig in.

Inside the chocolate coating there’s two larger wafers/waffles with a hazelnut creme sandwiched in between. It’s very crispy and the wafers come in blocks, which makes breaking off the squares a tad difficult. The hazelnut is prominent and adds a wonderful nutty sweetness to the chocolate. The texture is this wonderful creamy and crisp combination, and it’s very easy to eat. Almost too easy, as I’m more inclined to chomp away at it than savor it slowly. The chocolate and hazelnut combo is a match made in heaven and it’s just a chocolate masterpiece.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. It’s like a chocolate covered Manner biscuit, and I’m in love.

Rating: Hoard

Links Ritter Sport English Website

Wow, a Kitkat review for the correct season, imagine that! These are some of the many season Kitkat flavors that are available in Japan for the winter of 2009-2010. I am able to review them in such a timely manner because Jlist.com was so kind to give me these free samples. There were so many to choose from, it was hard to narrow it down to a handful so I didn’t come across as too greedy. I finally decided on these three flavors: Ohagi, Ginger Ale and Sweet Potato.

I chose these three flavors as they’re ones I’ve never had before, and I’m continually surprised how Nestle keeps finding new flavors to try out in the Kitkat form. January is “strawberry season” for candy in Japan, something I can’t explain really. So I decided to steer clear of one of the many new Strawberry Kitkats out there, as I’ve tried them for a few years and I have a hard time telling the difference.

Ohagi: So what is ohagi exactly? It’s a type of Japanese traditional confection, or wagashi, that is a piece of rice gluten filled with red bean pasted then covered in soy bean powder. Sounds off, I know, but I’ve had them and they’re extremely tasty. The Kitkat is milk chocolate based and it smells nutty, probably from the soybean powder. It has a nice milk chocolate flavor that’s really accented with a strong nuttiness and has a nice subtle note of coffee. It reminds me of gianduja and it’s surprisingly delicious. I want more of these, stat!

Ginger Ale: Opening up the bars I’m surprised to find that it really smells like ginger ale. The base is white chocolate, and the bars have a yellowish tinge to them. I sniff again and am impressed with how accurately it smells of spicy ginger and carbonation. It tastes of spicy lemon cola in a way. It’s not fake tasting at all, but you feel it’s “different”. The texture of the white chocolate makes it very creamy, and it comes across as a ginger ale float. This Kitkat is interesting and delicious but no something I would specifically crave.

Sweet Potato: Sweet Potatoes are an iconic winter food in Japan. They are traditionally sold by a big car that’s like an iron over, that has a piercing whistle on it that blows when the sweet potatoes are roasted and ready to eat. This Kitkat is white chocolate based too and has a sweet, earthy, white chocolate and potato smell. The flavor is a creamier, earthier white chocolate with a hint of potato in the aftertaste. I actually find it refreshing. It tastes ‘cleaner’ than I would have expected and the flavor of potato matches well. Yum!

Oh, I can’t beign to say how much fun these limited edition flavor Kitkats are. I always have a ball trying them, even if they aren’t something I like once I taste them. The problem is that they often make a really delicious flavor that will disappear shortly, so you have to go stock up on them or remember them fondly. I really recommend trying them for yourselves.

Rating: Ohagi: Hoard

Others: Will Eat Again

Links KitKat Breaktown

Snicker’s Fudge is the latest limited edition that has reached the shelves as of late. It was supposed to be in store by August, but I didn’t end up seeing any until late September and Early October. They were also kinda hard to find, I looked in many places and it wasn’t until I went to Rite Aid did I find them in a aisle display. Talk about the thrill of the hunt!

So what is a Snicker’s Fudge? The wrapper explains “Fudge with peanut butter nougat & peanuts wrapped in milk chocolate”, but that doesn’t help me much. Why is there no mention of fudge? I’m very confused. I guess the only way to really find out is to eat it, right?

Opening the wrapper it smells like a Milky Way bar: chocolatey, sweet, and creamy. I get no hints of peanuts or salt like I do with normal Snickers bars. The bar looks like a normal Snicker’s from the outside, but once I took a bit, you immediately see (and taste) the difference. Here’s how the construction works: under all the enrobing, the top is peanuts and a chocolate fudge ripple, and the bottom the peanut butter nougat. So it looks like they replaced the caramel with fudge.

The first bite immediately delivers a fresh peanut taste, with a strong salty/sweet combination of the nuts and chocolate coating. The center has this dry graininess to it, like real fudge has. The nougat is less fluffy than normal, and it’s a little more dense. The lack of caramel makes it much drier, and stickier to chew.

I was disappointed with this bar. I knew I wouldn’t find a limited edition to take the Snicker’s Rockin’ Nut Road as my favorite, but I was still hoping for something that was at least interesting. This bar did nothing for me, it was just boring.

Do check out Cybele’s review for her opinion and delicious photos.

Rating: Not Worth It

Links Snicker’s Website

Oooo! Something new and festive for the holidays! I love it! I certainly didn’t see this one coming, and it wasn’t until I noticed them on the shelf at my usual grocery store that I had heard of their existence. I was excited to see them as much as I love the Candy Cane Kisses that Hershey’s makes for this time of year, the lack of real cocoa butter in them has me shunning them. These Dove Peppermint Bark pieces can hopefully fill the void. So I grabbed a bag and hoped for the best.

The wrappers are silver with dots of red and green on them, and therefore very festive. Inside each wrapper is a holiday tip from Martha, reminding me that I can string lights on trees in my year and use pears and chocolate for an easy dessert. You know, the type of things you’d “forget” considering you’ve celebrated the holiday season in some form your whole life. I only read the if I felt I needed a chuckle.

The candy is nicely constructed. It’s white chocolate on top, and the bottom is dark chocolate. It’s split maybe 2/3, but really is almost even. The white chocolate top has shards of peppermint candy cane in it. They’re sticky yet don’t get stuck to your teeth or cut your mouth.

The flavor is awesome. I was worried it’s taste more of dark chocolate than white chocolate, but it doesn’t. The peppermint is the main flavor, it’s light and refreshing, yet not overpowering. It’s delicious and really satisfying to eat with a hot drink.

Also be sure to visit Candyblog.net to see what Cybele thinks!

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Dove Chocolate Website

Fuyu Pocky, or “Winter Pocky” is the king of all Pocky flavors. Why do you ask? Well, in my opinion, it’s the best of the best. It’s package has changed slightly from year to year, but I’m happy to see it’s a annual release. I reviewed it back in 2007 for CandyAddict.com, and since I was given this as a free sample from JList.com, I figured it was time I gushed about it again.

The premise of Pocky, for those of you who don’t know, is a small stick of biscuit cookie that has a flavored coating covering about 3/4 of it. The flavors of the coating range from chocolate, vanilla and strawberry to more crazy flavors like red bean and green tea. I’ve tried so many varieties over the years that they all seem normal to me now. So what makes Fuyu Pocky different? It’s got thicker chocolate coating on it than the normal kinds, and it’s dusted with cocoa powder. Simple, yes?

So how does it taste? The flavor is awesome. It’s the most chocolatey Pocky I’ve ever had. The coating, due to it’s size, gets you double the flavor hit. The cocoa dusting doesn’t flake or fall off and it really adds to the taste, rather than just looking decorative. The texture of the chocolate is really creamy too, unlike the other Pocky flavors which are more oily and slick. The biscuit stick is still lightly vanilla flavored and has that nice crunch to it. Super nummy!

I haven’t been to an Asian Market in the past few weeks, but usually they are pretty good about stocking the newest Pocky flavors. Wherever you see these, I recommend you pick them up. I know I’ll be hoarding them until next winter.

Rating: Hoard

Links Pocky Street (Japanese Website)

The idea of custom chocolate bars isn’t one that’s particularly new. Ever since I’ve learned that I could melt chocolate as a kid I’ve experimented with such things in the kitchen when my mom wasn’t looking. Nowadays, I see “custom chocolate bars” in candy stores that you find in cheesy tourist areas like boardwalks. Still, just because this concept has been around, that doesn’t mean that it’s been done well. Chocri, a chocolate company from Germany that specializes in custom bars, does exactly that.

I was given a free press release to try these chocolate bars that Chocri makes, or should I say, lets me make based on my flavor whims. They plan to launch an US page come January, so if this is the sort of thing that appeals to you, you don’t have very long to wait. 

Now, first things first, let me mention the prices of these bars right away, because they aren’t exactly cheap. You pay for your creative license here as so to speak. Each bar I made here averaged at about $10, which isn’t really something to sniff at. Still, I feel you do get what you pay for, in quality and size of the product. 

The bars are large and very well packaged. The front of the boxed has an cellophane window so you can clearly see your chocolate work of art. I also forgot to name the bars. I was so excited to try and make them, that I completely overlooked the fact that I could name my chocolate creations. Oops, I will try again next time.

The construction of the bars are really nice, they’re molded on one side so you can see the chocolate sections. The additions are topped on the back side, so it look like the method of the chocolate making is they pour a mold and drop you addition on top. Depending on what you add to the chocolate this could make breaking sections off difficult you ave. had items that are on the large side.

To test the chocolate, I wanted to try one of each base: white, milk and dark. I brought my boyfriend over t the computer where I was building each of these bars, and encouraged hi to help me. As he has really good idea on flavor infusions and I wanted his imput.

White Chocolate with licorice pieces and nougat: This bar was a totally brainchild of mine. I’ve always been curious on what licorice and white chocolate tastes like together. The nougat was a totally shot in the dark, because it was the one item I chose to add that didn’t have a photo depicting exactly what it was. I was expecting Torrone, but instead the nougat is more like the center of a 3 Musketeers bar. No complaining here, I was just expecting something else. I was super excited to try this one. It smells sweet, and my first bite of the white chocolate was just heavenly. This is really ,really excellent white chocolate, and I’m super picky about what I call a good one. It’s super buttery and flavorful of the cocoa butter, and isn’t too sweet.  Te nougat melts really quickly, and add a chocolatey flavor to it. The licorice was a surprise, because it’s salted licorice. I was expecting sweet! The pieces of licorice aren’t too hard, as they soften as you chew the bar. Despite the fact that it’s salted, the licorice works really well with the white chocolate. I have to say, I’m a big fan of this.

Milk Chocolate with blueberries, cinnamon and rice crisps: The bar smells sweet and strongly of cinnamon. the break is extremely clean, and you can see they didn’t rush the cooling of the chocolate. The milk chocolate is really lovely on it’s own, it’s creamy, and sweet, with a nice chocolate flavor and hints of caramel. The cinnamon adds a nice warmth to the chocolate without being too overpowering, and the crisps are a wonderful texture addition. The blueberries add a nice fruitiness, they taste like raisins to me, and a dense chew. I am a big fan of this, and now I’m sad I can’t find a bar like this on the market. The boyfriend was really happy with how this one turned out, and I agree with him.

Dark Chocolate with sour cherries, cinnamon cornflakes (cinnamon toast crunch for us Americans) and mini banana sprinkles: A word of note here, I got the sprinkles to see how a “decorative” element in the chocolate worked. I have to say, pretty darn cute. Again, the break with this is clean, so you know they didn’t rush the molding process. The dark chocolate is smooth and fruity, with nice notes of red berries and a good undertone of coffee and chocolate. I was surprised to find that the banana sprinkles have a subtle banana flavor, and a very crunchy. The cinnamon cornflakes add a softer crunch and a subtle cinnamon flavor, but the dark chocolate still shines as the main event. This one was tasty, but I didn’t feel my choice of additions didn’t enhance the flavor, but were fun texture additions.

To sum things up, we both loved the bars, but if we ad t optic favorites, I’d go with the white chocolate and the boyfriends loves the milk. I was really pleased with how great the chocolate base of these bars tasted, and even if I had to order plain chocolate bars form them, I’d gladly do so.

Also check out what Candy Yum Yum, The Chocolate Review, and Candy Addict had to say.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Chocri Website (German for now)

Like the King Leo Hand Dipped Peppermint Sticks I reviewed earlier, these too were free samples I received from King Leo/Quality Candy. Similar to the peppermint sticks, peppermint bark isn’t something I’m terribly familiar with. I’ve tended to shy away from it, because the stuff always reads to me as “oh, something that’ll taste of toothpaste”. When I do talk myself out of that aspect of it, I turn the package of whatever bark I’m looking at to see the ingredients only to find it made out of mockolate. So I end up passing on it. I felt more comfortable giving the King Leoo version a try as I enjoyed the peppermint sticks and they also use real Belgium chocolate. I have run out of excuses.

The peppermint bark is flawlessly packaged in two large slabs and tightly sealed in plastic, so they’re very fresh. The box protected them beautifully. The slabs of bark and very generous, in size and ingredients. They have a good solid chocolate bottom that’s about 1/4 inch thick, then a layer of white chocolate then an ample sprinkling of crushed peppermint on top. They smell awesome and are beautiful to look at.

The flavor is sweet at first, then the peppermint and chocolate kicks in. The peppermint is fresh, cooling and sweet and the chocolate compliments it with it’s deeper, richer flavors. I don’t taste the white chocolate at all sadly, just get a very slick feeling on my tongue from it. Overall it blends together beautifully and really tastes like a nice holiday treat. I can totally see myself snuggling up to my family’s fireplace with a slice of this with a cup of hot cocoa.

I highly recommend this f or any peppermint bark lovers out there. As I expressed before, I haven’t really tasted around with the other varieties out there, but I can speak for the ingredients and flavors of this one, and I have to say I’m impressed.

Rating: Will Eat Again

Links Quality Candy Website

These King Leo Hand Dipped Peppermint Sticks were a free sample given to me by the nice folks over at QualityCandy. At first I was hesitant, because peppermint candy isn’t really my thing. I do know a bit about it though, as one of my good friend was really into peppermint candy so I always was on the lookout for her. I’ve bought King Leo for her before, and she always gushed that they were favorites of hers. Now I can give them a go myself.

I do love the design of the packaging. It’s very classic, and I love the image of the regal lion sitting atop the logo. The stand up carton protects the sticks well, as none of them were broken when I opened the box.

First off, let’s talk about the main part of this candy, the peppermint stick. I’ve always loved King Leo’s peppermint sticks, as they were more old fashioned feeling and they didn’t resemble the Brach’s Starlight Peppermint candies that I associated with cheap candy dishes as a kid. These peppermint sticks are shorter and thicker, with an intense flavor and a wonderful texture. They break easily in the mouth, and are soft and almost powdery as you chew them.

Now, take those peppermint sticks and cover them with real Belgium chocolate, and boy, do you get one really tasty treat here. It’s a classic example of how peppermint and chocolate go over so well together. And thankfully for me, I didn’t get any reminders that “Oh, this tastes like toothpaste” which is a typical reaction I have to minty candies. Just pure enjoyment here.

These would be an excellent holiday treat or gift to anyone who loves peppermint candy. I was really expecting now to enjoy them, but I was proven wrong. Now I an eat one of these instead of a candy cane and not feel like I’m not in the spirit of the season!

Rating: Will Eat Again

Links Quality Candy Website

When I first heard of Hedonist Artisan Chocolates, it was through Rosa over at ZOMG! Candy. She reviewed a sampling of their truffles, and I recognized the name of where Hedonist is located, as my Aunt lived in Rochester, NY. A few weeks ago I was contacted by Hedonist asking if I’d like some free samples of their work to review on the blog. I recalled Rosa’s glowing review and gladly accepted their offer.

I was sent a box of their Holiday Truffle collection and two packages of bark. Everything arrived safely in colorful tissue paper, with the chocolate works of art as pristine as if I had just carried them out of their store.

Let’s get to the tasting, shall we?

Holiday Truffle Collection

Champagne Pomegranate: Dark with a dusting of sugar crystals on top. The shell is of medium thickness, it took me a moment to sink my teeth into it. Flavor is chocolatey and smooth, with a nice tart fruitiness to it. Pomegranate is a bit of a ethereal flavor to capture, as is champagne, but the overall fruitiness of both elements show and balance with the dark chocolate.

Egg Nog: Topped with a sprinkling of nutmeg. The center of this one is a speckled white chocolate. The texture is very buttery and smooth, and you taste the creaminess of the white chocolate, mixed with gentle notes of the spices. It’s a very authentic eggnog, minus the intense burn of rum. It’s extremely tasty and I really enjoyed it.

Fig: Accented with a dried slice of fig, this one seemed much darker and denser than the others. The texture is very moist, smooth and creamy, You do taste the fig, with this sweet rich flavors and it really complements the chocolate. There’s even bits of the seeds in there which adds to the wonderful texture contrast. While you might seeds in a ganache would detract from the ganache’s smooth center, this actually works well and make it feel more fresh and authentic.

Ginger Molasses: I found the description of this one every enticing. Topped with a slice of candied ginger, the shell is a nice thickness again and the interior ganache is milker colored than the others. The flavor is beautiful, you get the spice of the ginger, which isn’t too strong. the molasses is very prominent, giving this wonderful earthy rich flavor to the chocolate. It’s like a ginger snap in a chocolate truffle. It’s delicious and I really loved it.

Orange Clove: Decorated with a slice of candied orange peel. The orange flavor is present immediately, and it’s a delicate flavor that’s still second place to the chocolate. the clove takes a moment to show, but when it does appear, it’s very pronounced and earthy. it really reminds me of Wassil, very fruity and full of spice. It tastes of the holidays.

Milk Chocolate Sesame Bark: Creamy looking milk chocolate studded with white and black sesame seeds. It smells very nutty and sweet. The milk chocolate is smooth and buttery, with nice notes of caramel, cream and cocoa. The sesame adds a slightly crunchy texture and a wonderful toasted nutty flavor. The seeds are also salty, and that really enhances the flavors of the milk chocolate. It’s lovely.

Pistachio Ginger Bark: Beautiful dark colored semi-sweet chocolate with whole pistachios and chunks of crystallized gingers with a touch of salt. Yum! The chocolate is about 1/4 inch thick, so it’s a perfect size for biting into; it’s not too thick and not too thin. The melt of the chocolate is smooth and buttery and rich with flavors that aren’t too acidic, but carry nice notes of coffee and cocoa. The pistachios are wonderfully fresh and salty and really add depth and substance to the chocolate base. The ginger gives it a nice chew, with it’s thick and slightly sticky texture. It adds a nice warmth to the chocolate and all three ingredients go together beautifully.

The well designed and beautifully executed flavors of these chocolates really wow-ed me. Usually most artisan chocolates make something “ho-hum”, something ordinary but extremely tasty, something overly unique to shock you, and I find myself unimpressed afterward. These fall into all the right niches of creating a tasty and indulgent experience. Despite all the additions to the bark and the flavors of the chocolate, Hedonist still lets the chocolate shine over all the other ingredients. Which, is what a good chocolatier does in my opinion.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Hedonist Artisan Chocolates Website