I was shopping in Cost Plus World market in November specifically looking for this Ritter Sport Espresso bar. I’m a big fan of Ritter Sport’s offerings, so I was very disappointed when Cost Plus didn’t have it anywhere in the store. Thankfully I found it on a second visit closer to Christmas, where I was doing some last minute shopping. I immediately snatched up three bars, as I anticipated that they were going to be really good. Finally I had my long awaited new Ritter Sport Espresso bar!
The packaging is classic, with the standard square shape that Ritter Sport is known for. The wrapper is a deep brown color, reminiscent of coffee, with a snowflake pattern all over it. It’s accented with a illustration of nice cup of espresso.
I opened the bar with the special “snap and open” method I’ve only seen on Ritter Sport bars. The chocloate smells rich and toasty with notes of caramel and smooth, roasted coffee. It’s an amazing aroma. I easily snap off a piece from the first, four-sectioned row.
The flavor starts out sweet and creamy with the chocolate. Beautiful notes of chocolate and cream, which are both smooth and very deep. The espresso flavor kicks in about halfway, introducing very intense flavors of smooth, roasted, earthy coffee flavors. The mixture of the two is incredibly heavenly.
This bar is amazing. The flavors blend so beautifully with each other while also remaining distinguishable. The texture of the bar is silky smooth to boot. I cannot wait to have this with a cup of coffee, as I imagine it’d be the perfect pairing. This bar is a must for any coffee and chocolate lover. You won’t be disappointed.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Ritter Sport Website
I found this bag of Pumpkin Cheesecake Kitkats when I was out doing some shopping in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. There’s a ton of adorable little shops down there, and it’s my “to-go” place for much of my holiday shopping. While there, I came across these Kitkats. I’ve had many a Pumpkin Kitkat in my time, and I’m always game for trying them. I’m such a sucker for pumpkin anything. Despite being somewhat pricey due to the fact they’re imported, I snatched these up and excitedly took them home.
The package on these is so adorable. Halloween is long and gone, but I still can appreciate the rich brown and orange color scheme and the adorable Jack ‘O Lanterns with their happy grins. The one with the heart shaped eyes is especially cute. Inside the main bag there’s a bunch of smaller, individually wrapped two finger bars. A nice serving size as it’s not to big, not too small.
The Kitkat smells sweet and slight cream cheesy. The color is an pale golden yellow.
The flavor is very sweet and cream cheesy at first. It’s very delicate as there’s more white chocolate in there to cut the tang of the cheese. You do get a hint of pumpkin, which, I am happy to report, is more like the plain squash part of pumpkin instead of pumpkin pie. I like the real flavor of pumpkin a lot, so I’m happy this isn’t dragged down with a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg. The result is this nice blend of the flavors described that does taste like a delicate, Japanese cheesecake. It’s awesome!
I am really smitten with these. They’re be a treat I’d buy regularly if it wasn’t for the limited availability and the import price. Still, I am going to enjoy the rest of my bag to the fullest. These are a terrific little afternoon pick me up, and they’re also diving with coffee. I recommend these highly to any fan of pumpkin. Mixed with Kitkat, it’s a match made in heaven!
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Kitkat Website (Japanese)
These were a Valentine’s Day release a few years ago. I recall liking them a lot, especially in a mug of hot cocoa.
Bonnat was a chocolate that I heard about in my very early days of chocolate tasting. It was one of those “fancier” chocolate brands that you only see in specialty stores. I used to come across it all the time when I was living near New York City. There was a plethora of chocolate and gourmet stores that carried them. Since moving to Los Angeles I have not been so lucky with locating a shop where I can find such goods so easily. I was lucky enough to stumble across one down at the farmer’s market at 3rd Street and Fairfax, where I discovered today’s bar: Bonnat Asfarth.
This bar is described as “Chocolat au lait 65% cacao”. So it’s a milk bittersweet chocolate. Asfarth I’m guessing in the name of this bar, or the location where the got the beans from. If I read French at all I could probably tell you more. This has a pretty classic label with a yellow background color with the line artwork of a cathedral on it. The bar has a nice weight in my hands as it’s 100 grams, which is a good size for a chocolate bar.
Once unwrapped, the color of the bar is gorgeous: a beautiful light, reddish brown. There’s no bubbles or cracks in the back of the bar either. It’s beautiful and pristine. It also has a nice thickness to it, about 1/2 inch. It’s not too thin, but a nice size so it melts beautifully in your mouth.
The aroma is lovely. It’s sweet with nice notes of chocolate, caramel and cream. It has some slightly mossy notes to it soo, which adds to the sweet softness of the aroma. The snap is beautiful and crisp and the break is clean with no bubbles of signs of weakness.
The flavor is very mellow at first, with notes of hazelnut. The flavor then grows a little bitter, and adds notes of cream and raisins. I’m not getting a whole lot of “chocolate” flavor here, but it’s a very lovely bar. It’s creamy, fruity nutty and therefor has a delicate, quite, rich flavor to it. The melt and texture is lovely. It’s thick and rich with a wonderful creaminess.
It’s nice to return to Bonnat after such a long hiatus after my move. I enjoyed the chocolate, as it’s very tasty and of high quality. It’s probably good it’s a chocolate I can’t buy often since it’s expensive, but very worth it. If you want to try some more “high end” chocolate, Bonnat is a good one to start with.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Bonnat Chocolate Website
Since I am conducting a test of the boxed chocolates you can get at your local store, today I am doing the small Russell Stover sampler. I am curious to see if differs from the Whitman’s Sampler at all, since they are made by the same manufacturer.
This box is a small same sized box as the Whitman’s sampler. This one has the design of a rose cluster on the cover. Again, beautiful and simple. No cute animals for me!
Opening the box, this one also has three pieces of chocolate. The shapes are different and they smell sweet with a hint of coconut.
The first piece, is a square covered with milk chocolate. The bite is dense, and inside it’s a smooth, thick, chewy caramel. The Whitman’s caramel was softer and less dense than this one. This one is robust and chewy, but also not sticky. The flavor is a nice mix of the sweet chocolate and the very buttery caramel. A nice combination.
The second piece s oblong and ark chocolate. It smells sweet with an accent of coffee. I take a bite and inside is a fluffy, rich, fudge center. Again I am reminded of the Whitman’s sampler, as these on takes oddly familiar even though this one is enrobed in a different chocolate. This one tastes like a chocolate chip chocolate ice cream. Sweet, creamy, with a nice dark chocolate flavor.
The third chocolate is cup shaped. very much like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup mini. The top has a texture to it to suggest there’s something crispy in this one. It smells powerfully of coconut. Sure enough, my first bite reveals a delicious solid with chocolate filled with coconut flakes. It’s very flavorful, the texture has a nice play of chewy and smooth. Very delicious.
I also want to mention that these are a little nostalgic for me, as I recall my Mom buying these for my and my sisters when we were littler. So there’s my review of the two most common boxed chocolate varieties from your local drugstore. They’re both slightly different while remaining somewhat the same, which is a terrible conclusion since it’s somewhat confusing. My point is, you really can’t go wrong with either the Russell Stover or the Whitman’s sampler as they were both delicious. Besides, it’s Valentine’s Day, it’s the thought that counts!
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Russell Stover Website
